Durham attractions

With this ticket, you’ll be able to gain entry to the Upside Down House at the Metrocentre in Gateshead. In this interactive attraction, you can capture creative and playful pictures. Inside, you’ll find quirky themed areas, including a music zone, a Sir Ridley Scott movie room and various spaces inspired by the north east’s culture and heritage. You’ll experience Gateshead from a unique angle.

This tour of Durham is not just about the place, but about the people and the stories that shaped it. As you move through the historic city centre, you’ll hear about Durham’s surprising Narnia connection, trace its mining heritage, and explore tales of dragons and saints alongside darker chapters, including a story about a serial killer. Along the way you’ll enjoy breathtaking views of the cathedral and the surrounding cityscape. The route is family friendly and fully accessible, so travellers of different ages and abilities can join in. Your guide is an enthusiastic local resident, a Durham University graduate and an expert in all things Durham, past and present. Travellers, students and locals alike are guaranteed to discover something new about the city while enjoying the sights and stories offered on this tour.

In Durham, a relaxed walk through cobbled streets and along riverside footpaths will put the city's history in view. You will see some of the world's best architecture and hear gripping tales of the kings, the Prince Bishops and the local people whose lives shaped Durham into one of England's most fascinating and historically significant cities. The History Tour will take you from the bustling heart of the Market Place to the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the castle. Along the way you will explore how the buildings and streets reflect centuries of power, faith and everyday life, and your guide will bring those stories to life with context and local detail. The route balances streetscape and riverside views, so you will get a clear sense of both the architecture and the people behind Durham's past.

With this ticket, you’ll enter Newcastle Castle and discover its critical role in the city’s history. You’ll have plenty of time to explore at your own pace, discovering fascinating areas like the Castle Keep and Black Gate. The Norman fortress serves as a reminder of northern England’s tumultuous history, and you’ll learn about its military history and how criminals were imprisoned in the castle walls and even executed onsite.

This guided walk around the remains of Old Newcastle centres on Newcastle Castle and the city's medieval heart. A friendly, knowledgeable guide will lead you from Newcastle Castle toward the Monument, pausing at St Andrew's — Newcastle’s oldest church — and taking you past sections of the town walls. Along the way you'll hear about former friaries, merchant houses and the markets that once shaped city life, bringing hidden layers of history to life behind the modern streets. The route finishes at the imposing Black Gate, the gatehouse of Newcastle’s Castle. From there you'll have time to explore the well-preserved remains of the Black Gate and the Castle Keep for yourself; entry to Newcastle Castle is included. As you move through these medieval structures you can take in the architecture and imagine the city's past as your guide fills in the stories and context.

Step into the world of DCI Vera Stanhope on a guided coach tour through Newcastle, Tyneside and Northumberland. You’ll travel past more than 15 filming locations from the ITV series, taking in city scenes along the River Tyne and the dramatic Northumberland coast as you move between well‑known and remote spots featured across all 14 seasons. Along the way you’ll see Newcastle’s Quayside with views of the city’s seven bridges, visit Vera’s first police headquarters in Wallsend and stop at North Shields Fish Quay — the location where she scatters her father’s ashes in “Hidden Depths”. You’ll pass the Victorian seaside towns of Tynemouth and Whitley Bay and continue up the coast to Woodhorn Museum, Amble, Warkworth, Alnmouth and Seahouses, with views of the Farne Islands. The route also goes by Bamburgh before crossing the tidal causeway to Holy Island (Lindisfarne), which is used in the Christmas special “The Rising Tide” and is depicted as Vera’s home. You’ll see locations from the pilot right through to the series finale, with some drive‑by viewings and several chances for photos. Typical stops include a morning break at North Shields, lunch at Seahouses and free time to explore Lindisfarne. Film clips play on board and expert guides share behind‑the‑scenes information, anecdotes and local history, finishing at the Stanhope Arms pub shown in the closing scenes of “The Dark Wives”.

Explore the darker side of Durham as you follow a guided walk around the city’s oldest corners. You will move between the medieval prisons, the castle and the cathedral, and pass several of the city’s historic pubs, hearing stories that cast a very different light on this beautiful little city. Along the way, you will learn about hauntings and shocking crimes, hear about deadly battles that shaped the region, and listen to tales of tragic events and saintly miracles. The narrative will link places and people, showing how the castle, cathedral, prisons and pubs all contribute to Durham’s mysterious character and rich history. The tone will be both haunting and historical, giving context to each story so you can appreciate how these darker episodes fit into the city’s past.

