Fun Things to Do in Birmingham

Looking for Fun Things to Do in Birmingham? Find the Best Activities Here

Between the shops at the Bullring, the bars around New Street, and everything happening in Birmingham City Centre on a Saturday night, there’s no shortage of fun things to do in Birmingham. The hard part is finding something your whole group can actually agree to do.

If you want a night that kicks off with a bit of competition and ends with a proper story to tell, this guide covers the best indoor activities, group plans, and rainy day back-ups the city has to offer, including where a full-body virtual reality mission fits in before or after dinner. 

Table of Contents

• Best Indoor Activities in Birmingham

• Things to Do Near Grand Central Birmingham

• Why Sandbox VR Is One of Birmingham's Most Exciting Experiences

• Best Activities for Families in Birmingham

• Best Birthday & Group Activities in Birmingham

• Best Rainy Day Activities in Birmingham

• Book a Sandbox VR Session in Birmingham

• Frequently Asked Questions

Best Indoor Activities in Birmingham

Weather aside, the best indoor activities in Birmingham share one thing in common: they get a group competing, not just spectating. A few common group activities include: 

• Escape rooms: A locked-room puzzle under a countdown clock, solid for groups of four to eight

• Crazy golf and darts bar: Several venues around the city centre now build a full night around a scorecard

• Bowling: Reliable, affordable, and still the easiest sell for a mixed group

• Full-body virtual reality: Six players in the same mission at once, no queuing for a turn 

Of all of these things to do in Birmingham, virtual reality has become the one that people actually talk about for days after. A game of bowling ends the same way it always does, but a Sandbox VR mission in Birmingham where your group fights off a zombie horde together doesn’t. And don’t worry, our venue is fully air-conditioned so you won’t have to worry about breaking a sweat during a heatwave. 

Value matters too, especially on a weekend where the plan might stretch across three or four stops. A session that gives you thirty minutes of proper competition, a shared story, and a reason to keep the group together for the rest of the night is worth more than an hour spent watching one person bowl. 

And the best part is that Sandbox VR has nine different experiences and is always adding new options so you can try something new without playing the same immersive experiences in Birmingham over and over. 

Things to Do Near Grand Central Birmingham

Grand Central sits directly above New Street Station, which makes it one of the most useful starting points for a night out in the city. Arrive by train, grab dinner in Grand Central, or just across the road in the Bullring, and then head into whatever you’ve got planned for the evening, all without needing a taxi.

Sandbox VR Birmingham is based right in Grand Central, which means it works equally well as the start or end of the night. Turn up hungry and eat first, or build the evening around the mission and grab food and drinks afterward to debrief on what just happened. Either way, central Birmingham gives you the flexibility to build the night around your group instead of a single fixed booking. 

It’s also an easy sell for a group that’s already got other plans that night. You can book an early session, then carry on into whatever’s happening around New Street or the Bullring afterward: a gig, bar crawl, or dinner reservations you made weeks ago. Nothing about the location locks you into a single-activity evening. 

Why Sandbox VR Is One of Birmingham’s Most Exciting Experiences

Most virtual reality experiences are limited to a headset and controller, but Sandbox VR’s full-body motion capture tracks your entire body with haptic vests that let you feel everything. The whole session is recorded on Hollywood-style motion capture cameras so what you get afterward looks like footage from your own film, not a screen recording. 

Up to six players can share the same virtual world at once, seeing and reacting to each other as the mission unfolds. Choose from nine different experiences, including officially licensed experiences built with Netflix, like Squid Game or Stranger Things, alongside Sandbox VR’s own zombie survival series, Deadwood. Sessions run around 30 minutes, which is long enough to feel like a proper night out but short enough to still grab dinner or drinks. 

Our Grand Central venue in Birmingham is one of the biggest Sandbox VR locations in the country, with six virtual reality rooms, meaning we can accommodate bigger groups, birthday celebrations, and work events that can all run at once without anyone waiting around. Our staff can even section off part of our venue into semi-private zones or turn a virtual reality room into a lounge or presentation space with AV access. The whole space is air-conditioned throughout, so even a fully active room stays comfortable. 

After or before your session, get a drink from our robot bartender, Toni, who can mix your cocktails. Built by Makr Shakr, Toni can make up to 80 drinks an hour, so your whole group can drink after your experience to relive the best moments, compare scores, and swap stories. It’s covered in sensors that let it imitate the motions of a real bartender rather than just dispensing from a menu. 

Order through an app at your table and pick from a range of alcoholic drinks and watch as a pair of robotic arms mix it in front of you. Toni is a permanent fixture at the venue, so it’s part of every night at our venue rather than a novelty pop-up you’d only catch once. 

Best Activities for Families in Birmingham

Family days out in Birmingham need to hold everyone’s attention, not just the children. Sandbox VR’s format works well because there’s no separate “kid’s version” – everyone plays the same mission together, including the adults, which tends to make the parents just as competitive as anyone under sixteen. 

Pair a session with a wander through the Bullring beforehand or a meal in Grand Central afterward, and you’ve got an afternoon that doesn’t need a car, a booking three weeks out, or a back-up plan if it rains. 

Best Birthday & Group Activities in Birmingham

Group activities in Birmingham work best when one venue can hold the whole crowd, rather than splitting people across three different bookings. Our private event packages cover birthdays, work nights out, and stag or hen groups, with food, drink, and weapon upgrades available as add-ons, plus Toni, our robot bartender, for anyone who wants a cocktail without the wait. 

For bigger office nights out, the option to turn a virtual reality room into a private lounge or presentation space means the whole event of briefing, gameplay, and drinks after can happen in one building instead of three. For larger stag and hen parties, this can be a real advantage when half the challenge is getting everyone to the next location without losing anyone along the way. 

The competitive angle also provides bonding opportunities for larger groups, whether they know each other well or not. A birthday group that’s split between people who know each other well and people who’ve just met tends to bond faster over a shared mission than over small talk at a bar. 

Book a private session directly through the private events page. 

Best Rainy Day Activities in Birmingham

Birmingham weather doesn’t ask permission before it changes plans, so the best rainy day activities in Birmingham are the ones that don’t rely on it staying dry. Sandbox VR’s entire experience runs indoors, which means a downpour outside New Street Station has zero bearing on what’s happening inside the mission. 

It also solves the usual rainy-day problem of a group standing around trying to agree on an alternative plan. Book a virtual reality session early and don’t stress about checking your weather app. 

Book a Sandbox VR session in Birmingham 

When you’re looking for fun things to do in Birmingham, consider a virtual reality experience. Sandbox VR Birmingham sits right in the middle of the city, a few minutes from New Street Station, ready whenever your group is. 

Book your activity today before sessions book up! 

FAQs

Where is Sandbox VR located in Birmingham?

Sandbox VR Birmingham is based at Grand Central, directly above New Street Station in the city centre, a short walk from the Bullring. 

How many people can play together at Sandbox VR Birmingham?

Up to six players share a session at once, but if you have a smaller party, we can also accommodate your group. 

Is Sandbox VR a good option if the weather in Birmingham is bad? 

Yes, our entire experience takes place indoors, so weather does not affect the session. During summer heatwaves, enjoy some air-conditioned fun to cool off. 

Can I book a private event at Sandbox VR Birmingham?

Yes, our venue offers semi-private zones and a repurposed lounge or presentation space with AV for corporate bookings, birthdays, and larger group events. Book your private session today.