Newcastle upon Tyne (RP: i/ˌnjuːkɑːsəl əˌpɒn ˈtaɪn/; Locally: i/njuːˌkæsəl əˌpən ˈtaɪn/), commonly known as Newcastle, is a city in Tyne and Wear, North East England, 103 miles (166 km) south of Edinburgh and 277 miles (446 km) north of London on the northern bank of the River Tyne, 8.5 mi (13.7 km) from the North Sea. Newcastle is the most populous city in the North East and Tyneside the eighth most populous conurbation in the United Kingdom. Newcastle is a member of the English Core Cities Group and is a member of the Eurocities network of European cities. Newcastle was part of the county of Northumberland until 1400, when it became a county itself, a status it retained until becoming part of Tyne and Wear in 1974.[not in citation given] The regional nickname and dialect for people from Newcastle and the surrounding area is Geordie.

The city developed around the Roman settlement Pons Aelius and was named after the castle built in 1080 by Robert Curthose, William the Conqueror's eldest son. The city grew as an important centre for the wool trade in the 14th century, and later became a major coal mining area. The port developed in the 16th century and, along with the shipyards lower down the River Tyne, was amongst the world's largest shipbuilding and ship-repairing centres. Newcastle's economy includes corporate headquarters, learning, digital technology, retail, tourism and cultural centres, from which the city contributes £13 billion towards the United Kingdom's GVA. Among its icons are Newcastle Brown Ale; Newcastle United football club; and the Tyne Bridge. It has hosted the world's most popular half marathon, the Great North Run, since it began in 1981.

The first recorded settlement in what is now Newcastle was Pons Aelius, a Roman fort and bridge across the River Tyne. It was given the family name of the Roman Emperor Hadrian, who founded it in the 2nd century AD. This rare honour suggests that Hadrian may have visited the site and instituted the bridge on his tour of Britain. The population of Pons Aelius at this period was estimated at 2,000. Fragments of Hadrian's Wall are still visible in parts of Newcastle, particularly along the West Road. The course of the "Roman Wall" can be traced eastwards to the Segedunum Roman fort in Wallsend—the "wall's end"—and to the supply fort Arbeia in South Shields. The extent of Hadrian's Wall was 73 miles (117 km), spanning the width of Britain; the Wall incorporated the Vallum, a large rearward ditch with parallel mounds, and was constructed primarily for defence, to prevent unwanted immigration and the incursion of Pictish tribes from the north, not as a fighting line for a major invasion.

Throughout the Middle Ages, Newcastle was England's northern fortress. Incorporated first by Henry II, the city had a new charter granted by Elizabeth in 1589. A 25-foot (7.6 m) high stone wall was built around the town in the 13th century, to defend it from invaders during the Border war against Scotland. The Scots king William the Lion was imprisoned in Newcastle in 1174, and Edward I brought the Stone of Scone and William Wallace south through the town. Newcastle was successfully defended against the Scots three times during the 14th century, and was created a county corporate with its own sheriff by Henry IV in 1400.

From 1530 a royal act restricted all shipments of coal from Tyneside to Newcastle Quayside, giving a monopoly in the coal trade to a cartel of Newcastle burgesses known as the Hostmen. This monopoly, which lasted for a considerable time, helped Newcastle prosper and develop into a major town. The phrase taking coals to Newcastle was first recorded contextually in 1538. The phrase itself means a pointless pursuit. In the 18th century American Timothy Dexter, an entrepreneur, widely regarded as an eccentric, defied this idiom. He was persuaded to sail a shipment of coal to Newcastle by merchants plotting to ruin him; however his shipment arrived on the Tyne during a strike that had crippled local production; unexpectedly he made a considerable profit.

In the Sandgate area, to the east of the city and beside the river, resided the close-knit community of keelmen and their families. They were so called because they worked on the keels, boats that were used to transfer coal from the river banks to the waiting colliers, for export to London and elsewhere. In the 1630s about 7,000 out of 20,000 inhabitants of Newcastle died of plague, more than one-third of the population. Specifically within the year 1636, it is roughly estimated with evidence held by the Society of Antiquaries that 47% of the then population of Newcastle died from the epidemic; this may also have been the most devastating loss in any British City in this period.

