Interested in visiting Newcastle for a few days but not sure what to see or what to do?
What to do in Newcastle - A 3 days Itinerary
Go with my Newcastle itinerary! The itinerary provides you with a day by day structure, recommendations for places to visit, tips on what to book in advance and where to stay.
The history of Newcastle dates back to a Roman settlement. The name derives much later from a castle built by Robert Curthose, William the Conqueror's son, in 1080. Part of this Castle still exists and you can visit it. Culture vultures are well served in the city: there are numerous museums and art galleries plus venues offering live entertainment. And for when you get hungry, Newcastle is filled with local and international modern restaurants offering Chinese, Italian, Turkish, Japanese, Indian, and Malaysian food - to name but a few.
Use my guide to discover the culture, heritage, historical landmarks and architecture that entice tourists to visit Newcastle every year. You may like to incorporate this itinerary with things to do in Newcastle.
Friday
Explore: After your breakfast walk to Newcastle University Quadrant Square where the Hatton Art Gallery is located. This art gallery is managed by the university and has interesting collections of art, especially the Merzbarn constructed by Kurt Schwitters.
Go to: Great North Museum, previously known as the Hancock, this museum is located on Barras Bridge and is not far from the Hatton Art Gallery. This museum has exhibits from Hadrian's Wall to Egyptian artefacts and mammals. The museum was established in 1884.
Admire and climb: After finishing at the museum, go to Grey's Monument. The monument is located near the Central Arcade. During Heritage Open Days you can climb the monument. If not open, you can still enjoy this stunning monument and nearby buildings.
Lunch at: Go to Cote Brasserie. The food here is great. The restaurant is located just outside Central Arcade. At lunch time the restaurant can be busy with customers. You may want to make a reservation first.
See: After finishing your lunch, go to the Laing Art Gallery which is located on New Bridge St and is approximately 5 to 10 minutes walk from Grey's Monument. The gallery was designed in the Baroque style with Art Nouveau elements. The gallery collection contains paintings, watercolours and decorative historical objects. There is also an interesting section detailing the development of the city through paintings and objects.
Go to: Next, head to the Centre for Life. It is located at Life Times Square which is a few minutes from Newcastle Central Station. This is where scientists, clinicians, educationists and science related researchers come together under one roof to promote the advancement of the life sciences. This is a place for all ages and you can learn from hands-on activities and have fun during your visit.
Study: If you have time, head to the Discovery Museum. It is located 10 minutes walk from the Centre for Life. It displays many exhibits of local history, including the ship Turbinia.
Dinner at: Go to Infusion 2018 restaurant. This restaurant is located on Strawberry Place, not far from St James Football Stadium. This is a Chinese restaurant and serves authentic Chinese food. Make a reservation first, usually the restaurant is busy during dinner time.
More reading // Discover Newcastle: Things to Do and See
Saturday
Explore: St Nicholas Cathedral is a small cathedral compared to others in England. Even though it is small, the cathedral offers you interesting features including stunning stained glass windows, beautiful floors and a stunning tower. You can climb the tower during Heritage Open Days but usually the tickets are sold out quickly.
Go to: Just a short walk from the cathedral is the Black Gate. This is the only part of the castle's outer section to have survived so intact. It is an interesting structure and definitely worth a visit. The gate was added to Newcastle Castle between 1247 and 1250. By the early of the 19th century, the Black Gate had become a slum tenement, housing up to sixty people.
Learn at: After finishing at the Black Gate, then go to Castle Keel. This is where Newcastle got its name, "New Castle". Newcastle Castle is a medieval fortification and was built by Robert Curthose. You can explore the four floors of this castle. Occupied for nearly 2000 years, the area is a naturally defensible site with steep sides overlooking and running down to the River Tyne.
Lunch at: Have your lunch at the French Quarter. Naturally it serves French food and is highly recommended. The restaurant is under the train bridge arch and is less than five minutes walk from the castle.
