Hotels near The NEC - National Exhibition Centre

The busiest exhibition centre in Europe, the NEC opens its doors to over 4 million people every year. The NEC began hosting exhibitions in 1976, and since then has increased in size to 21 interconnecting halls providing a staggering 200,000 square metres of exhibition space. The National Exhibition Centre (NEC) site covers some 650 acres, making it the UK's largest exhibition centre. The centre is located 8 miles to the east of central Birmingham.

The NEC stages around 160 trade and public events each year including Clothes Show Live, Gardeners World, Grand Designs, Crufts and IPEX.

Traveling to the NEC is convenient by car, rail or plane. By car, the NEC is just off the M42 or M6 which are accessible from the M1, M5, M6 Toll road, M6 and M40. The NEC is clearly signposted from the motorways. The National Exhibition Centre have an excellent map on their website which clearly shows the motorway network, car parks and exhibition halls.

Car parks at the NEC are plentiful and particularly well managed, with traffic officers guiding you to one of the 26,000 spaces at the appropriate car park for your event, from where you can either walk or catch one of the shuttle buses to the exhibition halls. Charges for parking depend upon the exhibition you're attending, if not free, then the cost is ﾣ8 per car, which usually includes the shuttle.

There are designated spaces for disabled drivers and parking is free for vehicles displaying a blue badge.

A larger map of the NEC site shows the locations of the exhibition halls, LG Arena, Birmingham International Rail Station, Birmingham International Airport, the car parks, M42 motorway, onsite roads, car parks and the 5 onsite hotels.

Reaching the NEC by train could not be easier. Birmingham International Rail Station is on the west side of the exhibition complex, between the NEC and Birmingham Airport. Access to the NEC from the station is via a covered bridge. For visitors whose trains take them to New Street Station, the journey to Birmingham International takes 10 to 15 minutes.

As previously mentioned, Birmingham International Airport is just the other side of the Rail Station, and visitors arriving by air can take advantage of the free Air-Rail link which can be reached from the upper level of Terminal 1, taking you to the Rail Station in just 90 seconds, and running at 2 minute intervals.