Newcastle is alive and buzzing. At least it is from the way we’ve explored on our recent trips. We’ve been happy to find such a range of incredible, cool things to do in Newcastle and explore what makes this city feel unique.
It’s not loud and shouty about its cool edges, but once you know where to look, you’ll see there is individuality and interesting experiences to be had everywhere.
As we’ve explored reclaimed industrial spaces, artsy local makers’ galleries, incredible food, next level coffee, fashion and everything in-between, we’ve developed a real feel for this eclectic city.
It didn’t take much to go beyond the usual high street names in Newcastle city centre and the various surrounding areas like Ouseburn to find this rich, vibrant mix of local identity. There’s a warmth and vibe you can feel when you explore – not just a checklist of places.
Our guide is a grounded, no fuss look at indie Newcastle. We’ve broken the best things to do in Newcastle down below based on our overall map, which covers all the locations we explored and recommend.
Whether you’re planning a city break, looking for a few new cool spots, something new to do over the weekend or simply something a bit different with lots of heart and soul then you’ve come to the right place.
We know you’ll love exploring this city just as much as we have!
Our map above covers everything we’ve gone into detail below for the things to do in Newcastle from the city centre to some of the other areas close by that we’ve explored.
You’ll notice that there are lots of pinpoints, which we’ve colour and icon coded on the map based on things like cafes, pubs/breweries, restaurants, art spaces, shopping, etc to make it easier to refer back to.
Click on each one to find out more information and open it directly in Google Maps. You can toggle the button in the top left-hand corner of the map above on and off to see all locations grouped by theme.
We also keep this map updated so it’s great for finding new places in Newcastle. It tallies up with our guide below, and you’ll also find plenty of extra places on the map to check out too.
To keep things structured and curated, we’ve focused below on some of our absolute favourites (which was hard to choose as there are so many great options). You’ll find plenty of hidden gems on our map too.
Our map and guide focus on the independent and cultural side of Newcastle. Of course, there are plenty of other iconic things to do too, but we know that if you like things different, our highlights give you a real feel for this vibrant city.
Within our map, there are plenty of experience-based options as well, which give options for free things to do in Newcastle and seasonal ideas too.
Things to do in Newcastle: Where to Start & Get A Feel for the City
Below we’re going to cover in more depth the various places we recommend checking out in Newcastle. But first, it’s worth getting a feel for the different areas you’ll want to explore.
When we arrived in Newcastle for the first time, we had a good few places saved to our list on Google Maps that we wanted to check out. But it wasn’t long before we were adding more things to do in Newcastle as we explored and dug into the heart of this indie city.
The key areas we’ve spent time exploring are Ouseburn, Newcastle City Centre, Jesmond and Heaton. Ouseburn was our first area to explore, and we loved the vibe immediately.
If you’re looking for an area that has an industrially reclaimed, creative, street arty feel with lots of warmth and intrigue then you’ll love Ouseburn. This was where we really started to see the ‘peeled from the edges’ makers scene that was incredibly unique.
Sure, it is gentrified and hipster as anything. However, there’s also so many gorgeous cafes, makers galleries, community outdoor spaces, roasters, furniture shops, breweries and warm people doing really interesting things with food (we’re looking at you Craving Asian Sandwiches).
You can easily spend at least a day looking around all the things to do in Ouseburn. If you’re visiting Newcastle for a while, you’d have no problem basing most of a trip around it – if nothing else for the food!
It’s also pretty iconic to wander along Riverside Walk where you could very easily make a whole day’s narrative around the food and places you’ll find off the back of this. This allows you to get a real feel for the city’s working history and current prominence.
After we’d explored Ouseburn, we felt like the city was telling us to slow down. In many cities, there often seems to be this feel of constant on, but Newcastle seemed to feel a little more relaxed, which we loved.
This stripping away and seeing what exists beyond the chain shops of the high street put us in a great space for seeking that out in the ‘heart of the city’ too.
Walking in Newcastle City Centre, you’d be forgiven if at a first glance, you couldn’t really see much beyond the familiar names you’d see anywhere else. Quickly we started to see that this was only part of the story.
