For a relatively small city, Newcastle is packed with things to see and do. Many of them are free, so you can have fun and save money.
Newcastle’s museums and galleries
Baltic contemporary art space gives you stunning rooftop views over the River Tyne. First built as a vast warehouse in the 1950s, it now holds exhibitions of works by the likes of Damien Hirst and Yoko Ono.
Children love the Science Maze at the Discovery Museum, where you can learn about Newcastle’s pioneering inventors, like Joseph Swan, the bright spark behind the light bulb. There’s also a fun section devoted to the city’s bygone fashion and music scenes.
Catch a free film show
Film buffs can enjoy a 1930s-style newsreel screening after touring Tyneside Cinema, a vintage art deco picture house.
If the sun is out, pull up a deckchair by Earl Grey’s Monument at the top of Grey Street, and sit back to enjoy some big-screen classics and blockbusters at Monument Movies.
Spend a day on the farm
Children can meet chinchillas, rabbits, pigs and sheep while wandering around Ouseburn Farm, a patch of fields and meadows only a few minutes’ walk from the River Tyne.
There are more animals, including alpacas and pot-bellied pigs, at Pets’ Corner in the nearby wooded valley of Jesmond Dene.
Outdoor sculptures
The Angel of the North, a spectacular steel sculpture by artist Antony Gormley, towers over the approach roads to Gateshead and Newcastle. It’s the height of four double-decker buses, with a wingspan almost as wide as a jumbo jet.
Walking along Newcastle Quayside you’ll discover many more sculptures, including a Blacksmith’s Needle and a River God.
Live music for free
There is live music playing somewhere in Newcastle every night of the week, and plenty of pubs and bars where you can hear it for free. Here’s a small selection:
- The Cumberland Arms in Byker is a family-friendly pub known for its real ale. There are folk and traditional music sessions most weekday evenings in the back bar.
- For rock and blues music, try The Tyne Bar on the banks of the River Ouseburn.
- The dog-friendly Brandling Villa in Gosforth has foot-stomping roadhouse blues bands.
