If Brindleyplace is the crowning glory of Birmingham's canalside redevelopment, the Ikon is the icing. Plain, smooth, white icing it may be, but then that's what this gallery does best. Small but perfectly formed within its imposing neo-Gothic shell, here you can soak up the minimalist modernism in a lunch hour, soothed by a sea of white.

1, Oozells Square, Brindleyplace; www.ikon-gallery.co.uk; Tel: 0121 248 0708 for more details

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Battered in an air raid in December 1940, a clock tower and domed cupola are all that remains of St Thomas's Church, left to loom over these simple gardens as a monument to Birmingham's losses.

During 1998's G8 summit in the city, each world leader planted a tree here to represent their country. A 'peace pole' rises from the centre bearing the inscription 'May peace prevail on earth' in four languages. Forsaking the benches and sitting cross-legged beside the pole under the shadow of the church can be a powerful experience.

Holloway Head/Granville St, central Birmingham

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Opened in 1848 to ease overcrowding elsewhere, this seven-acre burial ground features triple-decker catacombs spiralling down the sides of an old sand quarry. The remains of the printer John Baskerville lie here against his will as an atheist, after a canal was cut through his chosen unconsecrated resting place.

Sitting on the middle level of the spiral, resting your back against a now bricked-up catacomb and overlooking the trees below, is a beautifully tranquil experience. Only the faintest of traffic sounds can be heard as you share a moment with some of Birmingham's great pioneers.

Warstone Lane, Hockley. The Jewellery Quarter rail and Metro station is closest.

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Tucked in the corner of the city's main family park, the Midlands Arts Centre is a cultural oasis providing art-house films, intimate theatre productions and various creative courses. But by far its quirkiest and most imaginative space is the compact open-air Arena, a miniature concrete mock-up of a classical amphitheatre. Lying dormant for much of the year, it fills to its 470 capacity for the Sounds in the Round summer music festival.

Cannon Hill Park, Edgbaston - visit www.macarts.co.uk or call 0121 440 3838 for more details.

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These six acres of neatly trimmed Edwardian gardens are a green and fragrant haven worlds apart from the concrete jungle.

Surrounded by magnolias and alone with your thoughts on the Stream Lawn you'll soon recharge your batteries, or for a real treat venture into the Japanese rock garden, complete with teahouse and ornamental bridge.

Weekend and evening events range from open-air theatre to candlelight jazz.

Part of the University of Birmingham, situated off Edgbaston Park Road - visit www.botanic.bham.ac.uk or call 0121 414 3832 for more details

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"They do say the trees can actually move, and can surround strangers and hem them in," a hobbit once said. Enclosed by twitching moss and ancient blackened mounds as you duck through the moist undergrowth, it's easy to see how Tolkien drew inspiration from this place.

Lamenting Birmingham's relentless expansion, he found here an oasis that civilisation passed by, and relaxing quietly beneath a leafy bower, a gnarled trunk twisting above and clasping twigs with its neighbour, you're liable to forget that city life is but a few hundred metres away.

Tucked out of the way between Yardley Wood Road and Wake Green Road, Moseley B13. Hall Green station is closest.

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