IHG Travel Blog

Discover Newcastle’s best sights and secrets

Newcastle

Small, friendly and easy to walk around, Newcastle has lots to see from a medieval castle to modern art galleries. But where are the best places to get that panoramic shot or bird’s-eye view?

“New Castle”

From the top of the Norman Castle Keep, you can see the world’s first road-and-rail bridge. Built in 1849, it was the scene of the red Jaguar car chase in the film “Get Carter”. Turn around and you’ll see a beautiful lantern tower on top of Newcastle’s St Nicholas Cathedral.

The Keep, incidentally, is built on the site of the wooden New Castle that gave the city its name.

Newcastle’s bridges

The best view of Newcastle’s seven bridges is from the Gateshead Millennium Bridge, made up of two slender arcs attached by thin steel strands. One arc soars into the sky while the other is the part you walk or cycle over.

Make sure you’re there when the bridge tilts open: 12 noon every day in summer, or whenever a tall boat passes underneath.

Best street view

Grey’s Monument towers like a mini Nelson’s Column at the top of Grey Street. If you stand beneath it, your eyes will take in the sweeping curve of the 19th-century street as it dips towards the river.

As you stroll down, check out the grand portico of the Edwardian Theatre Royal. Opposite is Central Arcade, with Art Nouveau wall tiles beneath a glass-vaulted roof.

The view from the Gateshead side

The Baltic contemporary art centre has a stunning rooftop view of Newcastle’s skyline. Look out for:

Drink in the view

For the city’s best sunset views, walk downstream along Newcastle Quayside, past the mouth of the Ouseburn, to a flight of steps. Climb them to the Free Trade Inn on St Lawrence Road, from where you’ll have an uninterrupted view over the river, bridges and city. As dusk falls, the Millennium Bridge lights up.

For more information on things to do, as well as places to stay in Newcastle, visit our destination guide.

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