Bull Ring, Birmingham

Selfridges is one of the iconic British department stores, right up there with Harrods of London and Harvey Nichols.

There are only four Selfridges stores in the UK, and the Birmingham store is one of them.

The store is divided roughly like this:

Ground floor - food court (Amazing! Watch out for the giant bull made of jelly beans. And make sure you try a Krispy Kreme donut. You can also have meal at Yo! Sushi! and much more).

1st floor - ladies wear

2nd floor - cosmetics & gents wear

3rd floor - champagne bar & the really, really designer expensive stuff (shoes & handbags!)

Oh yeah, and the architecture is pretty amazing, too. From outside, the building looks a bit like a giant spaceship that has landed in the city centre!

The Bullring is a large-ish shopping mall right in the centre of Birmingham. There are over 160 shops including Selfridges (one of only four in Britain!) and a large Debenhams store.

The Bullring is less than ten years old so all is still very shiny and new!

What to buy: Krispy Kreme donuts at Selfridges.

Well I finally have been to see The Bull Ring which opened on 4th September 2003. This brand new £500m city centre shopping centre maybe the largest shopping centre in Europe but I was a little disappointed.
The new Selfridge's Department Store is certainly architecturely stunning but I think it is better on the outside than the inside. The food hall is certainly exciting but the exotic is carried too far most of the time. I'm afraid I do not feel qualified to write about the other departments.
March 2004 Selfridges have announced that the store has been so successful that they are to spend GBP2m on refurbishing, reorganising and extending some departments. The main areas will be the food hall, the wine department (50% of sales are champagne) and some of the clothes departments.
October 2005 The readers of the magazine "In Style" have voted Selfridges as the best department store both in London and outside the capital.
The new Bull Ring contains 1.2 million sq ft of retail space. About 100 different retailers opened in the centre and they recruited about 8000 staff for the whole of the centre when they opened.
Glass from the old Bull Ring Centre has been reused to create a major glass artwork at one of the entrances for an observatory cafe for Border Books overlooking St Martin's Square, but on the day I visited I could not find it.
November 2007 In the first year after opening, The Bull Ring had 36.5 million visitors and is the most visited shopping centre outside of London's West End.

The Bullring has a long history, and this current version is a very business retail outlet with in the region of 40,000,000 people.....yes 40 million people going through it every year. There are over 160 retail outlets ranging from H&M to Selfridges and Debenhams to Jack Jones - there are also some 25 eateries and coffee shops.

In addition, you can always get your picture taken with the bull!

Opening hours:

Monday to Friday 09.30 - 20.00

Saturday 09.00 - 20.00

Sunday 11.00 -17.00

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The Bull Ring has over 26 football pitches worth of shops, restaurants and boutiques in the centre of Birmingham. There is also an open market right next to the Bull Ring with extra shops for any of your needs.

In the Bull Ring there are many shops to suit everyone, e.g
-Selfridges
-Debenhams
-HMV
-Schuh
-Travel Shops
-The Purfume Shop
-Boots
and many many more everyone is sure to find something they like.

What to buy: Its got neally everything you could want or need

What to pay: Average price for shopping in the UK. But not as costly as London.
Selfridges may be a little bit more expensive than other shops.

This is the main open area behind the Bull Ring Centre. You can buy all the fruit and veg that you want at very low prices compared to the supermarkets. It is open from 9am to 5pm every Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. The best time to get there is probably just after 4pm. At this time you can pick up all the bargains. The stall holders would rather sell everything they have left for a pound than carry it all home ;)

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The Bull Ring is located in the heart of Birmingham City centre. It is a bright and modern and looks quite glamorous.

It has over 150 shops to choose from including Topshop/Topman, Debenhams, Selfridges, River Island, Ann Summers, La Senza, and lots of other top shops for all your needs. There are more than 20 restaurants to choose from too.

It is open until 8pm six days a week which is excellent for all you shoppers out there.
Bullring. It’s Birmingham’s newest shopping destination, and the most exhilarating city retail experience you’ll have anywhere in Europe.

Built at a cost of over £500 million, Bullring has brought over 26 football pitches worth of shops, boutiques and restaurants into the centre of town. It has reintroduced some of Birmingham’s traditional streets and is a stimulating, glass covered environment where you can shop, eat or just be.

Bullring isn’t just a shopping centre. It’s a new beginning for the city. It has introduced 3,200 more car parking spaces, improved public transport links and a refurbished Moor Street Station. And with a stunning mix of contemporary architecture and historic buildings, Bullring has completely changed the face of Birmingham.

What to buy: Clothes for men, women, children. Shoes, bags, underwear, jewellery, babywear anything goes really. Its all under one roof.

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A beautiful place to shop in! Has all the major department stores, including: Debenhams, Selfridges, River Island, Zara, Mexx, USC, United Colours of Benetten, Nike, Adidas, Apple, the list goes on.........

There are also loads of restaurants and coffee shops inside the Bull Ring so you can take a break from your tiring shopping trip!

What to buy: The Bullring has a large majority of clothing stores, so a perfect place to shop for clothes. You can also shop for books (bookstores include Borders), cosmetics and electronics (with the recently opened Apple store, which is REALLY cool inside!!). Designer concessions in Selfridges means its the perfect place to find clothes for a special occassion.

What to pay: Prices are generally high (it IS a major mall after all), but having said that, prices differ according to shops. I find stores to suit every budget, if your looking for designer wear, you'll obviously have to pay more, but for everyday casual wear, all the high street stores can cater for your needs at reasonable prices!