16 Fun Things to do in Newcastle for Adults

If you’re visiting Newcastle with friends for the first time, or you’re a local looking for something new, choose from our list of the most fun things to do in Newcastle. 

From the historic Newcastle Castle to a Newcastle Brewery Tour, a climbing session at Climb Newcastle or a board games night at Meeple Perk, you’re bound to find something to take your fancy:

A Taste of Newcastle Food Tour

The Taste of Newcastle Food Tour run by Triple A Food Tours is a great way to get a taste of both the famous sights and the best food in Newcastle at the same time. 

Triple A Tours have carefully chosen a selection of great “tasting partners” in the centre of Newcastle for their Taste of Newcastle Tour. You’ll learn about each dish as you taste it - from fresh seafood to wine tastings and Spanish specialities.

Each tour will be different as you will be sampling from the changing menus of the tasting partners.

Starting at The Greys Monument at 1pm, your tour will visit 5 of the best independent establishments, where you will sample a wide range of inclusive food and drink. Perfect for looking at Newcastle in a different way.

https://www.tripleafoodtours.com/tours-and-events

Newcastle Castle

You can find out all about the beginnings of medieval Newcastle at this majestic ruined castle, right in the heart of the city overlooking the quayside.

You can explore all four floors of this atmospheric ancient monument which gave Newcastle its name.

You’ll find out why the castle was not a fancy stately home but a royal strong-hold, housing armies and criminals alike. 

It may look small from the outside, but it has been described as Doctor Who’s Tardis, with hidden passageways and chambers inside!

https://www.newcastlecastle.co.uk/

The Newcastle Brewery Tour

Newcastle is famous for its independent craft breweries and as a place to party. Take the Newcastle Brewery Tour to get a taste of different styles of Newcastle brewed beer. 

This approximately three-hour tour will take you to three specially selected brewery tap rooms or craft beer venues, so that you can sample the best beer that the North East has to offer.

Your expert guide will take you to each of the breweries, and along the way, you will learn all about Newcastle’s brewing history. 

All of the tastings are included in the price of your ticket and are usually a half or quarter pint.

The Tyne Bank Brewery, The Full Circle Brewery and The Brinkburn Street Brewery are usually included on the tour, but these can be subject to change.

https://www.ukbrewerytours.com/listing/newcastle-brewery-tour/

Challenge your Mates to a Nerf Rival Battle

It’s not just the kids who enjoy chasing each other with Nerf guns! You can book a Nerf Rival Party with NEBubbleFootball, and challenge your mates to a proper battle! 

You’ll be so glad that you spent hours firing those Nerf guns at your parents when you were a kid!

A 60 minute Nerf Rival party includes the use of Nerf Rival blasters and safety masks, unlimited ammo, and multiple inflatable barricades to hide behind!

The organisers can provide the indoor venue or they can come to you if you have a local venue in mind for your fun activities.

It's up to you what sort of battle you want - Last Team Standing, Elimination or Capture The Flag are all available.

It’s like Paintball without the mess or pain!

https://www.nebubblefootball.co.uk/nerfrival.php

Climb Newcastle

Climb Newcastle has two bouldering centres in Newcastle - the Valley in Ouseburn and The Pool in Byker - where you can scale the heights, whether you are a beginner or a seasoned pro!

If you fancy having a go for the first time, you can book an induction session at either centre, and you will be given a private session (for up to 6 climbers) with an experienced and enthusiastic coach. They will show you how to boulder, including all the basic safety and climbing skills you’ll need.

If you’re an old hand, you can book bouldering sessions at either centre, and The Valley has a large training area where you can sharpen your skills - there’s even gym equipment and free weights available.

There’s a cafe and climbing shop at both centres, so you can get refreshments and update your climbing gear whilst you’re there.

https://www.climbnewcastle.com/

The Escape Key

The Escape Key is a different sort of escape room, with 4 hand-crafted indoor puzzle rooms. They are not just the ordinary ‘find the combination and open the box’ type of room, but are inspired by the history and heritage of Newcastle and the North East. 

The Escape Key is right next to St Andrew’s Church, overlooking the cemetery and site of witch burials and a real plague pit! So as you might expect, their escape rooms include “Plague” and “Witch”!

You’ll have a spooky time at The Escape Key - you can book a room with up to 7 or 8 of your friends.

Escape Key also have 2 outdoor games in Newcastle which you can load onto your phone, so that you can solve puzzles and challenges whilst exploring the old and new parts of the city.

https://www.escape-key.co.uk/

Guided Walking Tour of Newcastle

Rob (from Red Beard Tours) will take you on an amazing 2-hour accessible walking tour that guides you through Newcastle’s history and brings its famous characters to life.

The places you’ll visit include Grainger Town (where you'll find Grainger Market), Grey’s Monument, Chinatown, Blackfriars, the town walls and, of course, Newcastle Castle. Also, you’ll find out all about the mysterious alien space invaders!

As a finale, the tour ends with a wonderful view of the River Tyne and its historic bridges.

http://www.redbeardtours.co.uk/

EXIT Newcastle

EXIT Newcastle have 6 Live Escape Rooms for you to choose from - each of which gives you 60 adrenaline-fuelled minutes to solve the puzzles and clues and “exit” from the room.

You work together with your friends and family to solve puzzles such as “Save The City”, where you must defuse a bomb before the city is destroyed;  “Attic” where you must escape from a murderer's terrifying attic before he returns; or “Fiorella’s Cave” which is an Indiana Jones type of adventure where you need to rescue a precious artefact before the whole cave collapses!

