All eventsConcerts, festivals and markets, tonight and this weekend
Annual festivalsJazz, techno, cars and parades: Michigan’s year, festival by festival
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Sports: games & scoresLions, Red Wings, Pistons, Tigers: live scores and trophies
ItinerariesReady-made day plans, stop by stop
Places to exploreMuseums, parks, neighborhoods and icons
Free museum daysFlip the calendar: when museums let you in for free
Metro Detroit mapWhat Metro Detroit is, and what every town is about
The Henry FordRosa Parks’ bus, Greenfield Village and the Ford Rouge Factory
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My tripYour flights, your events, day by day, with an itemized budget in dollars and your own currency
Plan your tripWhen to come, how to get here, where to sleep: all in one place
Weather & seasonsWhat it’s like right now and month by month
Coming from abroad?Entry, money, phones, power, Canada: what you need to know
TransitBuses, trains and ferries with live departures
Driving in MichiganLicenses, rental cars, the rules and the yellow school bus
Lanes and left exitsKeep right? Here people pass on the right and exit on the left
Road work and potholesOrange barrels, detours, 45 mph: driving Michigan’s work zones
Mile roads: mile zero and 8 MileWhere the city counts from, and which Mile you’re standing on
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QLINE streetcarThe free streetcar on Woodward Avenue
DTW airportRed or blue terminal? We’ll show you.Your license in MichiganRental carsSpeed limitsMiles, gallons, MPGThe Michigan left and the rulesSchool busesTraffic lights, a Detroit inventionPulled over by policeDrinking and drivingWinter drivingWildlife on the roadGas and parking
Metro Detroit Oakland County City
A walkable downtown with nearly 300 shops, plus Oakland County's oldest frame house
01 / Why it matters
Birmingham is a polished little city on Woodward, between Royal Oak and Bloomfield Hills. Downtown is made for walking: nearly 300 retailers, boutiques, galleries, restaurants, movie theaters and a central green, Shain Park. If you want an afternoon of strolling and window shopping, this is the place.
It's named after the English industrial city: in 1836 Rosewell T. Merrill imagined a big manufacturing town here. It didn't happen; most of the early factories were gone by the 1860s, and Birmingham settled in as a quiet market town on the Detroit–Pontiac road. The first settlers, Hunter, Hamilton and Willits, ran inns for travelers, and their names are still on the street signs.
As the auto industry boomed, Birmingham became a favorite place to live between Detroit and Pontiac, and it became a city in 1933. The museum grounds hold Oakland County's oldest frame house, from 1822. And a bit of rock trivia: the legendary Creem magazine had its editorial offices downtown for a while.
02 / Known for
The John West Hunter House (1822) is the oldest frame house in Oakland County and is on the National Register of Historic Places.
The Birmingham Shopping District, with nearly 300 retailers, bills itself as one of the Midwest's premier shopping districts.
At the center of Shain Park stands Marshall Fredericks' Freedom of the Human Spirit, which the sculptor gave his adopted hometown for its 50th anniversary in 1983.
Creem, the rock magazine, had offices in downtown Birmingham before moving to Los Angeles in 1987; the local museum keeps a Creem collection.
The local paper, The Eccentric, has covered the town since 1878.
03 / What’s on
May 3, 2026Public Parking Lot 6 · Organized by Downtown Birmingham, the Birmingham Farmers Market runs Sundays from May 3 to October 25, 2026, 9 a.m.–2 p.m., at Public Parking Lot 6 in Birmingham. Expect Michigan-grown produce, meat and dairy, flowers, artisan goods, plus live music and food trucks.
Oct 1, 2026Downtown Birmingham · Downtown Birmingham hosts BirminghamBURGER from Thursday, October 1, to Saturday, October 31, 2026, in Downtown Birmingham, Birmingham. Local chefs roll out limited-edition burgers, and you vote to crown the Best Burger in Downtown Birmingham.
Oct 24, 2026, 10:00 AMFreeShain Park · The City of Birmingham throws a free Halloween costume party in downtown's Shain Park on Saturday, October 24, 10 a.m.–2 p.m., with costume contests, bounce houses, an exotic zoo, food trucks and dance parties. Kids can pick and decorate a pumpkin, get their faces painted and ride the train.