During the English Civil War, the North declared for the King. In a bid to gain Newcastle and the Tyne, Cromwell's allies, the Scots, captured the town of Newburn. In 1644 the Scots then captured the reinforced fortification on the Lawe in South Shields following a siege. In 1644 the city was then besieged for many months and was eventually stormed ('with roaring drummes') and sacked by Cromwell's allies. The grateful King bestowed the motto "Fortiter Defendit Triumphans" ("Triumphing by a brave defence") upon the town. Charles I was imprisoned in Newcastle by the Scots in 1646–7.

In the 19th century, shipbuilding and heavy engineering were central to the city's prosperity; and the city was a powerhouse of the Industrial Revolution. This revolution resulted in the urbanization of the city. In 1817 the Maling company, at one time the largest pottery company in the world, moved to the city. The Victorian industrial revolution brought industrial structures that included the 2 1⁄2-mile (4.0 km) Victoria Tunnelling, built in 1842, which provided underground wagon ways to the staithes. On 3 February 1879, Mosley Street in the city, was the first public road in the world to be lit up by the incandescent lightbulb. Newcastle was one of the first cities in the world to be lit up by electric lighting. Innovations in Newcastle and surrounding areas included the development of safety lamps, Stephenson's Rocket, Lord Armstrong's artillery, Be-Ro flour, Joseph Swan's electric light bulbs, and Charles Parsons' invention of the steam turbine, which led to the revolution of marine propulsion and the production of cheap electricity. In 1882, Newcastle became the seat of an Anglican diocese, with St. Nicholas' Church becoming its cathedral.

In large parts, Newcastle still retains a medieval street layout. Narrow alleys or 'chares', most of which can only be traversed by foot, still exist in abundance, particularly around the riverside. Stairs from the riverside to higher parts of the city centre and the extant Castle Keep, originally recorded in the 14th century, remain intact in places. Close, Sandhill and Quayside contain modern buildings as well as structures dating from the 15th–18th centuries, including Bessie Surtees House, the Cooperage and Lloyds Quayside Bars, Derwentwater House and "House of Tides", a restaurant situated at a Grade I-listed 16th century merchant's house at 28–30 Close.

The city has an extensive neoclassical centre referred to as Tyneside Classical largely developed in the 1830s by Richard Grainger and John Dobson, and recently extensively restored. Broadcaster and writer Stuart Maconie described Newcastle as England's best-looking city and the late German-born British scholar of architecture, Nikolaus Pevsner, describes Grey Street as one of the finest streets in England. The street curves down from Grey's Monument towards the valley of the River Tyne and was voted England's finest street in 2005 in a survey of BBC Radio 4 listeners. In the Google Street View awards of 2010, Grey Street came 3rd in the British picturesque category. Osborne Road came 4th in the foodie street category. A portion of Grainger Town was demolished in the 1960s to make way for the Eldon Square Shopping Centre, including all but one side of the original Eldon Square itself.

Another green space in Newcastle is the Town Moor, lying immediately north of the city centre. It is larger than London's famous Hyde Park and Hampstead Heath put together and the freemen of the city have the right to graze cattle on it. The right incidentally extends to the pitch of St. James' Park, Newcastle United Football Club's ground, though this is not exercised, although the Freemen do collect rent for the loss of privilege. Honorary freemen include Bob Geldof, King Harald V of Norway, Bobby Robson, Alan Shearer, the late Nelson Mandela and the Royal Shakespeare Company. The Hoppings funfair, said to be the largest travelling funfair in Europe, is held here annually in June.

Large-scale regeneration has replaced former shipping premises with imposing new office developments; an innovative tilting bridge, the Gateshead Millennium Bridge was commissioned by Gateshead Council and has integrated the older Newcastle Quayside more closely with major cultural developments in Gateshead, including the BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, the venue for the Turner Prize 2011 and the Norman Foster-designed The Sage Gateshead music centre. The Newcastle and Gateshead Quaysides are now a thriving, cosmopolitan area with bars, restaurants and public spaces. As a tourist promotion, Newcastle and Gateshead have linked together under the banner "NewcastleGateshead", to spearhead the regeneration of the North-East. The River Tyne had the temporary Bambuco Bridge in 2008 for ten days; it was not made for walking, road or cycling, but was just a sculpture.