The city centre has a very different feel from Ouseburn, and you do have to look a little further to see the off the beaten path stuff. But it is absolutely there.
A walk around Grainger Street Market revealed a similar vibe to so many other modernised markets in the UK now – a strong, small, independent food scene. We found foods from across the world all colourfully vying for your attention.
Markets are often the heart of finding new and interesting food and the way they’ve been reclaimed and seem to be thriving again is great to see. Grainger Street Market looks like it’s starting to have its moment here.
Dumpling and Bun really stood out to us. Delicious dim sum, cold noodles and a very warm atmosphere made this place feel like a comfort spot. Biang Biang noodles was also top notch (though they seem to keep opening and closing randomly so check before you visit).
There are so many other options in the market marked on our map that are worth checking out too. Just outside the market was Bamboo Milk Tea, which was doing interesting things.
We tried a tomato green tea, which was a bit of a wildcard, but a wildcard that turned out positively. Think frozen shaved tomato muddled with delicate but strong jasmine green tea. Acquired taste, but quickly addictive.
Around Stowell Street, there’s also an interesting Chinatown, featuring a lot of new and older restaurants. We loved Nudo Malatang (a build your own Chinese hotpot place). Just a little further on is Infusion 2018 which is well worth checking out for authentic Chinese food.
A little further out from the city centre and past Ouseburn is Heaton. This area is more residential and is pretty up and coming due to more affordable rental prices at present.
This will undoubtedly change as it becomes more and more desirable, and you do have to look that little bit further to find them, but there are some interesting independent places well worth checking out.
Flint Pizza is very good. We found this place as it seemed to be a neighbourhood favourite. We fell in love with their homely pizzas and fresh dishes that got the balance perfectly between vibrant and grounding.
The Goat is a coffee shop that screams community too. The owner spent quite a bit of time talking to us on our visit and it was clear he really loves the community he works in. Not to mention his skills as a barista.
You don’t get that feel from chain coffee shops, you certainly don’t get that level of flat white either. It was clear to us from exploring the things to do in Newcastle that this city is built on connections and what connects us.
Lastly, Jesmond was the other area to check out on our list. Again, slightly out of the city centre, this leafy suburb is absolutely gorgeous.
If you’re looking for some nature whilst still staying in the city, Jesmond will give you just that. Jesmond Dene and Dene Falls will be top of your list if that’s the case.
That’s not all it offers, with places like the Harvest Canteen, The Pottery Experience and Dabbawal Jesmond giving totally different, but equally warm vibes.
Newcastle has a lot to offer. Starting in Ouseburn allowed us to set the scene for what was to come after. We know you’ll see it too – and it doesn’t take much to find the warmth and heart this place has in plentiful amounts.
Our guide below goes into more detail and gives you a digestible list of our top suggestions depending on your interests. If you want even more suggestions, be sure to refer back to our map, which has loads of other ideas for places to check out in Newcastle too.
Independent Coffee, Food & Drink in Newcastle We Recommend Checking Out
You’ve probably got the right impression of indie Newcastle already. The city is bursting with great places to check out when it comes to where to eat in Newcastle and where to get the best coffee.
Each area has its own feel. Ouseburn’s food, coffee and drink scene isn’t ‘big’ or ‘flashy’ but it’s real and memorable. It has a homey vibe and one that’s built on small producers.
Most times, you’ll be chatting to the owners whilst ordering. Our favourite area of Newcastle really does have to be Ouseburn. It’s just got that feel that you’ll love: creative spaces and exceptional producers at the top of their game.
Newcastle city centre, when it comes to independent places, is a lot more collective and coming together. As we mentioned above, Grainger Street Market features small food places doing so many interesting things with a homely atmosphere.
Whilst the homey and community feel is there from Ouseburn to Newcastle city centre, it’s also different. Very different set up, and very different style – which is undeniably loveable.
Jesmond and Heaton are both more residential, but both feature more fine dining and contemporary style restaurants where you can still get a reasonably priced meal. But some of these places (we’ve covered a few on our map) are doing creative things to their own signature.
Whilst this isn’t all these areas have to offer, they’re great if you want to splash out on something a little different and offer some great things to do in Newcastle for couples. Both Jesmond and Heaton also have plenty of offerings that are more casual (especially Heaton).
