Newcastle is a city that punches well above its weight. Compact enough to walk across in twenty minutes, it packs in more culture, nightlife, and architectural variety than cities twice its size. The Quayside along the Tyne is the showpiece — the Gateshead Millennium Bridge, the BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, and the Sage Gateshead concert hall all face each other across the river, with the old bridges and the castle keep as backdrop.
The centre is handsome Victorian and Georgian, particularly Grey Street — a sweeping curve of classical facades that was voted England's finest street. The Grainger Market, a covered market from the 1830s, is still trading and still worth a visit for its mix of butchers, bakers, and cheap lunch spots. Further out, the Great North Museum covers Hadrian's Wall and the region's natural history, and the wall itself is a short drive west.
Newcastle's nightlife is legendary and, unlike in most English cities, concentrated in the centre rather than scattered across suburbs. The Bigg Market is the loud end; the Ouseburn Valley, a former industrial quarter east of the centre, is the more interesting one — breweries, galleries, and live music in converted warehouses. The Geordies are famously warm, and you will notice the difference the moment you arrive.