Take a stroll: After your lunch go down to Quayside from Castle Stairs. You can have beautiful views towards the Quayside and Gateshead. Quayside is one of the most popular spots in the city. It has cafes, restaurants, fine dining restaurants, the bridges, art galleries and the Tyne River itself. On the weekend, there is a market on the Newcastle side of the Quayside selling a wide range of things from food to clothes to paintings and handmade soaps.
Dinner in: After exploring all day, have your dinner at the Broad Chare. The food is good and the ambiance is good too. Do try their Geordie tapas which is quite interesting.
More reading // A Day Trip to Newcastle Itinerary
Sunday
Join a tour: Start your third day by walking or taking a bus to Ouseburn Valley. There are a few things you can do here e.g. join the Victorian Tunnel tour, visit the farm gardens or have your morning coffee at one of the cafes.
Visit and see: Next is to walk up to the Biscuit Factory from Ouseburn. The Biscuit Factory is located in Shieldfield. This is the UK's largest independent commercial art gallery. It is housed in a former biscuit factory which has been transformed into a beautiful open plan gallery. It showcases two floors of contemporary fine art, craft & design.
Lunch at: You can have your lunch at Biscuit Factory cafe called The Factory Kitchen Cafe. The food here is great and good for the afternoon too. If you are wanting something more substantial, there is a fine dining restaurant available too. Best to check in advance its opening times.
A day trip to: End your day by going to Tynemouth. It is located on the coast and is a 20 minutes train ride from Newcastle city centre. You can take the Metro train from Monument Station to Tynemouth Station. There are a few things you can do here e.g. walk on the promenade/beaches, walk to the Tynemouth Pier and Tynemouth Priory and Castle, or just look around the local shops and galleries.
Dinner at: Before heading back to Newcastle, maybe go to The Gibraltar Rock public house. If you are here at lunchtime, I suggest trying their delicious carvery lunch. The rooms offer amazing views towards Tynemouth Priory and Castle and over the sea.
More reading // 20 Wonderful Things to Do in Newcastle
Practical Information
Well prepared pre-planning and research will help make your travel plans easy. It also helps you to understand what you are looking for and what to do in each location. Here is the information I've prepared and that you might want to consider and use when planning your own trip to Newcastle upon Tyne.
Location of Newcastle
Newcastle is located in North East England on the northwestern bank of the River Tyne. It is 446 km north of London and 166 km south of Edinburgh.
Places to stay
There is a wide range of hotels in the city. I recommend that you do careful research before deciding on where to stay. Here are a few of the hotels that are located in the city and that you may like to check before travelling to Newcastle upon Tyne. Maldron Hotel, The Vermont Hotel and Hampton by Hilton are some of the options that you can find in Newcastle
Places to eat
There are hundreds of places to eat in the city from very traditional English restaurants to Asian restaurants. We have had lunch or dinner at the following restaurants and can recommend them.
Infusion 2018, Red Mezze, Bar Loco, Chilli Padi, the French Quarter, Zizzi, Kimchi Planet, Olive and Bean, Les Petits Choux, The Factory Cafe, the Blake's Coffee House, Tiny Tiny, Cotè Brasserie, Snackwallah, Siam Supreme, My Delhi, the Earl of Pitt Street, Mason + Rye, are highly recommended.
Getting to Newcastle
There are a few options that you can choose to get to Newcastle. It depends on where you are located. Here are the main choices:
By flight. Newcastle upon Tyne is well connected via air and land transportations. Newcastle International Airport is the main airport in North East England. Emirates Airlines fly direct to Dubai; KLM fly direct to Amsterdam; British Airways and Lufthansa are full service airlines that fly to a wide range of major cities. Jet2, Ryanair, Easyjet, Logan Air and Flybe are budget airlines that connect Newcastle to different cities in the UK and in Europe. Newcastle International Airport has flights to and from more than 80 destinations.