Below, we’ve covered some of our favourite picks in Newcastle when it comes to food, coffee and drinks. These are places that really stood out to us. All of which, you’ll find locations for on our map above.
However, that doesn’t mean that any of the extra places included in our map above are subpar. Far from it, and every single place we’ve added is fantastic at what it does.
Craving Asian – Asian Sandwiches
Set in the heart of Ouseburn, this little sandwich shop is worth searching out. At present, the owner told us he’s going between residencies and pop ups, so if the location we’ve added says temporarily closed, check out his Instagram. It’s worth searching out.
We have not been able to stop thinking about the Taiwanese style sandwich since we had it. Crispy, spicy and stacked up inside house made Asian Focaccia. His Vietnamese coffee and cookies are beautiful too.
Northern Rye
Along the river in Ouseburn is Northern Rye. When we arrived, it was clear we weren’t the only people who knew about it, and it seemed really popular for chunky, hearty sandwiches and coffee.
As we’d eaten lunch, we opted for a sweet fix and got the Orange, Fennel and Ginger bun and the Miso, Tahini and Chocolate Cruffin as well as coffee. Both were delicious beyond words, especially the Orange, Fennel and Ginger bun.
There was something about the way the ginger was sticky at the bottom and had caramelised. It was nothing short of having healing powers.
Whilst heartily a bakery, their coffee is taken very seriously too. We’d say this was some of the best coffee we had in Newcastle.
Northern Rye is also a great local bakery and maker’s shop. We picked up some of their focaccia which we took home and froze for some beautiful sandwiches another time and stocked lots of coffee, olive oil and just general bits you’re going to end up spending money on.
Ernie Deli Shop
We loved Ernie Deli Shop. It was hard to decide where had the best coffee in Newcastle, but this was one of the top ones for us.
Not only is their coffee bar and café really gorgeous with exceptionally good cups and incredible sandwiches, but you’ll also find a whole shop brimming with gorgeous produce.
We found it hard to come away from the deli without buying things – and we ended up getting some incredible olive oil to bring back to our collection. We also loved some of the interesting combinations available like chilli and sichuan peppercorn honey.
This is a great place to go if you want to treat yourself, make a particularly bougie dinner or just fancy trying some interesting treats. Read: full of things you never knew you needed yet will become strangely addicted to.
Ship Inn
This pub absolutely stuck out for us. Down to earth, full of character, great beer and good music.
We spotted this when we were walking up to the city farm in Ouseburn, and just couldn’t resist going in. It was the Detroit style pizza menu that lured us in, and we ended up staying for quite a while.
Turns out the pizza is just one string in the Ship Inn’s bow. Their menu alternates and they have different specials on, so it’s a good idea to check in advance before visiting.
What’s more, the menu is all vegan, which we know some people might be apprehensive about, but seriously don’t knock it until you’ve tried it. You will not leave hungry, and you will feel satisfied.
They also have a range of guest and alternating craft beers on at any time. We’d tried some of Anarchy Brew Co. beer when we were in Northumberland, so we naturally went for this. Of course, they also serve lots of usual favourites on draft and bottled too.
Dumpling and Bun
The food was just so comforting at Dumpling and Bun. This spot in Grainger Street Market is open until about 5pm, so it’s a lunch or very early dinner spot.
We tried some of their veggie dumplings with a lot of homemade chilli sauce alongside their cold noodles. They left us feeling satisfied in a way that only the food we ate in Beijing could do. That just made us love it more.
Dumpling and Bun is run by a small team (we think possibly mother and daughter). What’s obvious is the heart that’s put into their cooking.
For the ultimate in cold, rainy day magic, the wonton in broth would hit so perfectly you’ve got a ready made afternoon right there. You just won’t be disappointed.
The Old Coal Yard
The Old Coal Yard, set between Ouseburn and Heaton, is one of those brewery spaces which combines an excellent tap room from Northern Alchemy with a live music space and generally good vibe.
We enjoyed tasting a number of mini flights straight from the tanks, which was a great way to spend an afternoon. It’s not overly loud so you really feel like you can actually have a conversation.
