Top 5 Newcastle Neighborhoods Every Tourist Should Visit

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1. The City Center

The vast majority of the time, this neighborhood (of course!) is where you should stay.

Quite where the exact city center begins and ends isn’t really clear, but the vague shared understanding is that it runs for approximately 1 mile (1.6km)… from around the Haymarket bus station, to around the city’s train station. More or less.

Anyway, no matter where the central part begins and ends, Newcastle is small… so staying in this neighborhood is always a good idea. From the center, you can easily explore the heart of the city (duh!), but you can also swiftly hop to other Newcastle regions you’ll want to see.

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Newcastle doesn’t have a huge number of traditional tourist attractions. But most of those it does have are located here (or easy to access from here). Even better, this area is the best base for eating, drinking, and soaking up the city’s endearing atmosphere.

Some of the top attractions in Newcastle’s city center include:

• Grey Street: architecturally, this is the prettiest part of the city, and it’s stuffed with Georgian and neoclassical buildings. It runs down to the Quayside neighborhood (more on that later), and features endless places to eat, drink, and party.
• The Hancock Museum: also known as the ‘Great North Museum,’ this is one of the city’s best-loved cultural venues. It has exhibits on Egyptians, dinosaurs, animals, science, and more… and a whole bunch of hands-on interactive stuff.
• St. James’ Park: if you’re even remotely interested in sport, make sure you head here. One of the biggest football (stop calling it ‘soccer’) stadiums in the UK, it’s the iconic and adored home of Newcastle United. On a matchday, the atmosphere is unrivaled. If you’re particularly interested, you can get a tour of the stadium.
• The Life Science Center: one of the most innovative museums I’ve ever visited (and this is coming from a man who hates museums), The Life Center has previously featured a retro video game exhibition, a 4D motion ride, and the mega-famous Body Worlds. It also has excellent interactive games, endless family fun, and an outdoor winter ice rink.
• Newcastle castle: Newcastle is (unsurprisingly) named after the castle sitting in its center. It offers historical insights, grisly war tales, immersive experiences, and great views over the River Tyne. You can easily and quickly book a ticket here.
• Chinatown: one of the few Chinatowns in the UK, this compact district has a huge number of cafes, restaurants, bakeries, and grocery stores. My favorite hangouts here are Breadpoint (a varied low-cost bakery), and equally-informal Thai House Cafe.
• Leazes Park, Exhibition Park, and the Town Moor: Newcastle has lots of green spaces. Leazes Park and Exhibition Park offer ducks, ponds, kid-friendly stuff, and endless places to picnic. The Town Moor (around half the size of New York’s Central Park!) is huge, featuring mini hills, remote spaces, and a whole load of grazing cows.
• The Grainger Market: I love this place. Home to hundreds of local traders and small businesses, it opened up back in 1835—and it’s been offering independent shopping opportunities ever since. Expect a whole bunch of grocers, butchers, fishmongers, book stalls, and thrift shops… and dozens of street-food-style chow-down spots.

Where to Stay in Newcastle’s City Center

• County Hotel: elegant and upmarket, this is always a popular choice for tourists seeking a classy stay. It sits right beside the train station, and the rooms are super-cozy.
• Sleeperz Hotel: perched at the southern side of the city, Sleeperz Hotel is outrageously excellent for a budget hotel. Great location, even better breakfasts, and modern decor.

Best Places to Eat and Drink in Newcastle’s City Center

• Dabbawal: this city-center munch-fest offers some of the best Indian food I’ve ever eaten (and Indian food is my favorite food). It’s street-food-style, so expect okra fries, samosa chaat, tandoori chicken, creamy lentils, and plenty more snacks and plates.
• The Grainger Market: I’ve already mentioned this place—but if you’re not eating here, you’re doing Newcastle wrong. You have a huge number of affordable and informal eateries to choose from, but my favorites are Nan Bei, Acropolis, and King Baby Bagels.
• Lezzet: this place serves up excellent and unpretentious servings of no-frills Turkish food. It’s affordable, it’s welcoming, and the portions are massive. You’ll always get friendly and informal service, and you’ll always leave with a smile on your face.

For loads more drool-worthy eats in and around the city, check out our list of the best restaurants in Newcastle.