This guided introduction to Newcastle gives you a rounded story of the city. Led by passionate guides, the experience will cover the main highlights as well as the little quirks that make Newcastle unique. Along the way you’ll get a fascinating introduction to the place locals call home, presented in a friendly, easy-to-follow way. As you move through the presentation, you’ll gain a clearer sense of the city’s character and what makes it special. The guide will set the scene for the rest of your visit, helping you decide what to explore next and giving you a confident start to your time in Newcastle.

In Newcastle, this one-of-a-kind walk is not a ghost tour but a true crimes journey. You will explore some of the gruesome, darker episodes in the city's history, all brought to life by a local expert who will share the stories and context behind each case. As you move through the city, the route will take you past some of Newcastle’s best-known places and then divert into hidden streets. Along the way you will hear lesser-known tales and wonderful stories tied to these tucked-away lanes, giving a different view of the city’s past and the events that shaped it.

This self-guided walking tour takes you through the dramatic peninsula of Durham, starting in the bustling heart of the city and leading you along tranquil riverside footpaths and over medieval bridges to the world-famous Durham Cathedral. As you move through the city you’ll enjoy some of the most spectacular vantage points and hear tales of St Cuthbert and his miraculous journey to the city roughly 300 years after his death. Along the way you’ll encounter stories of legendary kings and ferocious rivalries that have shaped Durham since Anglo-Saxon times. You’ll meet figures from wealthy and eccentric Prince Bishops to humble locals, learning how they helped make the city what it is today. The tour can be paused whenever you want for refreshments en route. You’ll need to download the tour onto the VoiceMap app, which uses your location to play the story at the right times and places. The same guided audio can also be enjoyed virtually at home.

Starting from Earl Grey’s Monument in the heart of Newcastle, you’ll join a local expert for a walk through the city’s darker past. You will revisit scenes of murder, intrigue and suspense that rattled this Tyneside city and get a sense of how crime and punishment shaped Newcastle over the years. Along the way you will hear vivid tales of witchcraft, learn about the lucrative trade of body‑snatchers and hear the story of a prank that went badly wrong. The route will take you past former jails, places of execution and historic courtrooms, where the guide will retell some of the most infamous court cases and revisit actual crime scenes of days gone by. The focus is on storytelling and context, so you’ll leave with a clearer picture of Newcastle’s criminal history and the people and places involved.

You’ll step into a playful, upside‑down world at this family attraction, where rooms are fitted with furniture fixed to the ceiling so it looks as if you’re walking on the ceiling and reaching for tables, chairs and lamps. As you move through the inverted rooms, you’ll find plenty of creative photo opportunities and unusual angles that make for memorable pictures to share with friends and family. The experience is suitable for all ages and is designed around hands‑on, visual fun rather than guided interpretation. The attraction spans two floors separated by a spiral staircase. The ground floor is part‑accessible and can be reached via a temporary ramp, allowing wheelchair users to access the inverted experience and many of the photo spots. There is no lift or ramp to the second floor, so access beyond the ground level requires using the spiral staircase. Along the way you’ll explore a variety of domestic scenes turned on their head, making everyday objects feel surprising and new.

This walking tour brings the area’s shifting heritage and culture to life. As you move through the streets, you will encounter the layers of local history and understand how traditions have changed over time. The experience will focus on making those connections clear and accessible. Along the way, you will hear explanations of both past events and future developments shaping the place. The tour will highlight how cultural practices, built environments and community life have evolved, and it will outline plans and ideas for what comes next. You will come away with a sense of how history and contemporary change interact, and with a clearer picture of the area’s ongoing story.

In Hexham, this guided walking tour takes you through more than 1,000 years of the town’s darker history. Your guide is an accomplished public speaker who was born and raised in Hexham, spent eight months researching local history and serves as an official Hexham Town Crier. As they bring stories to life, you’ll get to know the layout of the town while hearing colourful, often unsettling tales from the past. Along the way you’ll learn about the market square massacre in which 51 people were killed, the brutal and life-changing punishments meted out for what we would now see as trivial offences, and the macabre contents that once gave the town’s drinking water its ‘distinct’ flavour. The route is circular and accessible, and dogs are welcome, making it a healthy outdoor activity for many visitors. The focus remains on Hexham’s history and atmosphere, told with local knowledge and a storyteller’s touch.

On this eight-hour guided tour, you’ll get to visit iconic filming locations from ITV’s hit drama series, Vera. You’ll get to follow in the footsteps of DCI Vera Stanhope, as you drive around Newcastle city, rural North East England and Northumberland’s coast. Along the way, you’ll get to visit ten different filming locations from episodes including The Prodigal Son and Castles in the Air. You’ll have time to stop and take pictures at each familiar landmark too. Your guide will provide insights and context on the locations, as well as fun facts and behind-the-scenes stories.