Me and my buddy Haris Ahmed went traveling throughout Europe last year and in particular it was the UK that I really fell in love with. My favourite city in the UK was not London, something which many are surprised at, but rather Newcastle, the north east city where I was fortunate enough to pass much of my time whilst I was in the UK.

Newcastle does not have the glitz and glamour of the likes of London, nor does it have the musical and cultural history of the likes of Manchester and Liverpool. What Newcastle does offer however is a city that is filled with welcoming people and plenty to do and if you can spend some time up there in the old north east air, here are just some of the things that you need to tick off the to-do list.

See a Football Game

Newcastle’s stadium is St.James’ Park and it is here that the city looks towards on a Saturday afternoon when their team is playing at home. The stadium sits right in the centre of the city and it becomes a hive of activity when the ‘toon’ are playing and 40,000+ fans turn out to cheer on their side. The atmosphere inside the stadium is truly electric and if you want to do something fun during your time in Newcastle, this should be top of your list.

Party

You may think that you can party in any city in the UK and you would be right, but nobody parties quite like they do in Newcastle. In fact, I bumped into many people from all over the UK who came to Newcastle just for the nightlife and after spending some time partying in the bars, pubs and clubs in the city, it is easy to see why. If you want to seriously party, this is the city in which you ought to do it.

Bridge Jump

In the centre of Newcastle is the River Tyne, the heartbeat of the city and there are numerous bridges which straddle the water. The most impressive of these is the Tyne Bridge which was actually used as the prototype for the Sydney Harbour Bridge. These bridges make for some fantastic photos but if you really want to take things to the next level, why not take a bungee jump off the top of the Tyne Bridge. There is a company who occupy the bridge each Sunday that will strap you on to a bungee cord and watch you as you fly head first down to the river below. Looking at the bridges is all well and good, but if you truly want to experience the bridges in style, bungee jumping is the way to go.

Newcastle has so much more things which you can do from art museums, science exhibitions and the range of markets available throughout the city, why not cut a few days from your London trip and head up north to the wonderful city of Newcastle.