Things to Be Aware of in Newcastle’s City Center

• If you only want to hang out around the city center, you’ll never need to use public transport. You can walk from one end of Newcastle’s center to the other within around 15 minutes. And the other parts of the city are hardly any further.
• Newcastle is well-known in the UK for its anything-goes nightlife scene. If you’re here on a weekend, you’ll see lots of vomit-coated burger-clutching drinkers, and it might be massively noisy. Just letting you know, before you make concrete plans.
• You’ll probably have no idea what anyone’s talking about. The Newcastle accent is known for being England’s most difficult-to-understand. So both in the center and on the outskirts, expect to repeatedly ask people what on earth they’re talking about.

Recommended Tours for Newcastle’s City Center

• Walking Tour: a standard-style walking tour, but executed excellently. You’ll hit the city center and the Quayside, and you’ll learn about history, heritage, people and places.
• Dark Secrets and Criminals Walking Tour: if you’re searching for something a little different, this spooky spectacular has lots of murderous and mysterious adventures.
• True Crime Guided Tour: this is a similar experience to the above—but a little more affordable, and a little more popular.

2. The Quayside

If you wander south through the center of the city, you’ll hit the place us locals know as ‘The Quayside.’

Newcastle (like most big cities) sits on a river. And the area sitting on the central part of that river (the River Tyne, in case you’re curious) is the Quayside.

On sunny summer days (which, as you probably know, are pretty rare here), this is the most popular part of the city. People come here to walk, cycle, lazily lie around, sip on a drink, and soak up the riverside atmosphere.

Some of the city’s most well-known and famous sites are found here. They include:

• The Tyne River: the river running through Newcastle is deeply tied to the city. The old story goes that, in order to be a true Geordie (that’s a person from Newcastle), you must have been born within stone-throwing distance of the central part of the river. I wasn’t.
• All the bridges: there are 7 bridges running over the central part of the Tyne. The most well-known are the Millenium Bridge (which tilts up and down to let ships pass through), the Swing Bridge (which swings around for exactly the same purpose) and the eponymous and iconic Tyne Bridge.
• The Baltic: this art gallery is actually in Gateshead, Newcastle’s neighboring city (more on that place later). But no matter which city it technically sits in, it’s perched right over the river. The region’s biggest (and best) modern art gallery, it offers towering views, lots of weird and wacky exhibitions, and free entry.
• The Sage: also technically sitting in Gateshead (and also sitting right on the river), the beetle-shaped Sage is one of the region’s most famous music venues. Famed for its acoustics, it hosts classical concerts, folk music, and some old-school big names.
• The Quayside Sunday market: I usually hate markets (well, apart from food markets), but even I love this place. A time-tested legend of the city, it features local people selling arts, crafts, second-hand stuff, rarities, oddities, and bizarre treasures and trinkets.
• Sitting around and doing nothing: if it’s a sunny day, just sitting on the Quayside can be lovely. You’ll find lots of people, lots of energy, occasional temporary seating, and endless places to grab a drink and some food. And if you want to hit a bike ride on a nice day, the riverside is the perfect place to get started. Here are the best restaurants on Newcastle’s Quayside.

2 Accommodation Options in the Quayside

• The Vermont ApartHotel: if you want self-catering without having to sacrifice class or elegance, you’ll love these sleek apartments. Lots of monochrome, leather, and luxury.
• Copthorne Hotel: affordable and comfortable, the riverside Copthorne sits right on the banks of the Tyne, and has clean and functional rooms. Relatively affordable for this part of the city.

Best Places to Eat and Drink in the Quayside

• House of Tides: the only Michelin-starred restaurant in Newcastle, House of Tides is your best stop for something special. The food is high-quality, but the venue is unpretentious and rugged. Expect tasting menus and lots of hyper-local focus.
• The Broad Chare: a real traditional-style British inn, The Broad Chare does pub food… but it does it properly. Expect fish and chips, mince and dumplings, pork pies, lots more stodgy-but-tasty stuff, and the best scotch eggs you’ve ever eaten.
• Pitcher and Piano: the food and drink here is pretty good, but people really visit the Pitcher and Piano for the view. Sitting right on the banks of the busy part of the Tyne, this place is brilliant on a sunny summer day.

