England
Villa Park
Home of Aston Villa in Birmingham: nominal capacity 42,918, opened 1897, in the Aston district.
Birmingham42,918
Opened 1897Football grounds in Birmingham
Birmingham is England's second city by population and the home of Villa Park, a ground with more FA Cup semi-final history than any other outside London.
Getting around
Transport in Birmingham
- West Midlands Railway — Villa Park station is beside the ground on the cross-city and Walsall lines.
- West Midlands Railway — Witton station is a second rail stop within a few minutes' walk.
- Birmingham New Street is the main rail hub, about ten minutes from Villa Park by train.
Planning
A football weekend in Birmingham
With one ground in this guide, Birmingham suits a weekend built around a single fixture, with the city centre and its canals filling the rest of the time.
Whichever ground you choose, the pattern of the day is the same: travel in with the crowd, arrive at the turnstiles about an hour before kick-off, and leave the return journey until the first surge has cleared. In Birmingham that advice matters most at the nearest station to the ground, where the queue builds within minutes of the final whistle.
Before and after
Where supporters gather in Birmingham
City centre
The main pre-match hub, a short train ride from the ground.
Aston and Witton
The immediate neighbourhood, with local pubs on the approach roads.
Jewellery Quarter
A characterful alternative quarter with bars, a short hop by train.