The historic heart of Newcastle is the Grainger Town area. Established on classical streets built by Richard Grainger, a builder and developer, between 1835 and 1842, some of Newcastle upon Tyne's finest buildings and streets lie within this area of the city centre including Grainger Market, Theatre Royal, Grey Street, Grainger Street and Clayton Street. These buildings are predominantly four stories high, with vertical dormers, domes, turrets and spikes. Richard Grainger was said to 'have found Newcastle of bricks and timber and left it in stone'. Of Grainger Town's 450 buildings, 244 are listed, of which 29 are grade I and 49 are grade II*.

The Grainger Market replaced an earlier market originally built in 1808 called the Butcher Market. The Grainger Market itself, was opened in 1835 and was Newcastle's first indoor market. At the time of its opening in 1835 it was said to be one of the largest and most beautiful markets in Europe. The opening was celebrated with a grand dinner attended by 2000 guests, and the Laing Art Gallery has a painting of this event. With the exception of the timber roof which was destroyed by a fire in 1901 and replaced by latticed-steel arches the Market is largely in its original condition. The Grainger Market architecture, like most in Grainger Town, which are either grade I or II listed, was listed grade I in 1954 by English Heritage.

The climate in Newcastle is oceanic (Köppen Cfb) and significantly milder than some other locations in the world at a similar latitude, due to the warming influence of the Gulf Stream (via the North Atlantic Drift). Being in the rain shadow of the North Pennines, it is among the driest cities in the UK. Temperature extremes recorded at Newcastle Weather Centre include 32.5 °C (90.5 °F) during August 1990 down to −12.6 °C (9.3 °F) during January 1982. In contrast to other areas influenced by the Gulf Stream, such as inland Scandinavia, Newcastle has milder winters and cooler summers, similar to the remainder of the British Isles.

In 2010, Newcastle was positioned ninth in the retail centre expenditure league of the UK. There are several major shopping areas in Newcastle City Centre. The largest of these is the Eldon Square Shopping Centre, one of the largest city centre shopping complexes in the UK. It incorporates a flagship Debenhams store as well as one of the largest John Lewis stores in the UK. John Lewis is still known to many in Newcastle as Bainbridges. Newcastle store Bainbridge's, opened in 1838, is often cited as the world’s first department store. Emerson Bainbridge (1817–1892), a pioneer and the founder of Bainbridges, sold goods via department, a new for merchant custom for that time. The Bainbridge’s official ledgers reported revenue by department, giving birth to the name department store. Eldon Square is currently undergoing a full redevelopment. A new bus station, replacing the old underground bus station, was officially opened in March 2007. The wing of the centre, including the undercover Green Market, near Grainger Street was demolished in 2007 so that the area could be redeveloped. This was completed in February 2010 with the opening of a flagship Debenhams department store as well as other major stores including Apple, Hollister and Guess.

Other shopping destinations in Newcastle include Grainger Street and the area around Grey's Monument, the relatively modern Eldon Garden and Monument Mall complexes, the Newgate Centre, Central Arcade and the traditional Grainger Market. Outside the city centre, the largest suburban shopping areas are Gosforth and Byker. The largest Tesco store in the United Kingdom is located in Kingston Park on the edge of Newcastle. Close to Newcastle, the largest indoor shopping centre in Europe, the MetroCentre, is located in Gateshead.

The Tyneside flat was the dominant housing form constructed at the time when the industrial centres on Tyneside were growing most rapidly. They can still be found in areas such as South Heaton in Newcastle but once dominated the streetscape on both sides of the Tyne. Tyneside flats were built as terraces, one of each pair of doors led to an upstairs flat while the other led into the ground-floor flat, each of two or three rooms. A new development in the Ouseburn valley has recreated them; Architects Cany Ash and Robert Sakula were attracted by the possibilities of high density without building high and getting rid of common areas.

In terms of housing stock, the authority is one of few authorities to see the proportion of detached homes rise in the 2010 Census (to 7.8%), in this instance this was coupled with a similar rise in flats and waterside apartments to 25.6%, and the proportion of converted or shared houses in 2011 renders this dwelling type within the highest of the five colour-coded brackets at 5.9%, and on a par with Oxford and Reading, greater than Manchester and Liverpool and below a handful of historic densely occupied, arguably overinflated markets in the local authorities: Harrogate, Cheltenham, Bath, inner London, Hastings, Brighton and Tunbridge Wells.