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Things to Be Aware of in the Quayside

• Venues here are typically a little more expensive than they are in other parts of the city. If you’re on a budget, you’ll want to head elsewhere.
• On Sundays, the outdoor market here dominates this area. So if you’re not a fan of busy bustle, you might not want to overnight here on the weekend.
• To reach the city center (on foot) from the Quayside, you need to walk uphill. If you’re not very fit or mobile or whatever, that might be something you need to consider.
• The Quayside in the summer feels very different to the Quayside in the winter. During the city’s colder months (and shorter days), I don’t recommend spending much time here.

Recommended Tours for the Quayside

• Walking Tour: we’ve already mentioned this tour above. It brings you to both the Quayside and the city center, giving you loads of quick highlights and info.
• Vera Half Day TV Locations Tour of Newcastle: covering the city center, the Quayside, Whitley Bay and more, this tour is a brilliant way to tick off loads of highlights and scenic spots in a unique and unusual way.
• Grainger Town & the Quayside Street Food Tour: bringing you to both the Quayside and the city center, this taste-packed tour is crammed with meals and morsels to shove in your big fat mouth. For foodies, I massively recommend it.

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3. The Ouseburn

Most of the city’s hipsters (I’m an intolerable and irritating one of them too) will tell you this is the best part of Newcastle. And they’re absolutely correct.

Offering a community spirit, endless (and interesting) independent venues, a city-center farm(!), and an arty-but-unpretentious vibe, the Ouseburn in some ways feels like a little village of its own. It’s pretty different to the rest of Newcastle, but it’s just as friendly and welcoming.

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Once an industrial part of the city, it’s now a quirky creative hub with incredible food, many city-led venues and projects, and some of the best pubs on the planet (yeah, I’m probably a bit biased). You can’t visit this area without falling in love with it.

And on top of all that good stuff, it’s also a great area for staying with kids. It has a huge number of family-friendly attractions and events, it’s super safe, and it feels comfy, cozy and fun. If I was traveling with children, this is undoubtedly where I’d be staying.

Some of the best things to do in the Ouseburn include:

• Seven Stories: the best kid-friendly attraction in the whole of the city, Seven Stories is the UK’s National Center for Children’s Books. It features seven stories (see the pun?) of interactive experiences, costume characters, and storytelling sessions. And it’s free!
• Ouseburn Farm: tourist attractions don’t get any more wholesome than this. A community-managed charity in the middle of the Ouseburn, the farm is home to cows, pigs, sheep, rodents, reptiles, ducks, and more. You can feed and touch them all!
• The Cluny: if you like live music, head here. There’s a firm focus on emerging artists and local talent, and a very welcoming atmosphere. They have a varied calendar of events, and ticket prices are always very affordable.
• All the pubs: when most locals think of the Ouseburn, they just think of pubs. Me and many other Geordies have spent loads of time just crawling from pub to pub in the area. Neighborhood highlights include The Free Trade, Tyne Bar, and Brinkburn St Brewery.
• The Cycle Hub: this place is primarily a bike rental shop and a bike repair shop (perfect if you fancy a bike ride, especially since there are endless routes running from here). But it also has a great riverside location, an informal cafe, and excellent cycling advice. It doesn’t matter whether or not you’re into bikes—you should head here anyway.

Here’s even more information on all the best things to do in the Ouseburn.

2 Accommodation Options in the Ouseburn

• Hotel du Vin: for luxury, you won’t find anything better than this. It offers an on-site bistro, a hilltop location, and outrageously comfortable beds (with Egyptian cotton!).
• Alexander Apartments Riverside: These self-catering apartments are convenient and well-located, and they’re great if you’re searching for a homely base.

Best Places to Eat and Drink in the Ouseburn

• Ernest: the most famous restaurant in the Ouseburn, this place serves up some of the best brunch fayre you’ve ever eaten. It also offers late-night DJ sessions, a good range of interesting drinks, and a packed calendar of events.
• Tyne Bar: one of the best pubs in Newcastle, the Tyne Bar has a huge drinks selection (much of it local), a great outdoor seating area, outrageously affordable eats, and occasional live music. They also offer free food on Tuesdays (if you spend £7 on drinks).
• The Tanners Arms: for the city’s best Sunday roast, head here. The place is affordable, welcoming, informal, and very family-friendly. It’s a firm local favorite, and you’ll see why.
• The Cumberland Arms: drinking here feels like sitting inside someone’s living room, in the best possible way. A knockabout no-frills venue, they have a stacked calendar of very unusual events, and lots of great local drinks. It’s popular with the city’s arty crowd.