Oct 25, 2026, 9:00 AMPublic Parking Lot 6 · Downtown Birmingham hosts the Birmingham Farmers Market End of Season Celebration on Sunday, October 25, at 9 a.m. at Public Parking Lot 6 in Birmingham. Expect Halloween-themed fun with live music and kids’ activities from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Nov 6, 2026, 7:30 PMBirmingham Village Players · The Birmingham Village Players stage Complete Works of Shakespeare on Friday, November 6, 2026, at 7:30 p.m. at 34660 Woodward Avenue in Birmingham. With ten performances in the run, you've got plenty of dates to choose from.
Nov 7, 2026, 7:30 PMBirmingham Village Players · The Birmingham Village Players stage Complete Works of Shakespeare on Saturday, November 7, 2026, at 7:30 p.m. at 34660 Woodward Avenue in Birmingham. With ten performances in the run, you've got plenty of dates to choose from.
Nov 8, 2026, 2:00 PMBirmingham Village Players · The Birmingham Village Players stage Complete Works of Shakespeare on Sunday, November 8, 2026, at 2 p.m. at 34660 Woodward Avenue in Birmingham. With ten performances in the run, you've got plenty of dates to choose from.
Nov 13, 2026, 7:30 PMBirmingham Village Players · The Birmingham Village Players stage Complete Works of Shakespeare on Friday, November 13, 2026, at 7:30 p.m. at 34660 Woodward Avenue in Birmingham. With ten performances in the run, you've got plenty of dates to choose from.
Nov 14, 2026, 7:30 PMBirmingham Village Players · The Birmingham Village Players stage Complete Works of Shakespeare on Saturday, November 14, 2026, at 7:30 p.m. at 34660 Woodward Avenue in Birmingham. With ten performances in the run, you've got plenty of dates to choose from.
Nov 15, 2026, 2:00 PMBirmingham Village Players · The Birmingham Village Players stage Complete Works of Shakespeare on Sunday, November 15, 2026, at 2 p.m. at 34660 Woodward Avenue in Birmingham. With ten performances in the run, you've got plenty of dates to choose from.
Nov 19, 2026, 7:30 PMBirmingham Village Players · The Birmingham Village Players stage Complete Works of Shakespeare on Thursday, November 19, 2026, at 7:30 p.m. at 34660 Woodward Avenue in Birmingham. With ten performances in the run, you've got plenty of dates to choose from.
Nov 20, 2026, 7:30 PMBirmingham Village Players · The Birmingham Village Players stage Complete Works of Shakespeare on Friday, November 20, 2026, at 7:30 p.m. at 34660 Woodward Avenue in Birmingham. With ten performances in the run, you've got plenty of dates to choose from.
04 / Places
220 Merrill220 E. Merrill St., Birmingham, MI 48009
Big Rock Italian Chophouse245 S. Eton St., Birmingham, MI 48009
Birmingham Bloomfield Chamber725 S Adams Rd, Suite 130, Birmingham, MI 48009
Daxton Hotel Birmingham, Curio Collection by Hilton298 S Old Woodward Ave, Birmingham, MI 48009
Emagine Palladium209 Hamilton Row, Birmingham, MI 48009
The Birmingham 8 Powered by Emagine211 S Old Woodward Ave, Birmingham, MI 48009
The Rugby Grille100 Townsend St, Birmingham, MI 48009
The Townsend Hotel100 Townsend St, Birmingham, MI 4800905 / What to do
Boutiques, galleries, restaurants and movie theaters within easy walking distance, with Shain Park at the center for summer concerts and the Village Fair. In 2026 a Sunday farmers market ran from May 3 to October 25.
Official site ↗The city museum by the Rouge River valley, on land first bought by settler Elijah Willits. Admission includes a guided tour of the John West Hunter House; as of 2026 it was open Tuesday through Saturday, 1 to 4 p.m.
Official site ↗The city library, opened in 1927 and named for Martha Baldwin, who pushed for the first library, sidewalks and street lights.
Official site ↗A community theater founded by a group of friends in 1923, playing in its own building since 1928, with five shows a year.
Official site ↗06 / History
Governor Lewis Cass's expedition finds the land far less swampy than reported, opening it to settlement.
The John West Hunter House, Oakland County's first frame house, is built.
Rosewell T. Merrill surveys and records the plat he names Birmingham.
Birmingham incorporates as a village.
On June 18 the electric interurban arrives, reaching Detroit in 40 minutes.
Birmingham becomes a city.
07 / Born here
08 / People
Population and area are Census Bureau figures (Birmingham city).
Change since 2020, per the Census Bureau estimate: +0.5 percent.
