Worried that one day isn't enough to see all Newcastle has to offer? Never fear, your trusty local guide is here. Grab your camera and let's go!
Something Newcastle is famous for is its beaches, so why not start off your day with a nice walk along one of these sandy stretches. Look out to the horizon and see the coal ships waiting to be invited into harbour. Looks like a perfect painting doesn't it? Enjoy your stroll but don't linger too long - the city is waiting!
Picture perfect...
Next, head to Darby Street for a preparatory breakfast or brunch. Goldberg's has a fantastic variety of healthy (and not-so-healthy) items on the menu, from bircher muesli with fresh fruit and yoghurt to a vegetarian breakfast complete with fried tomatoes, mushrooms and potato rostis. For a satisfying big breakfast, try Longbench just a few cafes down - you might not need lunch!
If you've been bitten by the history bug, you might then like to check out the
Newcastle Museum, a fantastic compilation of the city's history complete with interactive displays and audio re-enactments of important events. Climb aboard the resident tram, one of many that ran along Newcastle's Tramways until the service was closed in 1950. Featuring poster advertisements from the 40s and 50s, and preserved tram timetables, the tram gives a realistic feel of what it was like to use this form of transport in the city.
Ding Ding!
With all that learning you'll probably be starting to feel a bit thirsty, so the next item on the agenda is to go for a drink along Newcastle's classiest stretch of restaurants and watering holes - Honeysuckle Boardwalk. Just head out the museum doors and across the road, and you'll be right there in the thick of it (gee, I'm good to you!). Why not enjoy a beer or cider at
The Dockyard and a bowl of crunchy beer battered chips (you'll be doing a bit of walking next, just go for it!), whilst watching the coal ships drift past on the harbour. They really are massive up close!
After you've wet your whistle, you'll be set to meander down Honeysuckle waterfront taking in the sea air and dodging kids on scooters and fitness freaks on bike or on foot. The walkway is popular with locals as it offers almost four kilometres of smooth pavement and terrific views of Newcastle's iconic harbour. Across the water you can see Stockton, once a popular hideout for pirates in the early 1800s and the only suburb in Newcastle that lies north of the Hunter River. If you're up for it, you can even take a ferry across the water to Stockton and stroll along the waterfront paths that offer fantastic views of the Newcastle Cityscape.
All aboard, just watch out for pirates...
Newcastle from Stockton
If you keep walking, you'll eventually come to another of Newcastle's famous landmarks - Nobby's Beach. It is here you'll see the lighthouse that features in all those pictures of the city. This is Nobby's Head Lighthouse, the third lighthouse to be built in New South Wales. On the beach below, the Pascha Bulker carrier ship ran aground in 2007 after stormy weather and made news headlines all over the nation, even inspiring a remake of the song 'Blame it on the Bossa Nova' to 'Blame it on the Pasha Bulker'! Take a break, sit on one of the benches facing the beach and take in the gorgeous beach views that Newcastle is famous for the world over.
The beached Pasha Bulker
You are now in perfect position to sample some of Newcastle's most popular restaurants for an evening session of wining and dining. If you'd like to enjoy your meal overlooking the ocean (and who wouldn't?), Jonah's or SandBar Cafe are recommended - why not get there before sunset and sip at wine watching the spectacular sky changing colours into night.
Newcastle Beach at sunset. (Excuse the lamp post)
So there you have it, the best (in this writer's opinion) of Newcastle done and dusted, wined and dined, in one day!