Each escape room takes up to 6 players (Escape The City takes 8 players), so you can get together a group of your mates for a frenetic and challenging hour of fun!

https://exit-newcastle.co.uk/

The Flight Sim Centre

Have you ever wanted to fly a Jumbo Jet or a Spitfire? Or how about piloting a Tom Cruise-style Top Gun Fighter Jet? 

You can do all of this and more at the amazing Newcastle Flight Sim Centre. With full-size controls and cockpits and wrap-around screens, you can immerse yourself in learning how to fly these fantastic aircraft.

In the Boeing 737 jumbo simulator, there’s even a mocked-up passenger cabin so that 6 of your friends and family can fly along with you! 

Every detail of your day can be recorded and taken home on an SD card.

Other simulators available include a Piper / Cessna, a Bell 206 Jet Ranger Helicopter, a Messerschmitt, and a high speed 4D motor car.

There’s also a Battle of Britain Experience where the Spitfire and the Messerschmitt simulators are linked so that you and a friend can engage in a dramatic airborne battle.

https://www.flightsimcentre.com/

The Stand Comedy Club, Bar & Kitchen

The Stand Comedy Clubs are known all over the North for their excellent stand-up comedy acts and great food, and The Stand Newcastle is no different!

The Stand is open 7 nights a week, with regular weekly feature nights such as Red Raw on a Wednesday (featuring the beginner acts), Kids Shows, and Weekend Shows (Thursday to Saturday).

Make sure you arrive on time for the show - there is no allocated seating so it’s best to get there for the doors opening time - it does get very busy, especially at the weekend. 

https://www.thestand.co.uk/newcastle/

Meeple Perk

Meeple Perk is a dedicated board games cafe - the perfect place to switch off from the digital age and enjoy playing some proper board games with your friends.

If you’ve ever wondered what to do if it’s raining in Newcastle, now you have the answer - an afternoon of playing board games at Meeple Perk! 

They have over 400 board games to choose from (each with a suggested length of game) so you can just go for a quick game of Fuse or Tsuro, or a full-blown game of Risk, Catan, Chronicles of Time or Terraforming Mars.

You can book a table for up to 2 hours so you’ll have plenty of time to get a full-length game in.

There is a great coffee and food menu serving breakfast (each morning before 12) and light meals such as burgers, nachos and sandwiches, so you won’t go hungry whilst you’re plotting against your friends!

https://www.meepleperk.co.uk/

Hatchet Harry’s Axe Throwing

If you fancy some friendly rivalry with your friends and the chance to try a new sport, how about having a go at Axe Throwing? Originally from Canada, the sport of urban axe throwing is really taking off in the UK.

At Hatchet Harry’s you book a 90 minute session, during which you’ll receive expert axe throwing tuition, and then have a friendly competition with the people in your lane.

After the competition you’ll be taught how to do trick shots - you even get a chance to throw two axes at once!

If you really enjoy your Axe Throwing experience, you can then go along to the regular Hatchet Harry’s Newcastle club night and throw axes every week.

https://hatchetharrys.co.uk/

Treasure Hunt Newcastle

The Treasure Hunt guide is a fun way to make sure you see all of the best bits of Newcastle whilst having fun solving clues and puzzles with your friends. 

Treasure Hunt works like a Whatsapp group, where your Whatsapp team is guided around Newcastle City by a jolly pirate, who is a member of the group. Each member of the team can join in with the group on their own phones.

Whilst you’re playing Treasure Hunt Newcastle, you’ll be asked to solve cryptic clues (with hints available) and follow treasure maps, taking in sights such as Grey’s Monument, the Castle, and not forgetting the famous Tyne Bridge.

https://treasurehuntnewcastle.com/

Lane7 Bowling

You won’t believe it, but Lane7 Newcastle used to be an old Kwik-fit garage! 

Now it is a cool bowling alley with a difference - it has ten-pin bowling (with walnut lanes), of course, but it also has a restaurant and bar, ping pong, American pool, beer pong, karaoke, darts, cricket batting cages and a brilliant atmosphere!

It’s perfect for a night out with your friends with so many different things to choose from. 

You can book the Baller Package which gives you ten-pin bowling, a drink, a main meal and either an hour's ping pong or pool, for an all-inclusive price.

https://lane7.co.uk/newcastle/

Game of Throwing 

This is where you can learn to throw axes like you are one of the heroes from Game of Thrones! 

You’ll really enjoy testing your throwing skills against your mates in the Game of Throwing arena. You can book an exclusive lane for a group of up to 6 people.

If you’re new to axe-throwing, you'll be given a 15-minute training session, where you’ll be taught to throw an axe in the way recommended by the World Axe Throwing League. This coaching session will then be followed by your allotted time on your lane. 

https://www.gameofthrowing.co.uk/game-of-throwing-newcastle

Escape Newcastle

Escape Newcastle has five exciting escape rooms over two locations (Grainger Street and The Gate) to choose from.

Both locations are in Grainger Town, handy when you are on a night out in the Newcastle city centre.

At Escape, you and up to 5 of your friends have an hour to work together and solve the puzzles so you can escape from rooms such as “Witchcraft and Wizardry”, “Contagion” and “Dead Man’s Hand”.

https://www.escape.game/escape-newcastle

However long you’re in Newcastle for (a day, a week or even years!) I hope you have found lots of exciting things to do on this great list.