The city of Newcastle in North East England has attracted plaudit after plaudit over the years – and once you’ve paid a visit, you’ll see why. The travel guidebook publisher Rough Guides has even named it one of the must-visit destinations for travellers, as The Independent reported.
If you haven’t yet pencilled a Newcastle visit into your schedule, you’re missing out – and here’s why.
Newcastle eats, drinks and breathes football
If you love ‘The Beautiful Game’, there are few better places to enjoy it than St James’ Park, the home ground of Newcastle United Football Club.
On a weekend when the club is playing there, over 50,000 dedicated fans visit, says Culture Trip. With the club currently in the Premier League, St James’ Park is a great place to see many of the world’s greatest footballers in action.
The city has plenty of stunning architecture
You’ll see one example of that – the Tyne Bridge – as you enter the city from the south, while Newcastle is also home to a 12th-century castle from which the city takes its name.
You see, relatively, the castle isn’t as “old” as you might have thought, given that the city’s origins go back to Roman times when Newcastle was called Pons Aelius, as the Leave Your Daily Hell website explains.
Newcastle is abundant in museums and galleries
Would you like further insight into the city’s history, as you can get at the Discovery Museum and the Great North Museum: Hancock? Alternatively, you might prefer to drop by the Laing Art Gallery if you fancy sampling art of widespread renown. It’s all possible in this Tyneside city.
The city is a hub of vibrant nightlife
We wouldn’t know where to start with listing glowing examples of Newcastle’s many pubs, bars and clubs. However, you could benefit from asking the locals for some pointers. They might direct you towards Digital or live music venue the Cluny, which both fuel some of the UK’s best nightlife.
There’s plenty to enjoy just outside the city, too…
…but that’s not all. You see, it’s even quite easy to reach many of those adjacent places, thanks largely to the light rail network “the Metro” – basically the area’s version of the London Underground.
Historically fascinating sites near Newcastle include the cathedral city of Durham and the remnants of Hadrian’s Wall, which used to be the northernmost frontier of the Roman Empire.
Geordies are wonderfully friendly and welcoming
Newcastle natives are known as Geordies – and although we could practically launch into an essay about where the word “Geordies” originated from, now isn’t the time. Instead, we’ll simply draw attention to the locals’ friendliness and renowned sense of humour.
While it could take you a bit of time to become accustomed to the accent, you’ll have plenty of opportunities, as Geordies rejoice in chatting.
Newcastle is “friendly on the wallet”
Those are the words of Rough Guides, although we certainly concur. The city’s relative affordability could even tempt you into taking up residence here – and from milk and education to flat roof repairs in Newcastle upon Tyne, everything here is within easy reach.