Victoria Square

A public square adjacent to the Chamberlain Square. We happened to visit the city the day after the Commonwealth Games had ended, so the place was still decorated in bright rainbow colors.

The place has nice sights of historical sculptures and landmarks, plus important buildings such as the Town Hall and Council House. Although it was bustling with people at our weekday evening passthrough. I was astonished to witness the sheer number of children playing in the waters of The River "Floozie in the Jacuzzi". If visiting, I recommend coming in the morning when it is not so crowded.

Home to The Town Hall and the Council House in Birmingham, Victoria Square is a rather nice open square and is in-between New Street and Colmore Row in the city - although partially ruined at the moment by ongoing construction works which make parts of the city a mess for the metro extension, I can't let this affect my opinion on the square as the construction is only temporary and of course the metro extension will bring lots of benefits to the West Midlands city as a whole.

With fountains and benches, although there aren't really many cafes directly in the square - there is both a Starbucks on New Street and Colmore Row, however, where you can get multiple train and bus services respectively, it can be a nice place to sit in the city away from the hustle and bustle of the shopping areas on a nice sunny day - sadly in the UK we don't get many of them.

In the square, you also have the Queen Victoria Statue, it is pretty much a common attraction most people will pass through while in Birmingham - this was pretty much part of my journey into the main city centre having to pass through the square to get to and from Broad Street, where many of the hotels from the Jury's Inn, Hampton by Hilton and Garden Inn Hilton, Hyatt Regency brands and more are located.

I do feel there could be more of a welcome to tell people about the square including the historical parts of it including the Grade I listed building which is nice to see rather than having to look online after a visit and find it out.

Pretty cool place in the city and it doesn't get as busy as the Bullring / New Street too on a regular day - pretty much Birmingham's answer to Piccadilly Gardens in a way.

3*

Gorgeous part of town and the Christmas markets will make it more vibrant and lively. Nice architecture in this particular block.

In the city centre, we can just find this marvelous square, where the Town Hall is placed. In the side of the Council House, the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery. Victoria Square is the place where three of the most commercial streets of the city meet: New Street, Colmore Road and Paradise Street. A big fountain in the middle of the square houses a big bronze sculpture (locally known as The Floozie in the Jacuzzi). And also we can admire a Queen Elisabeth's statue constructed in 1901. The Christmas Market is every year placed here, and the big screen lets us know the latest news (perhaps it could be use for something else...).
Nice place to meet friends, to spend spring afternoons or just for a walk...

I do love our open spaces in Brum. Victoria Square has always had a place in my heart (not just because we share a namesake) as it's a central space where people from the City tend to sit, relax and enjoy the sunshine. In the summer it's a hotspot for the lunchtime crowd and the weekend shopping crowd to catch a breath and there are cultural events (dance performances, shows and festivals) all year around.

It's dominated by the beautiful Council House building, which also houses BMAG and the Edwardian Tea Rooms. Still the centre for local government in the City, the building has fantastic statues and adornment all around the exterior. If you ever fancy learning a bit about the spooky side of the building, I can recommend the Midlands Ghost Walks which tell you about the going on inside.

At the moment it's dominated by a stage for the International Dance Festival, but soon enough the Food Fair will come around and then (hopefully) some more dance and theatre performances into Summer. On the weekends the open top tour bus leaves from Victoria Square too, so it's always worth stopping by and seeing whats on week to week.

At night in the summer, the Floozie in the Jacuzzi (formally known as "The River) is lit up in different colours making it a lovely spot to sit and enjoy a moment before heading on to the next Birmingham nightlife destination.

If you're into your architecture, a trip to Vic Square is never wasted. Between the "Iron Man", the strange Egyptian style statues and Queen Victoria herself, I would always recommend taking your camera down on a sunny day. Go on, be a tourist in your own City and go and appreciate a spot you probably walk past every day and never just... stop and look. You might just be surprised at the beauty you find there.

Birmingham has always been bursting with Civic Pride, despite (or perhaps because of) the jokes made at its expense by other cities in the UK. It's elegant Victorian centre was largely spared by World War II, but its post-war rebuilding became a byword for poor urban planning, with buildings bulldozed to provide for a huge and inhuman inner-ring road. Even the Civic centre at its heart wasn't spared redevelopment, with its new library - one of Europe's largest - a clumsy example of concrete brutalist architecture.


But the last 20 years have seen a transformation and, while the ring-road is still there (albeit without the grim pedestrian underpasses), Victoria Square has been refurbished and enlivened by some great, tongue-in-cheek sculptures, most famously the statue of life, situated in the huge fountain - better known as 'The Floozie in the Jacuzzi'.


Even the library has had a bit of a make-over, but the prize goes to its 19th-century gems: the Council House, containing the city's museum and art gallery and council chamber (dating from 1870), and even more magnificently, the vast neo-classical Council House, one of the UK's oldest and largest debating and concert venues. Completed in 1833, it is one of Europe's oustanding neo-classical buildings. It is just emerging from a huge refurbishment programme, its facades now a dazzling white.


Rather quaintly, given Birmingham's location in the centre of Britain, the small square in front of the library has been turned into a beach, complete with palms, deckchairs and a huge TV screen. It seems as odd as it is clearly popular...

I spend pretty much my every lunchbreak here, and often forget how lovely it can be. Surrounded on all sides by gorgeous old buildings and sculptures from the statue of Queen Victoria to Anthony Gormley's Iron Man (spoiler- it looks nothing like Robert Downey Junior) it's just a lovely little oasis away from the bland commercialism of the Bullring and Brindleyplace.

It's also great for people watching, my favourite being a chap (not a busker) who sits in the middle of the square about once a month, Walkman on, singing along off key to Michael Jackson's greatest hits, missing every single 'hee-hee'. If he ever reads this, please know that you are possibly the single most enjoyable thing about Birmingham, and if you went, my heart would break.

One of the most beautiful places in Birmingham, especially in the summer time!
Top Tip- Look out for special events going on here, they have everything from music festivals to a fake beach in the summer.
I remember the good old days of playing in the fountain as a kid- known affectionately to locals as 'The Floozy in the Jacuzzi' and occasionally we have the wonderful event of it being filled with washing up liquid and flooding the square and half of new street with bubbles. Glorious.

Let`s face it, we all love Victoria Square in some particularly way!

We just can`t resist ( or sometimes avoid, if you work nearby it) passing by it without giving a quick peek at the tourists taking 145 photos of the Queen Elizabeth statue or Iron: Man and The River monuments. Or even watching the families trying to find a perfect place ( usually at the stairs) to eat their homemade sandwiches especially made for a breaking time after visiting the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery.

We also love all the Victoria Square buzz as well when the "occupying protesters", literally occupy any available space there.

I like catching up with all events at this historical point of Birmingham city centre as well, especially the ones which involves food so German Market and food festivals in general are always a good excuse to visit the place.

If you're new in the city, it also serves as a meeting point as well. Every time you feel kind of lost at the city centre you always can use the excuse of asking your friends to find you at the Victoria Square.

Great place to meet and hang out with friends. There is always stuff happening around here throughout the year. I go through this place almost everyday. I enjoy the festivals like famous German market and the food festival. Great place to be around especially on a nice sunny day.