The staff are really friendly, care a lot about the beer and the service they offer and know a lot about the brews. A place that actually justifies the price for a pint.
Art, Culture, Home and Unexpected Finds
There was so much we found in Newcastle that we didn’t expect to, yet when we did, it really slotted together perfectly and just gave more of a layer to this already brilliant city.
Sitting alongside artisanal cafes, restaurants and breweries are creative spaces in Newcastle, galleries, and so much art, which offers a lot of fun things to do.
Newcastle’s creativity is embedded and at its heart, it’s not really flashy, but you will see it everywhere. Spend any time in the industrially reclaimed areas such as Ouseburn and you’ll see incredible murals lining the streets.
You don’t need to go far or look for huge, big attractions to find the cultural things to do in Newcastle either. This also has a hidden benefit – it’s a great way to discover free things to do in Newcastle, especially when an adult ticket can be pretty pricy to get into more formal locations.
Whilst Newcastle does have some brilliant traditional galleries such as the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art, it also has studios and open spaces that have so much to offer too, like the Biscuit Factory or Kiln in Ouseburn.
Looking aside from art, there is a such a great independent shopping scene in Newcastle too. You’ll find lots of makers who you can also buy from at the Biscuit Factory. Whilst this is almost like a working gallery; all art is for sale, much of it in the ‘affordable’ category.
There’s also places like The Find and Bibelot Nook for vintage furniture and home pieces that you won’t get exactly like it anywhere else. Sora Studio also has some wonderful pieces.
We also stumbled across lots of unexpected places – we loved the Ouseburn Farm Charity. This city farm was a lovely break away from the city, and going to see all the names of the chickens is an event in its own right.
Likewise, Jesmond Dene felt like such a hidden gem find for us. The river running through, the waterfalls, the basking trees in the sunshine. It was like we were a million miles away from the city.
Our guide below covers the main places that really stuck out to us in terms of art, culture, home and unexpected finds. We’ve covered loads more in our map which is higher up, so be sure to check those out too.
The Biscuit Factory
We loved this art space and studios in Ouseburn. It had a great feel the moment we walked in and had such a wide range of art to explore.
It got the balance right between being a gallery and being a salesroom. We also loved that so much of the art was within the ‘affordable’ category.
We bought a beautiful ceramic wall hanging for our home and just loved how much the curators knew about the artist when we were paying. It gave such a great feel to buying the piece.
This is a great place to find new pieces for your home – they cover so many different areas such as ceramics, painting, prints etc. What’s more a lot of it is useable art. You can actually integrate it into your life.
Ouseburn Farm Charity
This spot is tucked in near the Ship Inn. If you love animals, make sure you spend even half an hour at Ouseburn Farm Charity. They have so many lovely animals and it’s just a great space – an especially good one if you have kids.
There were so many people enjoying the space when we visited, and we spent quite a lot of time looking at the pigs. They were absolutely ridiculous looking with their ears covering their eyes and totally loveable.
We personally think the image below of the pig is the best in this article. If you don’t agree, well…
This place is also a good example of community, and they offer veg boxes and other incentives which was great to see. They also have a café too – we personally didn’t eat or drink there, but it looked to be on the right track.
Kiln
We didn’t know it was possible to create such a specific heaven, but Kiln does it by combining a great ceramics studio with a coffee shop and restaurant.
Their food is so incredibly good, you’ll feel heartily satisfied. You can choose between brunch, lunch or dinner and each has a generally different rotating menu.
But think of this – you have lunch, then browse a working pottery studio where you just happen to be able to buy exceptionally beautiful bowls, plates, and mugs for your kitchen? Yeah, we don’t think it gets much better either.
Flea Circus
We love mid century furniture and that whole look, so naturally, we always pick out a few places to go and explore. We did a few in Newcastle and thought Flea Circus was one of the best.
There are some great items in Flea Circus, and some unusual finds you likely won’t have seen anywhere else, including vintage wall art and a lot of very well looked after iconic pieces.
It’s a slight detour from the main section of Ouseburn, but it’s worth the short walk up. The staff are super friendly too and were very chatty and cared a lot about what they were selling.
