Birmingham named in world's top 10 cities

Birmingham has been named as one of the ten best cities in the world, according to the Rough Guide's latest rankings.

England's second city came 9th in the travel publisher's top 10, behind the likes of Belgrade and Hamburg.

The West Midlands city was praised for its "creative hotspots" in areas such as Digbeth, "where vintage shops and street food stalls have begun to appear in and around the old Victorian buildings".

"Head to the old Bird’s Custard Factory for vintage kilo sales and live music performances," it also suggested.

The Guide said Birmingham New Street's planned reopening in 2015 made the coming year "the ideal time to make a trip".

Johannesburg, South Africa's largest city, came top of the guide's ranking.

Here are the Rough Guide's top ten cities in full: