9 Delicious and Beautiful Things to Do in Newcastle upon Tyne

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This post is about Newcastle upon Tyne.

I began my festive month abroad with a visit to Newcastle upon Tyne! My cousin attends university in the city, so not only did I get to catch up with him, but I also got a free place to stay! Spending roughly two days in the city was the perfect amount of time for me to do a walking tour of “The Toon” as the locals like to call it.

Dot Bagels

Day one began with a breakfast bagel at Dot Bagels. They have a few locations around the city, and there is nothing like a bagel to start a day of adventuring! I took my breakfast to go and wandered to Jesmond Dean. 

Jesmond Dene

My absolute favorite thing is when cities have parks full of greenery to escape the hustle and bustle. Jesmond Dean is a huge park connected by walkways for pedestrians, cyclists, and even a few rollerbladers! There are plenty of things to see along the paths from waterfalls to old churches. There is even a petting zoo! You could easily spend all day in Jesmond Dean, but here are a couple of ideas in the pictures below.

Next up, I hopped on the metro and headed downtown. The metro system is so easy to navigate and a great way to get around the city. But don’t worry, the entire city is absolutely walkable if you’re looking to save wherever you can.

Haymarket

Once downtown, I wandered around Haymarket which is known as the University Quarter. Here you’ll find all of the university campuses as well as museums and historical churches littering the streets. If you are interested in some shopping, the pedestrian only Northumberland Street is the perfect place for you!

Grainger Town

If you walk just a bit further down, you’ll run into Grainger Town. This was one of my favorite parts of the city to explore with the side streets hiding all kinds of fun shops. You will also find Grainger Market here which is an inside market with a whole bunch of booths. You will find anything from fresh produce to ready to eat meals as well as a bookshop and textile booths too! Markets are some of the best places to try all kinds of different food in one place. So definitely pop in for some lunch before continuing on.

Geisha & Ghetto Golf

My cousin and I met up for dinner at Geisha, a very lovely Asian restaurant located right in downtown. After that we took an uber to the outskirts of the city for a game of mini golf at Ghetto Golf. This was such a fun place! The decoration was so cool, and depending on the ticket you buy, you can get drinks as you play! What a way to end the first day.

Pink Lane Bakery

Day two turned out to be such a beautiful day, so I headed to Quayside. But of course, you’d want breakfast first. So definitely stop by Pink Lane Bakery for a pastry or two. I highly, HIGHLY recommend the almond croissants. Literally the best almond croissant I have ever had in my entire life, and I can taste it right now just writing about it. Absolutely a must!

Quayside

Quayside is a lovely breath of fresh air from downtown as you walk along the Tyne River. My favorite part of the walk was comparing all of the different bridges to one another. I would definitely have to say my favorite bridge was the green one. If you walk the entire paved walkway and back again, you’ll arrive back in downtown for lunch!

In Grainger Town, the main square holds the Grey’s Monument. Here is where you will find the Christmas market (read about how I rank the best UK Christmas Markets here!). Newcastle’s Christmas market was the perfect place to wander around for some lunch before continuing my wanderings.

Newcastle Castle

Last but certainly not least, I had to see the Newcastle Castle! I did not venture inside, but I did do the self-guided walk around the castle and Black Gate where you can read the signs telling you the history of the place. I highly recommend spending a bit of time here as it is quite a beautiful set of buildings.

Fat Hippo

My final meal in Newcastle upon Tyne was an adorable place called The Fat Hippo. No, they do not serve hippo, but they do make some crazy burgers! And the veggie burger and amazing milkshakes were just what I needed before heading off to my next destination…GLASGOW!

Don’t miss my next blog post all about my adventures in Scotland’s capital city.

This post is all about Newcastle upon Tyne.