For loads more drool-worthy eats in and around the city, check out our list of the best restaurants in Newcastle.

For much more information, check out our guides to the best restaurants in the Ouseburn, and the best cafes and coffee shops in the Ouseburn.

Things to Be Aware of in the Ouseburn

• It only takes 20 minutes or so to walk from the central part of the Ouseburn to the central part of Newcastle’s city center. But if you don’t like walking, know this: Ouseburn’s transport connections are a little irregular (though reliable and well-connected). Your best bets are usually the Q2 bus, and the Metros departing from Manors Metro Station.
• There aren’t a huge number of accommodation options in the Ouseburn. So you might have to splash some cash to stay here. Alternatively, you can just stay on or around the Quayside, which is only a ten-minute walk from the area.

Recommended Tours for the Ouseburn

• Victoria Tunnel Tours: the atmospheric and historic Victoria Tunnel is one of the best tourist attractions in Newcastle. Once a wagonway, an air raid shelter, and a mushroom farm, you can only visit on a dimly-lit and immersive guided tour. Here’s much more information on Newcastle’s Victoria Tunnel—I highly recommend seeing it.
• Ouseburn Walking Tour: these walking tours are specifically focused on the Ouseburn neighborhood. You’ll learn about history, heritage, people, the city’s industrial past, and recent regeneration. An excellent insight into an excellent area.

4. Tynemouth and Whitley Bay

East of Newcastle, you have one of the most underrated shorelines in all of England.

There’s plenty to love about it: beautiful beaches, pockets of peace, charming towns, plentiful (and tasty!) fish and chips, and easy access from Newcastle via reliable and swift public transport.

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The two main towns here are… as you’ve probably worked out… Tynemouth and Whitley Bay. And sandwiched between them, you also have the much-smaller town of Cullercoats. Most locals will tell you this whole coastal region is one of the best areas near Newcastle (and as one of them, I agree).

Before we get going with this section, here’s an important note: this coastal area isn’t at all far from Newcastle (via some public transport, it’s only around 15 minutes away). But it’s not actually in Newcastle, just in case that’s important to you.

If you stay here, there’s a whole load of stuff to enjoy. Highlights include:

• Tynemouth Priory: once one of the most important priories in the UK, this ruinous relic is packed with history and heritage, and it offers lovely views of the coast. It’s right in the center of Tynemouth, and it’s a popular family day out.
• Getting all wet and wild: obviously, because the sea is here, you can swim here. Bet you couldn’t have worked that out for yourself. But you can also tackle surfing, paddleboarding, coastal runs, and some of my favorite bike rides. Which brings us to…
• Cycling: for cycling in and around Newcastle, this is the best base you’ll find. The NCN1 (National Cycle Network route 1) runs right along the coast (and right along this area), and stretches for a massive 1,264 miles (2,034km). If you have time, I can’t recommend the Coast and Castles bike ride enough. I love it. You can also easily cycle to Newcastle from both Tynemouth and Whitley Bay.
• Play some games: Whitley Bay is home to lots of family-friendly arcade-style amusement games. They’re one of the best children’s attractions in the region—I used to love these back when I was a kid.
• Tynemouth Market: every Saturday and Sunday, Tynemouth Metro Station plays host to Tynemouth Market, a hodgepodge collection of things both bizarre and banal. If you like markets, I guarantee you’ll love it. It’s friendly and fun, and places a focus on locals.
• Heading north: the further north you go from here, the better the beaches get. Not too far away, you’ll find places like Cresswell, Newbiggin, Craster, Alnmouth and Amble. All offer lovely settlements, and even-lovelier coasts.

