Cruises visiting Newcastle upon Tyne (United Kingdom)

Once a major producer of coal, and then a center of heavy engineering and shipbuilding, Newcastle-upon-Tyne is in process of reinventing itself as a regional hub of educational and artistic pursuits. With its sister city of Gateshead, across the Tyne, Newcastle is home to no fewer than seven colleges and universities, and boasts one of the United Kingdom’s preeminent institutions devoted to contemporary art – the BALTIC, a converted flour mill, second in scale only to the Tate Modern in London. This free museum on the Gateshead Quays is worth a visit, unless you prefer to cross the Millennium Bridge to Newcastle’s bustling waterfront of shops, squares, sculpture and restaurants.