Tips | Take the local train, the Metro, from the airport to Newcastle city centre. It only takes about 30 minutes and the cost is much less compared to an airport taxi or Uber.
By train. Newcastle Railway Station is a main intercity station. If your are traveling by train from other European countries via Eurostar, the city is well connected by train to London, with a journey time of about 3.5 hours. The journey time north to Edinburgh is just over 1.5 hours. Newcastle is also well connected to other cities in the north by train, such as York, Leeds, Manchester and Liverpool.
By cruise. A mini cruise service from Ijmuiden port in Amsterdam to Newcastle is operated by DFDS Seaways. The cruise operates 7 times a week if you prefer to take the cruise between Newcastle and Amsterdam.
Getting around Newcastle
Getting around Newcastle is very easy, making the city and surrounding areas very accessible by public transport.
Metro | The trains run from around 5am to 11.57pm for the Monument line and from around 5.30am to 11.09pm for the Airport line. You must buy your ticket in advance of any journey. Many stations on the Metro service, especially in the city centre, have ticket controlled access and exit barriers.
Bus | Stagecoach and Arriva are the two main bus service providers in the city. Buses run from around 6am to midnight. You should check each of the bus providers online because different locations and days have different start and end times. Tickets can be purchased on boarding the bus. Some operators have online websites and tickets can be bought in advance on these. Increasingly, you can pay for your ticket by credit card even as you are boarding the bus. Always check in advance. Remember too that some discount tickets such as dayrovers might only be available for certain hours.
Hop on hop off bus service | The tour bus starts at Berwick Street, Central Station and goes to East Quayside. In total there are eighteen stops on the tour and you can join at any of the stops. In winter months, the tour only operates on Saturdays and Sundays.
Best time to visit Newcastle
You can visit Newcastle any time of the year based on your own preferences. Different months and seasons will offer you different experiences but there are some events that are fixed every year. For example, in September there is the Great North Run and Heritage Open Day weekends; Newcastle MELA is held in August; at the end of June is one of the biggest fun fairs in Europe -The Hoppings; and in December there is a Christmas Market held around the central area of the city.
Probably, the end of Spring, or Summer or early autumn are the best times to visit Newcastle. This is when the days are long and the weather is good to wander around the city. Summer is usually the busiest month when the schools and universities have their long breaks.
How long to spend in Newcastle
Newcastle is a city that you can visit for a day or up to several days. It really depends on what you want to see and do and also whether Newcastle is your travel base. If the city is your travel base, you could explore the city over a minimum of two days and visit nearby places, villages and towns e.g. Hexham, and Corbridge, and cities e.g. Durham, Sunderland, York or Edinburgh.
In the city itself there are plenty of things to do from its museums, art galleries and public parks to shopping and eating out at one of the many restaurants.
What to Wear
Depends on which season or month that you are travelling to the city. T-shirts and jeans can be worn during the summer time. In summer the temperature can be up to 24°C.
Don't forget to bring along an umbrella with you in case of rain. A light jacket to wear in spring and autumn should be considered. In winter bring along your warm jacket/coat, gloves and hats and also boots to get ready for snow.
Structured itinerary for three days in Newcastle
Three full days in Newcastle upon Tyne is a perfect amount of time to explore the city and see many of the stunning sights which it has to offer. The real joy of travelling in this city is simply wandering around and stopping at one of the cafes for morning coffee or afternoon tea.
The first day of this itinerary focuses on the city centre areas; the second day focuses on the Quayside; and day three takes in visits to the Ouseburn Valley and Tynemouth. If you visit the sights on foot you will pass lots of amazing places. The itinerary is only my suggestion and of course you might like to stop off at other places before going to the recommended destination.
The aim of this Newcastle itinerary is to give an overview of the tourist highlights and how to visit them leisurely. You can squeeze as many as activities you want to do in a day but I think this itinerary gives just the right number of activities you can do in a day.
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