Cheap flights to Newcastle upon Tyne from HK$4,292

The port city of Newcastle owes its prosperity historically to industries such as coal mining, the wool trade, and shipbuilding and repair, however the city is these days more likely to be synonymous with nightlife, with the Rough Guide to Britain even naming this aspect of the city as Great Britain’s number one tourist attraction. Revellers arrive on flights to Newcastle to visit the many clubs, pubs and bars of Quayside and Bigg Market areas, as well as the Diamond Strip that stretches along Collingwood Street and Mosley Street. They throng with high-spirited merrymakers every evening, making lively Newcastle one of England’s foremost cities for a fun-filled bar hopping and clubbing trip.

The historic city is also architecturally attractive, with its neoclassical (sometimes referred to as Tyneside Classical) centre of town and medieval street layout (particularly visible in the narrow alleys near the waterfront) as well and newer marvels of engineering such as the Millennium Bridge. Such is the range embodied in Newcastle’s diverse blend of modern and past ages that even sections of ancient Hadrian’s Wall and other Roman ruins can be found in the area.

Newcastle upon Tyne climate

Although rain may occur throughout the year, Newcastle is one of the UK’s driest cities due to the rain shadow of the North Pennines. The region’s temperate oceanic climate is comparable to that of others in England, and the summer months of June and July are generally the warmest and driest and winter months of January and February often the coolest.

Getting around Newcastle upon Tyne

As Newcastle city centre is relatively compact and many areas are pedestrianised, most tourist sites easily reachable on foot without the need for transport.

However, the city also has a public transport network including a metro system and buses as well as rail services to surrounding towns.

The Tyne and Wear Metro offers routes from Newcastle Airport into town, as well as routes from central terminals such as Haymarket, Monument, St James, and Central Station to locations such as Northumberland Park, Whitley Bay, Tynemouth, Gateshead, North and South Shields, and Sunderland.

The Arriva North East and Stagecoach companies offer bus services in Newcastle and toward other towns and cities, with main bus stations at Haymarket and Eldon Square.

What is good to know if travelling to Newcastle upon Tyne?

• Newcastle Castle, after which the city is named, is both a Grade I listed building and a Scheduled Ancient Monument, and it is located in Central Newcastle. The site originally held a Roman fort, then a wooden Norman motte-and-bailey castle, and finally today’s castle, a stone keep built for Henry the II in the 12th century. The keep is accompanied by the Black Gate, added in the thirteenth century as an outer fortification. 
• The Great North Museum is comprised of the Great North Museum: Hancock and the Hatton Gallery, both based on the University of Newcastle’s campus. The museum’s collection includes fossils, preserved animal specimens, mummies, and a scale model of a Tyrannosaurus Rex, as well as detailing the history of the region. The gallery, on the other hand, has a collection of more than 3,000 works of art, including some dating back to the 14th century. 
• Central Arcade, a stunning, mosaic-floored, glass-roofed, preserved Edwardian shopping arcade, provides a glimpse of the Newcastle of yesteryear. The arcade is home to many shops, including the J.G. Windows music shop – one of Newcastle’s oldest, established in 1908 – and the Tourist Information Bureau. 
• The Cathedral Church of St Nicholas, also known as Newcastle Cathedral, was built in 1359 on the site of a prior parish church destroyed in a fire and is notable for its lantern spire, constructed in 1448, which was used for centuries as a navigation point by ships travelling along the River Tyne. The cathedral is an iconic part of Newcastle’s skyline, being one of the tallest structures in the city. 
• Seven Stories is a wonderful family attraction, being the first museum in the UK solely dedicated to children’s literature. Its name refers to the idea of the seven basic plots used in all stories and the fact that the museum is housed in a seven storey renovated Victorian mill. Artists and authors such as Philip Pullman, Quentin Blake, Terry Jones and Jacqueline Wilson have donated many original artworks and manuscripts to Seven Stories, and the museum is also the largest public collector of Enid Blyton material in the world.