According to the UK Government's returned 2001 census information, the city of Newcastle had a population of 189,863, whereas the metropolitan borough of Newcastle had a population of around 259,000. Newcastle has a population of 282,442 according to the Office for National Statistics. The metropolitan boroughs of North Tyneside (population circa 201,000), South Tyneside (population circa 148,000) and Gateshead (population circa 201,000) are, along with Newcastle, all part of the Tyneside conurbation (population circa 880,000). The metropolitan county of Tyne and Wear, which consists of the four aforementioned boroughs as well as the City of Sunderland (population circa 275,000), had a population of around 1,076,000 and the Tyne and Wear City Region which also includes North Durham, South East Northumberland and the Tyne Valley has a population of 1,650,000. Newcastle is also home to a large student population with Newcastle and Northumbria Universities in the local area. Areas with predominant student populations include Jesmond and Heaton.

According to the same statistics, the average age of people living in Newcastle is 37.8 (the national average being 38.6). Many people in the city have Scottish or Irish ancestors. There is a strong presence of Border Reiver surnames, such as Armstrong, Charlton, Elliot, Johnstone, Kerr, Hall, Nixon, Little and Robson. There are also small but significant Chinese, Jewish and Eastern European (Polish, Czech Roma) populations. There are also estimated to be between 500 and 2,000 Bolivians in Newcastle, forming up to 1% of the population—the largest such percentage of any UK city.

The dialect of Newcastle is known as Geordie, and contains a large amount of vocabulary and distinctive word pronunciations not used in other parts of the United Kingdom. The Geordie dialect has much of its origins in the language spoken by the Anglo-Saxon populations who migrated to and conquered much of England after the end of Roman Imperial rule. This language was the forerunner of Modern English; but while the dialects of other English regions have been heavily altered by the influences of other foreign languages—particularly Latin and Norman French—the Geordie dialect retains many elements of the old language. An example of this is the pronunciation of certain words: "dead", "cow", "house" and "strong" are pronounced "deed", "coo", "hoos" and "strang"—which is how they were pronounced in the Anglo-Saxon language. Other Geordie words with Anglo-Saxon origins include: "larn" (from the Anglo-Saxon "laeran", meaning "teach"), "burn" ("stream") and "gan" ("go").

"Bairn" and "hyem", meaning "child" and "home", respectively, are examples of Geordie words with origins in Scandinavia; barn and hjem are the corresponding modern Norwegian and Danish words. Some words used in the Geordie dialect are used elsewhere in the Northern United Kingdom. The words "bonny" (meaning "pretty"), "howay" ("come on"), "stot" ("bounce") and "hadaway" ("go away" or "you're kidding"), all appear to be used in Scots; "aye" ("yes") and "nowt" (IPA://naʊt/, rhymes with out,"nothing") are used elsewhere in Northern England. Many words, however, appear to be used exclusively in Newcastle and the surrounding area, such as "Canny" (a versatile word meaning "good", "nice" or "very"), "hacky" ("dirty"), "netty" ("toilet"), "hoy" ("throw", from the Dutch gooien, via West Frisian), "hockle" ("spit").

In a report, published in early February 2007 by the Ear Institute at the University College London, and Widex, a Danish hearing aid manufacturer, Newcastle was named as the noisiest city in the whole of the UK, with an average level of 80.4 decibels. The report claimed that these noise levels would have a negative long-term impact on the health of the city's residents. The report was criticized, however, for attaching too much weight to readings at arbitrarily selected locations, which in Newcastle's case included a motorway underpass without pedestrian access.

There are concentrations of pubs, bars and nightclubs around the Bigg Market and the Quayside area of the city centre. There are many bars on the Bigg Market, and other popular areas for nightlife are Collingwood Street, popularly referred to as the 'Diamond Strip' due to its concentration of high-end bars, Neville Street, the Central Station area and Osborne Road in the Jesmond area of the city. In recent years "The Gate" has opened in the city centre, a new indoor complex consisting of bars, upmarket clubs, restaurants and a 12-screen Empire multiplex cinema. Newcastle's gay scene - 'The Pink Triangle' - is centred on the Times Square area near the Centre for Life and has a range of bars, cafés and clubs.

