The Best Things to Do in the Jewellery Quarter

In a Nutshell…

Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter is one of the UK’s most distinctive urban neighbourhoods – a place where 200 years of craft heritage sits alongside independent restaurants, hidden cocktail bars, creative studios, and some of the city’s best architecture. Whether you’re visiting for a few hours or thinking about putting down roots here, there’s far more to discover than the name suggests.

There are parts of every city that locals know are special but somehow never quite make it onto the tourist trail. Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter is one of them.

Tucked just north of the city centre, this is a neighbourhood that has been making things – beautiful, intricate, valuable things – for over two centuries. At its peak, the Quarter produced around 40% of all the jewellery made in the UK. That heritage is still visible in the architecture, the independent workshops, and the streets lined with craftspeople who have been here for generations.

But the Jewellery Quarter today is much more than its name implies. It’s a place where a working goldsmith’s studio sits next to a natural wine bar, where Victorian industrial buildings have been reimagined as restaurants and creative offices, and where the pace of life feels noticeably different to the bustle of Broad Street or the Bullring. If you are looking for the best things to do in the Jewellery Quarter, it’s well worth a visit – here’s where to start.

The Museum of the Jewellery Quarter

If you want to understand what makes this neighbourhood tick, start here. The Museum of the Jewellery Quarter is built around the preserved Smith & Pepper jewellery factory, which operated on Vyse Street from the 1890s until 2000, when it closed and was donated to the city essentially untouched.

Walking through it feels less like a museum visit and more like stepping into a working day that simply stopped. The tools are still on the benches, the machinery still functions, and the guided tours bring the history of the craft and the people who practised it to life in a way that a conventional exhibition rarely manages.

Admission is free, and it’s easily one of the most quietly extraordinary heritage things to do in the Jewellery Quarter.

Explore Vyse Street and the Independent Jewellers

The Jewellery Quarter’s main commercial strip is still very much a working jewellery district, and Vyse Street is the place to experience it. Independent jewellers line the road, many of them family businesses that have occupied the same premises for decades.

Whether you’re looking for an engagement ring, a bespoke commission, or simply want to browse, this is a genuinely different experience to a high street jeweller. The people behind the counters here typically make what they’re selling, and the range, quality, and value reflect that.

St Paul’s Square

The geographic and spiritual heart of the Jewellery Quarter is St Paul’s Square – Birmingham’s only remaining Georgian square, and one of the most handsome public spaces in the city.

The square is anchored by St Paul’s Church, built in 1779, and surrounded by a mix of beautifully preserved Georgian townhouses and sympathetically converted commercial buildings. On a warm day it’s a genuine pleasure to sit on the grass with a coffee and watch the city move around you. On any day, it’s worth walking around simply for the architecture.

It’s also, incidentally, the address of Grosvenor House – but more on that later.

Eat and Drink Well

The Jewellery Quarter has quietly become one of Birmingham’s best neighbourhoods for independent food and drink, with a range that punches well above its size.

Bourne & Co. on Newhall Street is a neighbourhood favourite – a relaxed all-day café that does excellent coffee and food in a space that feels genuinely considered rather than designed to look considered.

The Rose Villa Tavern on Warstone Lane is a beautifully preserved Victorian pub that’s worth visiting for the interior alone. It’s the kind of place that reminds you what a proper British pub is supposed to feel like.

Loki Wine on Great Western Arcade offers one of the best wine selections in Birmingham, with knowledgeable staff and a relaxed, unhurried atmosphere that makes it ideal for a long weekend afternoon.

For something more substantial, the Quarter has seen a wave of independent restaurants open in recent years, with everything from modern British to Italian and Japanese represented within a short walk of St Paul’s Square.

The Golden Square and Street Art

The Jewellery Quarter has developed a quietly impressive street art scene, with murals and installations appearing across the neighbourhood’s brick-faced Victorian walls. The area around the Golden Square and Warstone Lane is particularly worth exploring on foot – the combination of industrial architecture and contemporary art makes for an unexpectedly photogenic afternoon.

Warstone Lane Cemetery

This might not be the most obvious addition to a list of things to do in the Jewellery Quarter, but Warstone Lane Cemetery is genuinely worth a visit. Established in 1847, it’s a Grade II listed site with remarkable catacombs, elaborate Victorian memorials, and a peacefulness that feels miles away from the city centre despite being a ten-minute walk from New Street.

It’s the kind of place that rewards the curious, and it’s free.

Key Street and the Creative Scene

In recent years, the Jewellery Quarter has attracted a significant creative community – designers, architects, photographers, and independent studios drawn by the combination of affordable space, characterful buildings, and proximity to the city centre.

The result is a neighbourhood with a creative energy that feels earned rather than manufactured. Independent galleries, design studios, and maker spaces sit alongside the traditional craft businesses, and the mix gives the Quarter a distinctly contemporary edge that sits comfortably alongside its heritage.

The Jewellery Quarter: Your Quick-Reference List

Whether you’ve got an afternoon or a full day, here’s a summary of the best things to do in the Jewellery Quarter:

• Museum of the Jewellery Quarter: Free, unmissable, and unlike any museum in the city
• Vyse Street: Browse independent jewellers, many of whom made what they’re selling
• St Paul’s Square: Birmingham’s only Georgian square; worth it for the architecture alone
• The Rose Villa Tavern: A beautifully preserved Victorian pub on Warstone Lane
• Bourne & Co.: The Quarter’s favourite all-day café for coffee and food
• Loki Wine: One of Birmingham’s best wine selections in a relaxed, unhurried setting
• Warstone Lane Cemetery: Surprisingly peaceful, Grade II listed, and free to visit
• Street art and murals: Explore around the Golden Square for the best of the Quarter’s creative scene
• Independent restaurants: A growing wave of excellent independents within easy reach of St Paul’s Square
• Key Street and the creative studios: Get a feel for the neighbourhood’s contemporary edge alongside its heritage

Why Businesses Are Choosing the Jewellery Quarter

The same qualities that make exploring the things to do in the Jewellery Quarter so rewarding – the character, the community, the proximity to the city centre, the architectural quality of the streets – are exactly the qualities that make it an increasingly attractive place to base a business.

St Paul’s Square in particular has established itself as one of Birmingham’s most prestigious business addresses. It carries the kind of heritage and setting that a generic city centre office block simply can’t replicate, and for businesses that want their address to say something meaningful about who they are, that matters.

For start-ups, sole traders, and growing businesses, a virtual office or registered office address at Grosvenor House places you at the heart of this neighbourhood – a St Paul’s Square address on your letterhead, your website, and your Companies House registration, without the overhead of a full office lease.

It’s the kind of address that opens doors. And it’s situated in one of the most interesting, characterful, and genuinely enjoyable parts of the UK to spend time in – which, when you’re thinking about where to plant your flag as a business, is no small thing.

Find out more about Grosvenor House’s virtual office services at St Paul’s Square here, or get in touch with us directly using the form below!