Newcastle upon Tyne, GB

A Michelin-starred kitchen set inside a restored 16th-century merchant's townhouse a block back from the Quayside. The draw is refined, seasonal modern-British cooking in a room with exposed beams and real history. This is the special-occasion Quayside dinner.

A black-brick restaurant in the middle of Ouseburn's creative quarter, built on a short, daily-changing menu of seasonal small and large plates. There's a deli and a terrace, and the whole thing feels personal rather than corporate. Best for a relaxed long lunch.

A proper food pub in a former warehouse off the Quayside, with a characterful ground-floor bar and a calmer dining room above. The kitchen does season-driven British comfort food and fish from North Shields market, and the ale list runs long. Good for a no-fuss dinner that still takes the food seriously.

A glass-fronted shipping container right on the sand at King Edward's Bay, grilling and wood-roasting whatever came off the North Shields boats that morning. You eat flatbreads and whole fish outside with the North Sea in front of you. It's the coast's signature meal.

A modern fish-and-chip shop and adjoining restaurant on Tynemouth's Front Street, using sustainably sourced cod and haddock. The takeaway side is the local favourite, but the restaurant does proper plated seafood too. The classic stop after a Longsands beach walk.

A loud, busy Indo-Chinese and street-food spot near Central Station that's racked up national takeaway awards. The cooking leans toward what you'd actually eat on an Indian street rather than standard curry-house fare. Best for a casual, flavour-forward group dinner.

A darker, more design-led modern Indian on Queen Street, built around live-fire and Josper-grill cooking rather than the standard curry list. The room is moody and the plates are bold, with the tandoori vegetables a standout. This is the dressier Indian dinner in town.

A family-run South Indian in Jesmond where the dosas and naturally veg-and-vegan-heavy menu are the draw, at prices that stay genuinely fair. It's warm, inclusive and packed with students and locals alike. A strong pick if anyone in the group eats plant-based.

A small all-day spot in a converted Ouseburn pottery studio, doing Middle Eastern plates with a laid-back, log-burner warmth. The falafel and mezze-style sharing is the way to eat here. Good for a relaxed lunch or low-key dinner without any pretension.

A live-fire restaurant in the By the River Brew Co. container village, tucked under the Tyne Bridge on the Gateshead bank, cooking meat and seasonal produce over open coals. You watch the grill work behind glass while you eat. Best in warmer months when the riverside complex is buzzing.

A rustic, family-run Jesmond institution that locals just call Francesca's, slinging big, cheap, classic Italian plates for decades. Exposed brick, queues out the door, and a half-pizza-half-pasta combo that defines the place. The go-to for a value group dinner.

A tiny breakfast-and-brunch cafe wedged under the Tyne Bridge arches, doing home-cooked plates and good coffee with the river right there. It's small and gets rammed, but the location is unbeatable for a morning before walking the bridges. Best for an early-day refuel.

A real Italian family gelateria with handmade gelato that's collected national awards, with a quiet Ouseburn shop among its branches. It's the proper-gelato stop, not a soft-serve afterthought. An easy add-on to an Ouseburn afternoon or a coast day.

The flat riverside loop that takes in both banks of the Tyne, crossing the Millennium Bridge one way and a higher bridge back, past the bars, BALTIC and the Glasshouse. It's the single best orientation walk in the city. Easy enough for anyone, any time of day.

A loop across the Town Moor, a huge open common bigger than several London parks combined, where freemen still graze cattle minutes from the city centre. It's flat, open and bracing rather than scenic-pretty, the place locals run and clear their heads. Good for a quick green escape.

A wooded valley loop linking Jesmond Dene with Armstrong Park, following the Ouseburn past the waterfall, ruined mill and old stone bridges. There's just enough up and down to feel like a real walk, all under tree cover. The green-escape walk closest to the centre.

The classic coast walk north from Tynemouth along the cliffs and beaches, past Longsands and the fishing cove at Cullercoats to the tidal island and lighthouse at St Mary's. Flat-ish but exposed, with rock pools, surfers and often seals at the far end. The signature day out on the coast.

An easy paved loop joining Leazes Park, the city's oldest, with Exhibition Park and its lake and brewery taproom, just behind St James' Park stadium. Flat, leafy and far less busy than Jesmond Dene. A low-effort green walk you can finish with a pint.