The city has a proud history of theatre. Stephen Kemble of the famous Kemble family successfully managed the original Theatre Royal, Newcastle for fifteen years (1791–1806). He brought members of his famous acting family such as Sarah Siddons and John Kemble out of London to Newcastle. Stephen Kemble guided the theatre through many celebrated seasons. The original Theatre Royal in Newcastle was opened on 21 January 1788 and was located on Mosley Street. It was demolished to make way for Grey Street, where its replacement was built.

The city still contains many theatres. The largest, the Theatre Royal on Grey Street, first opened in 1837, designed by John and Benjamin Green. It has hosted a season of performances from the Royal Shakespeare Company for over 25 years, as well as touring productions of West End musicals. The Mill Volvo Tyne Theatre hosts smaller touring productions, whilst other venues feature local talent. Northern Stage, formally known as the Newcastle Playhouse and Gulbenkian Studio, hosts various local, national and international productions in addition to those produced by the Northern Stage company. Other theatres in the city include the Live Theatre, the People's Theatre and the Jubilee Theatre. NewcastleGateshead was voted in 2006 as the arts capital of the UK in a survey conducted by the Artsworld TV channel.

The Literary and Philosophical Society of Newcastle upon Tyne (popularly known as the 'Lit & Phil') is the largest independent library outside London, housing more than 150,000 books. Its music library contains 8000 CDs and 10,000 LPs. The current Lit and Phil premises were built in 1825 and the building was designed by John and Benjamin Green. Operating since 1793 and founded as a ‘conversation club,’ its lecture theatre was the first public building to be lit by electric light, during a lecture by Joseph Swan on 20 October 1880.

The Newcastle Beer Festival, organized by CAMRA, takes place in April. In May, Newcastle and Gateshead host the Evolution Festival, a music festival held on the Newcastle and Gateshead Quaysides over the Spring bank holiday, with performances by acts from the world of Rock, Indie and Dance music. The biennial AV Festival of international electronic art, featuring exhibitions, concerts, conferences and film screenings, is held in March. The North East Art Expo, a festival of art and design from the regions professional artists, is held in late May. EAT! NewcastleGateshead, a festival of food and drink, runs for 2 weeks each year in mid June.

The Hoppings, reputedly the largest travelling fair in Europe, takes place on Newcastle Town Moor every June. The event has its origins in the Temperance Movement during the early 1880s and coincides with the annual race week at High Gosforth Park. Newcastle Community Green Festival, which claims to be the UK's biggest free community environmental festival, also takes place every June, in Leazes Park. The Northern Rock Cyclone, a cycling festival, takes place within, or starting from, Newcastle in June. The Northern Pride Festival and Parade is held in Leazes Park and in the city's Gay Community in mid July. The Ouseburn Festival, a family oriented weekend festival near the city centre, incorporating a "Family Fun Day" and "Carnival Day", is held in late July.

Newcastle Mela, held on the late August bank holiday weekend, is an annual two-day multicultural event, blending drama, music and food from Punjabi, Pakistani, Bengali and Hindu cultures. NewcastleGateshead also holds an annual International Arts Fair. The 2009 event will be in the Norman Foster designed Sage Gateshead Music and Arts Centre in September. In October, there is the Design Event festival—an annual festival providing the public with an opportunity to see work by regional, national and international designers. The SAMA Festival, an East Asian cultural festival is also held in early October.

Lindisfarne are a folk-rock group with a strong Tyneside connection. Their most famous song, "Fog on the Tyne" (1971), was covered by Geordie ex-footballer Paul Gascoigne in 1990. Venom, reckoned by many to be the originators of black metal and extremely influential to the extreme metal scene as a whole, formed in Newcastle in 1979. Folk metal band Skyclad, often regarded as the first folk metal band, also formed in Newcastle after the break-up of Martin Walkyier thrash metal band, Sabbat. Andy Taylor, former lead guitarist of Duran Duran was born here in 1961. Brian Johnson was a member of local rock band Geordie before becoming the lead vocalist of AC/DC.

The Pilgrim Street building was refurbished between November 2006 and May 2008; during the refurbishment works, the cinema relocated to the Old Town Hall, Gateshead. In May 2008 the Tyneside Cinema reopened in the restored and refurbished original building. The site currently houses three cinemas, including the restored Classic —the United Kingdom's last surviving news cinema still in full-time operation—alongside two new screens, a roof extension containing the Tyneside Bar, and dedicated education and teaching suites.

