Newcastle's museums are free, its bridges are free to walk over, and the whole city centre is compact enough to manage with children in tow.
The Quayside on one side and the university museums on the other give you two distinct half-days without spending anything.
Free things to do in Newcastle upon Tyne with children
- Great North Museum: Hancock — A life-sized T-Rex cast, a large-scale model of Hadrian's Wall, mummies and a live animal section. Free entry, with a small charge for planetarium shows.
- Discovery Museum — Home to Turbinia, once the fastest ship in the world, sitting in the middle of the building. Science galleries built for children to touch. Free.
- Laing Art Gallery — Free, with a dedicated children's art space and regular family sessions.
- The Quayside and the Millennium Bridge — Seven bridges in a row, and a footbridge that tilts. Walk over to Gateshead for the Baltic, which is also free and has a viewing box over the river.
- Jesmond Dene — A wooded valley with a waterfall and a free pets corner, a short Metro ride from the centre.
Worth paying for
Not free, but cheap enough to be worth it, and all reachable without a car:
- Seven Stories, the National Centre for Children's Books — Charges admission, but it is built entirely around children's books and is worth it for the right child.
- The Metro to Tynemouth — A cheap ride out to a beach, a ruined priory and a Sunday market in the station itself.
Getting to Newcastle upon Tyne by train
Newcastle Central station is in the city centre, with the Quayside downhill and the museums a short walk or one Metro stop away.
Going by train also means nobody has to find a parking space, and children can move about, look out of the window and eat crisps for the whole journey.
Click here to book train tickets to Newcastle upon Tyne
Opening hours, admission prices and booking requirements change, and some attractions close on certain days or for refurbishment. Always check the attraction’s own website before you set off. This page was written in August 2026.
Disclosure: the train ticket link on this page is an affiliate link. If you book through it I may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.