A converted Baltic flour mill on the Gateshead riverside turned into a free contemporary art gallery with a constantly changing exhibition programme. There's no permanent collection, so it's always different, and the top-floor viewing box gives a free river-and-city panorama. A reliable rainy-day and family option.

The curving glass music centre on the Gateshead bank, home to the Royal Northern Sinfonia and a programme spanning classical, folk, jazz, pop and rock. The acoustics in the main halls are the regional standard for live sound. The place to catch a gig or concert in the evening.

The grand pillared theatre that is the centrepiece of Georgian Grey Street, hosting big touring drama, opera, ballet and the famous Christmas pantomime. The auditorium itself is part of the night out. The default for a proper evening show in town.

The city's big free natural-history and antiquities museum, with a full-size dinosaur, a planetarium, mummies and a strong Hadrian's Wall gallery. It's compact enough to do in a couple of hours and squarely family-friendly. The first stop on a rainy day with kids.

A free, three-floor museum of Tyneside's industrial and maritime story, built around the Turbinia, once the fastest ship in the world. It's hands-on and interactive, leaning into the region's world-firsts in engineering. A strong rainy-day pick for families.

A handsome free Edwardian art gallery in the city centre, strong on British painting and regional history, with a cafe and a kids' playroom that make it easy with children. It's manageable in size, never overwhelming. A calm, free hour between bigger plans.

Ouseburn's beloved grassroots music venue in a converted whisky-bottling warehouse, with two stages running touring and local bands most nights, plus a bar and kitchen. It's where you catch acts before they get big. The heart of the city's independent live-music scene.

A guided walk through a preserved 19th-century coal-waggonway tunnel under the city that became a WWII air-raid shelter, lit by lamplight with volunteer guides telling its history. It's atmospheric, unusual and consistently one of the city's top-rated attractions. Best for anyone who likes hidden-history experiences.

A lovingly restored 1930s newsreel cinema in the city centre, all original detailing, balcony and red velvet, showing a mix of arthouse and mainstream film. It's an experience as much as a screening. The evening pick for a rainy night or a low-key date.

The green steel arch that is shorthand for Newcastle itself, spanning the Tyne between the city and Gateshead. You can walk across the footways, but the best views are from below on the Quayside looking up at it framed against the other bridges. The anchor shot of any visit.

The pedestrian 'Blinking Eye,' the world's first tilting bridge, curving across the Tyne between the Quayside bars and BALTIC. Walking it links the two riverbanks and gives you the best angle on the Tyne Bridge. It periodically tilts to let boats through, which is the thing to catch.

Antony Gormley's rust-coloured steel figure on a hill south of Gateshead, with a wingspan wider than a jumbo jet, greeting everyone arriving from the south. It's free, quick, and genuinely imposing when you stand at its feet. A short detour rather than a half-day.

The Norman keep and Black Gate that gave the city its name, wedged among the railway viaducts above the Quayside. The ticket includes both buildings, and the rooftop gives you one of the best panoramas of the bridges and rooflines. For people who like their history with a climb.

A Grade I-listed Victorian market hall running since the 1830s, now packed with over a hundred independent traders from old-school butchers and fishmongers to global street food. It's a working market, not a tourist mock-up, and the best place to graze cheaply at lunch. A genuine slice of the city.

The tall column topped by Earl Grey at the head of Grey Street, the city's natural meeting point and the pivot of Georgian Grainger Town. You can climb the interior on open days for a rooftop view down the curve of Grey Street. Use it to orient yourself and to admire the architecture radiating off it.

St Nicholas's, with its distinctive 15th-century lantern tower that once guided ships up the Tyne, sits quietly amid the city-centre bustle. Entry is free, the interior is calmer than its surroundings, and it holds more memorials than any UK church bar Westminster Abbey. A short, restful stop between bigger sights.

Clifftop ruins of a medieval priory and castle on a headland between two beaches, with big North Sea views and a gun-battery exhibition covering its coastal-defence past. It pairs the romance of ruins with a proper sea-air walk. The natural anchor of a Tynemouth day.

A steep wooded river valley running through the suburbs, gifted to the city by the Armstrong family, with a waterfall, old stone bridges, a ruined mill and a free Pets' Corner. It feels far more remote than its city-edge location. Both a destination and a walk, and a reliable family win.