There are several museums and galleries in Newcastle, including the Centre for Life with its Science Village; the Discovery Museum a museum highlighting life on Tyneside, including Tyneside's shipbuilding heritage, and inventions which changed the world; the Great North Museum; in 2009 the Newcastle on Tyne Museum of Antiquities merged with the Great North Museum (Hancock Museum); Seven Stories a museum dedicated to children's books, the Side Gallery historical and contemporary photography from around the world and Northern England and the Newburn Hall Motor Museum.

The earliest known movie featuring some exterior scenes filmed in the city is On the Night of the Fire (1939), though by and large the action is studio-bound. Later came The Clouded Yellow (1951) and Payroll (1961), both of which feature more extensive scenes filmed in the city. The 1971 film Get Carter was shot on location in and around Newcastle and offers an opportunity to see what Newcastle looked like in the 1960s and early 1970s. The city was also backdrop to another gangster film, the 1988 film noir thriller Stormy Monday, directed by Mike Figgis and starring Tommy Lee Jones, Melanie Griffith, Sting and Sean Bean.

Newcastle has a horse racing course at Gosforth Park. The city is also home to the Newcastle Eagles basketball team who play their home games at the new Sport Central complex at Northumbria University. The Eagles are the most successful team in the history of the British Basketball League (BBL). The city's speedway team Newcastle Diamonds are based at Brough Park in Byker, a venue that is also home to greyhound racing. Newcastle also hosts the start of the annual Great North Run, the world's largest half-marathon in which participants race over the Tyne Bridge into Gateshead and then towards the finish line 13.1 miles (21.1 km) away on the coast at South Shields. Another famous athletic event is the 5.9-mile (9.5 km) Blaydon Race (a road race from Newcastle to Blaydon), which has taken place on 9 June annually since 1981, to commemorate the celebrated Blaydon Races horse racing.

Newcastle International Airport is located approximately 6 miles (9.7 km) from the city centre on the northern outskirts of the city near Ponteland and is the larger of the two main airports serving the North East. It is connected to the city via the Metro Light Rail system and a journey into Newcastle city centre takes approximately 20 minutes. The airport handles over five million passengers per year, and is the tenth largest, and the fastest growing regional airport in the UK, expecting to reach 10 million passengers by 2016, and 15 million by 2030. As of 2007[update], over 90 destinations are available worldwide.

In 2014, work was completed on the stations historic entrance. Glazing was placed over the historic arches and the Victorian architecture was enhanced; transforming the 19th century public portico. The station is one of only six Grade One listed railway stations in the UK. Opened in 1850 by Queen Victoria, it was the first covered railway station in the world and was much copied across the UK. It has a neoclassical façade, originally designed by the architect John Dobson, and was constructed in collaboration with Robert Stephenson. The station sightlines towards the Castle Keep, whilst showcasing the curvature of the station’s arched roof. The first services were operated by the North Eastern Railway company. The city's other mainline station, Manors, is to the east of the city centre.

Train operator Virgin Trains East Coast provides a half-hourly frequency of trains to London King's Cross, with a journey time of about three hours, these services call at Durham, Darlington, York, Doncaster, Newark North Gate and Peterborough and north to Scotland with all trains calling at Edinburgh and a small number of trains extended to Glasgow, Aberdeen and Inverness. CrossCountry trains serve destinations in Yorkshire, the Midlands and the South West. First TransPennine Express operates services to Manchester and Liverpool. Northern Rail provides local and regional services.

The city is served by the Tyne and Wear Metro, a system of suburban and underground railways covering much of Tyne and Wear. It was opened in five phases between 1980 and 1984, and was Britain's first urban light rail transit system; two extensions were opened in 1991 and 2002. It was developed from a combination of existing and newly built tracks and stations, with deep-level tunnels constructed through Newcastle city centre. A bridge was built across the Tyne, between Newcastle and Gateshead, and opened by Queen Elizabeth II in 1981. The network is operated by DB Regio on behalf of Nexus and carries over 37 million passengers a year, extending as far as Newcastle Airport, Tynemouth, South Shields and South Hylton in Sunderland. In 2004, the company Marconi designed and constructed the mobile radio system to the underground Metro system. The Metro system was the first in the UK to have mobile phone antennae installed in the tunnels.