Vinyl Guru
This place is a literal heaven of records and there are some editions in this shop that you likely won’t have seen anywhere else. There are genre offers for all music lovers and we found some real gems and serious album art work that we really loved.
This is possibly one of the busiest record stores in Newcastle and it was full of music lovers who still like to own their tunes when we visited. There’s something precious about this shop!
New Things Happening in Newcastle and Seasonal Events
Something is very obvious every time we visit Newcastle now – there are a lot of pop-up events and new things coming all the time! Some of them are seasonal, some feature local makers, all are interesting in their own way.
If you’re looking for new things to do in Newcastle this weekend, then it’s well worth keeping an eye out when you visit at local cafes and spaces for upcoming events.
We found that there were flyers for pop up events all over, and you’ll often find these in smaller venues themselves. For example, Craving Asian Sandwiches and The Biscuit Factory had plenty of flyers up for gallery takeovers, artist residencies and pop up food events.
This is also a great way to find new places in Newcastle that you may not otherwise have found out about. So, keep a look out when you visit some of our recommendations.
Likewise, a lot of the smaller, more independent places we’ve listed on our map and above often run small events themselves which don’t always make the cut for bigger city listings.
We know this makes it harder when you might be looking for ‘things to do in Newcastle today’ and you’re literally just visiting for the weekend, but many of the events that you’re likely to find will be publicised on many of the locations we’ve listed Instagram stories too.
If any really stick out to you, give them a follow as they will usually promote any events they have coming up. This should give you plenty of advanced warning (this is what we usually do to find events at smaller venues).
Many of the locations and spots to check out in our Newcastle lists above will help support each other too, so they’ll often post about other events happening in other spaces. Just another great benefit of that community feel.
Planning Your Trip to Newcastle
Take from this section as you will – of course if you’re just only looking for new things to do in Newcastle, then this may not be as relevant.
However, if you’re looking for where to stay in Newcastle and the best areas to base yourself in to make the most of a trip, then this section is for you. We’ll also cover the best ways to get around how accessible it is and ways you can consider extending.
Where to Stay in Newcastle
When we stay in a city for a couple of nights and plan on making the most of the food and drink available, we pretty much always stay in a hotel. This feels much better for us than a whole apartment as it just isn’t needed when we’ll be eating out most of the time.
Though this really depends on your budget, and there are plenty of apartment options with kitchens available so you can cut down on expenses and eat in for some meals. We find a good option here when trying to keep things budget friendly, is to eat breakfast and dinner at home and eat out for lunch.
This often means you’ve got the cheaper eats available (such as in Grainger Street Market and some of the options around Ouseburn) that aren’t always open in the evening too.
We pretty much always book all hotels and accommodation with Booking.com – it’s our preferred method mostly because we get Genius Rewards. The longer we’ve booked through them, the more discounts we get which actually does add up when you look at how much you save.
You also find that once you’ve got a free account set up and opted into Genius Rewards, that every booking you make through it will contribute. After a short amount of time, you’ll start getting things like free breakfasts included, which makes a real difference.
We’d recommend thinking about where you’ll be exploring most and what areas appeal to you, though staying in Newcastle city centre does put you in a good stretch for everything, and great transport links to each area anyway.
Booking.com used to be mostly known as just hotels, but there’s plenty of self-catered and apartment places on there now which has made it so we don’t really look anywhere else. We also love being able to filter by price and location to hyper focus on getting the right place for our needs.
Getting There
We’ve travelled to Newcastle by both car and train, so we have the experience of both. Both are pretty viable options.
If you’re travelling by car, Newcastle is actually not bad when it comes to pricing. For example, when we parked in Ouseburn for the day near Bibelot Nook, it was about 80p an hour.
In Newcastle City Centre it was about £2 an hour, which considering how much parking is in a lot of cities, we were actually quite surprised by.
The city has a pretty simple structure when you’re looking at how to get to Newcastle by car, and it was easy to go between different areas in the car too. There are plenty of places to park, but keep in mind areas like Ouseburn are likely to be busy at the weekend.
It’s pretty easy to get to Newcastle by train too. The mainline Newcastle Central Station is in the centre of the city and from it there are plenty of connections around from the main bus interchange.
