Hi all fodorites!

I am in Newcastle for the weekend for a wedding. The way things have worked out I have most of Saturday to kill before going to the wedding party. So as a true fodorite I want to see something of the place while i am there.

I have heard it is a great city to see and a lot has been done in the recent past to the city centre. So a tall order, but if you had only one day in Newcastle what would you do?

Details - I am staying in the city centre, and I am up for bus tours, places of interest, galleries, shoping, what ever is recommended

All help is much appreciated!

Start at Grey's monument bang in the centre and walk down Grey Street: Pevsner calls it the finest classical street in Britain. Keep walking downhill until you reach the Quayside, the focus of much of the city's renaissance in recent years. You'll find a fascinating and unique city-scape of bridges, from the iconic Tyne to the graceful Millennium, the new Foster-designed Music Centre and the nearly new Baltic Gallery, both on the Gateshead side of the river, lots of pubs and a few decent restaurants. The city's Laing Art Gallery back up the hill is worth a look. Shopping (admittedly of the bog standard high-street kind) is good. The Geordies are friendly to the point of outright noseyness, and if you can follow the accent, excellent humourists. Of the eponymous "new" castle only the keep remains, but also good for views. The cathedral is small but atmospheric. The city's small enough to support a day of easy exploring, and if not to your taste, the Unesco World Heritage City of Durham is 15 minutes away by train.

Micklosh has given you a great reply, but I just wanted to second the recommendation of the Baltic gallery - I visted it last year & spent an entire day there !! There is a free guided tour which is well worth doing, and there are also several restaurants on site. See www.balticmill.com.

Micklosh covered most things Newcastles website is
http://www.newcastle.gov.uk/tic.nsf/a/tic?opendocument
There is an open top double decker bus tour round Newcastle.
Newcastle United Fottball Ground is practically just a couple of minutes walk from the city centre. The Metro Centre (more shops) is a short bus ride away.

Don't know where you are from but the beach at Tynemouth is nice and easy to get to on the Metro (about 20 mins from Newcastle) The Priory (ruined castle) is also interesting at Tynemouth.

Thank you all for your replies!!