The system is currently undergoing a period of refurbishment and modernization, entitled 'Metro: All Change.' The programme has replaced all ticket machines and introduced ticket gates at the busiest stations - part of the transition to smart ticketing. All Metro trains are being completely refurbished and most stations are undergoing improvement works (or in some cases complete reconstruction, for example North Shields). In addition; tracks, signalling and overhead wires are also being overhauled. Longer term plans include the procurement of an entirely new fleet of trains and further extensions to the system. Proposed routes include to Newcastle's west end, to the Cobalt business park in North Tyneside, to the Metrocentre in Gateshead and to additional locations in Gateshead, South Tyneside and Sunderland. Several of the proposed routes would require trams as opposed to the current light rail trains.

Major roads in the area include the A1 (Gateshead Newcastle Western Bypass), stretching north to Edinburgh and south to London; the A19 heading south past Sunderland and Middlesbrough to York and Doncaster; the A69 heading west to Carlisle; the A696, which becomes the A68 heads past Newcastle Airport and up through central Northumberland and central Scottish Borders, the A167, the old "Great North Road", heading south to Gateshead, Chester-le-Street, Durham and Darlington; and the A1058 "Coast Road", which runs from Jesmond to the east coast between Tynemouth and Cullercoats. Many of these designations are recent—upon completion of the Western Bypass, and its designation as the new line of the A1, the roads between this and the A1's former alignment through the Tyne Tunnel were renumbered, with many city centre roads changing from a 6-prefix to their present 1-prefix numbers. In November 2011 the capacity of the Tyne Tunnel was increased when a project to build a second road tunnel and refurbish the first tunnel was completed.

There are 3 main bus companies providing services in the city; Arriva North East, Go North East and Stagecoach North East. There are two major bus stations in the city: Haymarket bus station and Eldon Square bus station. Arriva mainly operates from Haymarket Bus Station providing the majority of services to the north of Newcastle, Northumberland and North Tyneside. Go-Ahead operates from Eldon Square Bus Station, providing the majority of services south of the river in Gateshead, South Tyneside, Sunderland, and County Durham. Stagecoach is the primary operator in the city proper, with cross-city services mainly between both the West and East ends via the city centre with some services extending out to the MetroCentre, Killingworth, Wallsend and Ponteland. Bus Services in Newcastle upon Tyne and the surrounding boroughs part of the Tyne and Wear area are coordinated by Nexus, the Tyne and Wear Passenger Transport Executive.

Following guidelines set in the National Cycling strategy, Newcastle first developed its cycling strategy in 1998. As of 2012, the local council social aims and objectives for cycling include: highlighting the usage of cycling to cut city congestion; educating that cycling promotes healthy living… The authority also has infrastructure aims and objectives which include: developing on road cycle networks on quieter streets; making safer routes on busier streets; innovating and implementing contraflows on one way streets; developing the existing off road cycle route networks and improve signage; joining up routes that are partially or completely isolated; Increase the number of cycle parking facilities; working with employers to integrate cycling into workplace travel plans; link the local networks to national networks.

From Newcastle International Ferry Terminal, at North Shields, Danish DFDS Seaways run a service to IJmuiden (near Amsterdam). The DFDS ferry service to Gothenburg, Sweden, ceased at the end of October 2006 – the company cited high fuel prices and new competition from low-cost air services as the cause – and their service to Bergen and Stavanger, Norway was terminated late 2008. Since summer 2007, Thomson cruise lines have included Newcastle as a departure port on its Norwegian and Fjords cruise.

There are eleven LEA-funded 11 to 18 schools and seven independent schools with sixth forms in Newcastle. There are a number of successful state schools, including Walker Technology College, Gosforth High School, Heaton Manor School, St Cuthbert's High School, St. Mary's Catholic Comprehensive School, Kenton School, George Stephenson High School, Sacred Heart and Benfield School. The largest co-ed independent school is the Royal Grammar School. The largest girls' independent school is Newcastle High School for Girls. Both schools are located on the same street in Jesmond. Newcastle School for Boys is the only independent boys' only school in the city and is situated in Gosforth. Newcastle College is the largest general further education college in the North East and is a beacon status college; there are two smaller colleges in the Newcastle area. St Cuthbert's High School and Sacred Heart are the two primary state-Catholic run high schools, and are both achieving results on par with the independent schools in Newcastle.

