There’s no better place to start than the NewcastleGateshead Quayside, with its iconic buildings and famous bridges over the River Tyne. Here you’ll find the dazzling curves of The Sage Gateshead, an international home for music of all kinds, and the monumental façade of BALTIC: Centre for Contemporary Art, as its neighbour. Visitors can take the lift in both of these buildings to enjoy spectacular views of the river and city. At ground level, the award-winning Gateshead Millennium Bridge simply begs you to cross on foot and explore the shops and galleries of the city centre.

With its first-class shopping, museums and art galleries - many of them free - groups can cater to their own particular interests. Newcastle’s architecture alone is enough to wow history, culture and design enthusiasts, with the classical Georgian Grainger Town and Ouseburn cultural quarters each adding their own special charm.

Shopping fans can browse in an abundance of high-street favourites and quirky stores - top of the list should be Grainger Town, Eldon Square and MetroCentre Gateshead, still one of the largest indoor shopping centres in Europe - and afterwards relax in fashionable street cafés and one of the UK’s largest selections of international restaurants.

Nearby the vibrant university city of Sunderland offers more cultural attractions, such as the award-winning Sunderland Museum & Winter Gardens with its works by LS Lowry and the National Glass Centre with its workshops and displays.  And for evening entertainment, nothing surpasses the Victorian splendour of the Sunderland Empire Theatre where some of the best West End shows are staged.

Ancient history comes to life in South Tyneside, with Anglo-Saxon times vividly recreated at Bede’s World, and in North Tyneside, where Segedunum at the Eastern end of Hadrian’s Wall is the most completely excavated Roman fort in Britain.