2 Accommodation Options in Tynemouth and Whitley Bay

• The Metropolitan: a plush 4-star bed and breakfast in Whitley Bay, this place is only a 3-minute walk to the coast, and it’s stylish and modern. The food is fantastic.
• Seafront Apartments: Sitting in Cullercoats (the small underrated bay-backed town between Tynemouth and Whitley Bay), these apartments are basic but clean. They offer a good location, reasonable prices, and a good solution for anyone seeking self-catering.

Best Places to Eat and Drink in Tynemouth and Whitley Bay

• Surf Cafe: all informal and friendly, everyone loves the Surf Cafe. It offers local food, local drinks, local live music, and a welcoming atmosphere. It’s perfect.
• Riley’s Fish Shack: sitting right on the sands of one of Tynemouth’s beaches, Riley’s Fish Shack serves up inventive but unpretentious seafood. You won’t find boring here; instead, you’ll find ever-changing offerings such as chargrilled lobsters, Craster kippers, cured treats, interesting fishcakes, and seafood-based curries. It’s food-truck-style.
• Spanish City: a multi-purpose venue right on Whitley Bay’s coast, Spanish City is home to many great spots. Try The Split Chimp, Valerie’s Tearoom, 1910 Steak & Seafood, and Trenchers (don’t cry about it, but I sometimes go to Trenchers with my grandparents. How cute).
• Di Meo’s: this place might just offer the best ice cream you’ve ever eaten. Sitting very close to the coast (and very close to Spanish City), the regularly-award-winning eatery has been churning out creamy goodness since back in 2001. Adults love it, kids love it, everyone loves it. The nutty flavors are the best ones.

Things to Be Aware of in Tynemouth and Whitley Bay

• You probably don’t want to stay here in winter. It’s a beautiful place, but northern English coastlines can be a bit bleak and depressing in colder months (especially because of the super-short days).
• If you want to overnight in this neighborhood, but still spend lots of time in Newcastle, you should stay close to one of the Metro stations in the area (Tynemouth, Whitley Bay and Cullercoats all have their own Metro stations). But if you’d rather spend most of your time close to the coast, you don’t need to worry so much about location.

Recommended Tours for Tynemouth and Whitley Bay

5. Gateshead

To round things off, here’s a slightly leftfield choice for you.

If you wander down to the Quayside part of Newcastle, you’ll (as we’ve covered) see the River Tyne.

When you look at the opposite banks of the River Tyne, you’re no longer looking at Newcastle. Instead, you’re looking at Gateshead, which is a city of its own.

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It’s less famous than Newcastle, but it’s a good option for cultural venues. Highlights include The Baltic (the big art gallery we’ve already mentioned), The Sage (the big music venue we’ve already mentioned), and the Angel of the North (a massive mega-famous structure measuring in at 75 meters (246 feet).

Gateshead is also a good choice if you’re traveling with kids. From here, you have easy access to the center of Newcastle (just wander along any of the bridges!), and all the kid-friendly stuff we’ve already brought you.

But in Gateshead, you’re also close to way more kid-friendly stuff.

Family-friendly highlights include the Metrocenter (one of the biggest indoor shopping malls in the UK, and featuring bowling, arcades, a cinema, and chain restaurants), Beamish Museum (a so-called ‘living museum’ with loads of themed villages, interactive exhibits, and costume characters), and all the family-friendly fun of shoreside South Shields.

And last of all, it’s a little more affordable than Newcastle. So you should be able to find cheaper eats, drinks, and accommodations.

2 Accommodation Options in Gateshead

• Holiday Inn Express Metro Centre: a great budget option, this version of the reliable chain is right beside the Metro Center. It’s comfortable and quiet, and it’s easy to reach central Newcastle from here.
• Oakstays Gateshead Quayside: right beside the river, and close to most of the famous Gateshead attractions, these self-catering apartments are comfortable and cozy. They’re a lovely balance between lively and relaxed.

Best Places to Eat and Drink in Gateshead

• By The River Brewing Company: hugely popular in summer, this outdoor venue sits right on the banks of the river. It offers great views, great drinks, an always-friendly atmosphere, and lots of casual food trucks churning out lip-smacking food.
• The Schooner: these guys call themselves a “pretty cool independent freehouse,” and I don’t think I could describe this pub any better. Expect a wide range of local drinks, a load of dogs, and some excellent live music.
• Raval Indian: a lot classier than most other Indian joints in the region, The Raval offers contemporary food in a contemporary setting. The team mix classic Indian flavors with some British-fusion flair. It’s genuinely interesting fayre.
• The Staiths Cafe: perched right over the river, I love this place. It has an industrial atmosphere, an unpretentious attitude to elevating typical cafe-style food, and a dog-friendly vibe. Highly recommended.