The city has two universities — Newcastle University and Northumbria University. Newcastle University has its origins in the School of Medicine and Surgery, established in 1834 and became independent from Durham University on 1 August 1963 to form the University of Newcastle upon Tyne. Newcastle University is now one of the UK's leading international universities. It won the coveted Sunday Times University of the Year award in 2000. Northumbria University has its origins in the Newcastle Polytechnic, established in 1969 and became the University of Northumbria at Newcastle in 1992 as part of the UK-wide process in which polytechnics became new universities. Northumbria University was voted 'Best New University' by The Times Good University Guide 2005 and also won a much coveted company award of the "Most IT enabled organisation" (in the UK), by the IT industry magazine Computing.

Newcastle has three cathedrals, the Anglican St. Nicholas, with its elegant lantern tower of 1474, the Roman Catholic St. Mary's designed by Augustus Welby Pugin and the Coptic Cathedral located in Fenham. All three cathedrals began their lives as parish churches. St Mary's became a cathedral in 1850 and St Nicholas' in 1882. Another prominent church in the city centre is the Church of St Thomas the Martyr which is the only parish church in the Church of England without a parish and which is not a peculiar.

The Parish Church of St Andrew is traditionally recognised as 'the oldest church in this town'. The present building was begun in the 12th Century and the last addition to it, apart from the vestries, was the main porch in 1726. It is quite possible that there was an earlier church here dating from Saxon times. This older church would have been one of several churches along the River Tyne dedicated to St Andrew, including the Priory church at Hexham. The building contains more old stonework than any other church in Newcastle. It is surrounded by the last of the ancient churchyards to retain its original character. Many key names associated with Newcastle's history worshipped and were buried here. The church tower received a battering during the Siege of Newcastle by the Scots who finally breached the Town Wall and forced surrender. Three of the cannonballs remain on site as testament to the siege.

ITV Tyne Tees was based at City Road for over 40 years after its launch in January 1959. In 2005 it moved to a new facility on The Watermark business park next to the MetroCentre in Gateshead. The entrance to studio 5 at the City Road complex gave its name to the 1980s music television programme, The Tube. BBC North East and Cumbria is located to the north of the city on Barrack Road, Spital Tongues, in a building known, as the result of its colouring, as the Pink Palace. It is from here that the Corporation broadcasts the Look North television regional news programme and local radio station BBC Radio Newcastle.

NE1fm launched on 8 June 2007, the first full-time community radio station in the area. Newcastle Student Radio is run by students from both of the city's universities, broadcasting from Newcastle University's student's union building during term time. Radio Tyneside has been the voluntary hospital radio service for most hospitals across Newcastle and Gateshead since 1951, broadcasting on Hospedia  and online. The city also has a Radio Lollipop station based at the Great North Children's Hospital in the Newcastle Royal Victoria Infirmary.

Charles Avison, the leading British composer of concertos in the 18th century, was born in Newcastle upon Tyne in 1709 and died there in 1770. Basil Hume, Archbishop of Westminster, was born in the city in 1923. Vice Admiral Cuthbert Collingwood, 1st Baron Collingwood, was born in the city. Ironmaster, metallurgist, and member of parliament Isaac Lowthian Bell was born in the city in 1816. Other notable people born in or associated with Newcastle include: engineer and industrialist Lord Armstrong, engineer and father of the modern steam railways George Stephenson, his son, also an engineer, Robert Stephenson, engineer and inventor of the steam turbine Sir Charles Parsons, inventor of the incandescent light bulb Sir Joseph Swan, modernist poet Basil Bunting, and Lord Chief Justice Peter Taylor. Portuguese writer Eça de Queiroz was a diplomat in Newcastle from late 1874 until April 1879—his most productive literary period. Former Prime Minister of Thailand Abhisit Vejjajiva, was born in the city.

Musicians Eric Burdon, Sting, Mark Knopfler, Alan Hull, Cheryl Cole and Neil Tennant lived in Newcastle. Hank Marvin and Bruce Welch were both former pupils of Rutherford Grammar School, actors Charlie Hunnam and James Scott, entertainers Ant and Dec and international footballers Michael Carrick and Alan Shearer were born in Newcastle. Multiple circumnavigator David Scott Cowper, Nobel Prize winning physicist Peter Higgs, and former WWE NXT champion Neville were born in the city. John Dunn, inventor of keyed Northumbrian smallpipes, the most characteristic musical instrument in the region, lived and worked in the city.