It’s also possible to pick up pretty good deals on train fairs through the Trainline (which is what we use to book all our train travel). Especially if you know in advance and can book fairly flexibly.
If you’re visiting and exploring the things to do in Northumberland by train on your trip as well, then you could easily use changing trains at Newcastle (which you likely will anyway) as an opportunity to spend some time exploring.
Getting Around
We found that Newcastle was a fairly walkable city. Especially so the city centre. It’s pretty compact and the things we explored in this area were relatively close together.
Ouseburn is also pretty close to the city centre too. We found it took us about 20 minutes to walk from Grainger Street Market to places like The Biscuit Factory.
There’s also plenty of bus routes that will take you around from the city centre to the various areas you’ll want to check out. If you type your location directions into Google maps on your phone and look at bus options, it’ll tell you exactly where to take the bus from and the closest stop.
We didn’t make much use of the metro personally for getting around Newcastle, and when we checked out Jesmond, we did it by car. However, it’s a really well used system and worth checking out. Here’s a link to the Tyne and Wear Metro with a map of the areas it covers.
Of course, as we’ve mentioned above, parking is pretty easy around the city too which makes it much more accessible if you need it.
Extend Your Trip
The great thing about Newcastle is it’s very close to Northumberland and the incredible coastline that stretches all the way up to Scotland. If you have the option, we’d really recommend exploring on from Newcastle and checking out some of this truly magical coastline.
Something we love about Northumberland is that you can be in Seahouses getting on a puffin tour to the Farne Islands within an hour’s drive of Newcastle. The sheer accessibility of that really impressed us. But it also gives you the best of both worlds.
We personally think that Northumberland pairs really well with a city break in Newcastle. This let’s experience incredible stark, sweeping beaches and brooding skies alongside an independent city with a real warm buzz.
We have a guide focused on the things to do in Northumberland which is well worth looking at if you plan to visit Newcastle. It’s one of the most magical, memorable areas we’ve visited in the last few years.
Is Newcastle Safe?
Newcastle is just like any other city really with some areas that are considered more dangerous than others. Though Newcastle does generally have a pretty friendly feel.
We would just recommend taking note that some of the up and coming areas are in old industrial areas which can have very poor lighting at night. So make sure you plan by taking things like this into consideration if travelling alone or in very small groups.
It’s important to take your own situation into account when deciding if somewhere is safe or not for you.
Is Newcastle Accessible?
In terms of getting around, we found Newcastle quite accessible. Though it may be more accessible for some than others. There is plenty of accessible parking and the bus and metro network is also made to be accessible to.
It’s a great city that you can walk around easily if you have the energy, or get the bus, metro or take a car. There are some hilly sections between the city centre and Ouseburn to consider though.
Many of the shops we visited in places like Ouseburn were sadly not accessible for mobility devices such as wheelchairs though. This is more to do with the position of the shop and design (having entrance steps) whereas plenty were easily accessible by wheelchair.
It’s obviously frustrating that this is the case, but there are still loads of really great options to check out. Google Maps usually shows whether each location is wheelchair friendly or not, but if in doubt, we’d recommend reaching out to the venue beforehand.
Enjoy Independent Newcastle
We love Newcastle. That’s likely an understatement – as it’s got everything that we look for in a city. We were surprised just how much heart and soul all the cool things to do in Newcastle offer.
If you’re someone who loves that independent heart – the kind where you’ll have a long conversation with the owner of a small food stall or spend hours talking to the actual artist about a piece of affordable art that you just can’t help but buy for your home, then you’ll love it too.
Every time we’ve visited Newcastle and left, we’ve had a feeling of calm, of community and of warmth. It’s a city that whilst you can be checking out all the fun things to do in Newcastle, you can also be chilling out. That’s very hard to find.
As we’ve said before, the city centre can feel just like any other on the surface but scratch below a little and you’ll find so much more. There is a real identity made up of all the people who make this vibrant place what it is that can’t exactly be replicated.
We hope our guide to the more independent side of Newcastle has given you lots of ideas for places to check out and enjoy. You’ll likely find your own too, and that’s part of its charm.
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