Things to Be Aware of in Gateshead

• Gateshead is a little less affluent than Newcastle (not that Newcastle is particularly affluent). Because of that, some of its neighborhoods can be a little rough. I’ve never personally experienced any problems—but if you’re one of those people who’s unnecessarily terrified of everything, that might be useful information for you.
• Gateshead is bigger than most people realize. So if you’re staying here to access Newcastle, you have two logical options—either stay close to Newcastle, or stay close to one of Gateshead’s Metro stations.

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Neighborhoods to Avoid in Newcastle & Areas to Avoid in Newcastle

Like in any city, some parts of Newcastle can be a little unsafe or intimidating or whatever.

That said, Newcastle is small and friendly, and it therefore doesn’t have many areas to avoid. And any of the don’t-visit areas are outside the tourist sprawl, so you’ll rarely stumble through them.

Anyway, some (unnecessarily-scared) people will tell you to stay away from Byker (which borders Ouseburn), Meadow Well (which is part of North Shields, and sits between Tynemouth and the city center), and Bensham (which is actually in Gateshead). But I’ve lived in all three of those places, and I’m not dead.

So yep, you’ll probably want to avoid those places – but, for the most part, they’re not as bad as people like to pretend. So my main advice is: don’t worry.

How to Get Around Newcastle

One of the best things about Newcastle is its compact size.

It’s one of the smallest major cities in England, and all of its central neighborhoods are very close to one another (and ridiculously easy to reach from one another). Even places like Tynemouth and Whitley Bay (and some parts of southern Northumberland) are easy to reach from central Newcastle.

The best and simplest way to get around Newcastle (and many of its surroundings) is by using the Metro, an easy-to-navigate public transport system that runs both overground and underground. The Metro runs regularly, and it has 60 stations.

Other getting-around options include lots of buses, and a good train network. And on top of all that, you can easily explore the entirety of the city center on nothing but your two little feet.

I might be a bit biased, but I genuinely don’t know many English cities that are this quick and easy to navigate.

Events in Newcastle

Newcastle is a lovely little cultural hub, and it always offers loads of events and annual attractions. You’ll find a wide range of unique and varied events every weekend (and on many weekdays).

Here’s a full (and regularly-updated) calendar of all the various options, but some of the city’s best annual events include:

• The Grey Street Christmas Markets: one of the best Christmas markets in North East England (and one of the best Christmas markets in the UK!), these chalet-style stalls offer local food, local crafts, and an outrageously-welcoming atmosphere.
• The Hoppings: this is truly unique. Europe’s largest funfair, this temporary theme park has been serving up family fun since 1882. It descends upon Newcastle in June, and offers more than 400 rides, stalls, and attractions.
• This is Tomorrow: the biggest music festival in north east England, this massive tune-fest is set in the city-center space of Exhibition Park. Previous big names have included Noel Gallagher, Foals, Lewis Capaldi, Sam Fender, and Nadine Shah.
• Lindisfarne Music Festival: another music festival, but much more rural and remote. Sitting beside the strange shores of so-called ‘Holy Island,’ this festival offers eclectic music, bonkers bohemians, and a whole load of strange attractions. Recommended!

And some of the city’s best venues for finding events are:

• The Cumberland Arms: this homely place is always welcoming and alluring, and visiting feels like going to see an old friend. Some event highlights include silent discos, Christmas carols, around-the-piano songs, and improv nights, and open-mics.
• The Stand: Newcastle’s premier comedy club plays host to a huge number of big names. It also sits right in the heart of the city, and it’s surrounded by great pubs (for a pre-show slurp). If you like comedy, it’s genuinely mustn’t-miss.
• Utilita Arena: once known as (and still sometimes known as) ‘The Metro Arena,’ this is the biggest stadium-style venue in Newcastle. If it’s comedy or music with a big name, you’ll probably find it here.

Newcastle Neighborhoods Guide: Frequently Asked Questions