With Christmas just around the corner, we’ve put together an all you need to know guide on travel, opening times and festive activities around Newcastle.
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00:00If you're planning to do some last-minute Christmas shopping in Newcastle, Eldon Square
00:06is open from 9am until 5pm on Christmas Eve. Shops on Northumberland Street are following
00:10similar opening times, with Primark open from 7am and closing at 5pm. Fenix and JD Sports
00:16are open 8am until 5pm, so it looks as though shops will be closing at 5pm and will reopen
00:20Boxing Day. However, some may differ slightly, so it's worth double checking to avoid disappointment.
00:27Some shops are also trading at reduced hours on Boxing Day with there being a bank holiday.
00:31For instance, Eldon Square will be open from 10am until 6pm. However, many stores this
00:36year will be closed on Boxing Day too, including Next, M&S, John Lewis and O2.
00:43If you're hoping to drive into Newcastle, just be wary that the Gateshead flyover is
00:46still closed and there's still only two lanes open on the Tyne Bridge, so make sure you
00:50plan ahead.
00:51But if you're thinking about using the Metro, a revised weekday service will be in place
00:57until around 6pm, then there'll be an hourly service thereafter.
01:01The Tyne and Weir Metro will also be closed on Christmas Day, with a revised Sunday service
01:05starting from around 8am on Boxing Day, which will run until around 8pm.
01:11If you're busing it into the town, Go North East will be running a normal school holiday
01:14timetable, with the majority of final departures being between 6pm and 7pm on Christmas Eve.
01:21Some services will be operating special timetables on Boxing Day, so it's worth checking out
01:26your normal bus route online or through the apps just in case.
01:31Arriva are running their normal Tuesday service until around 6pm as well, and both Go North
01:36East and Arriva services won't be running on Christmas Day.
01:40If you're looking for something fun to do around the festive week, the Christmas markets
01:43will finish in Newcastle on the 22nd of December, but there's still plenty to do in and around
01:48the city.
01:50Fenwick's Window is open to enjoy until New Year's Day.
01:53If you haven't seen it yet, it follows the 12 days of Christmas with a magical twist.
01:58The Life's Open Air Ice Rink will be open until the 5th of January, so a good one to
02:02tire the kids out with during the Christmas holidays.
02:06They also have a Skated Off Evening, which of course is a Taylor Swift themed event that
02:10will take place on the 3rd of January, so if there's any Swifties mourning over the
02:13era's tour coming to an end, this one's for you.
02:17And it obviously wouldn't be Christmas without a pantomime or two.
02:20So the Theatre Royal are presenting The Little Mermaid with lots of amazing performers, including
02:24Joe McElderry, until the 12th of January.
02:28The Tyne Theatre and Opera House are presenting Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs with performers
02:32including Britain's Got Talent's act Twist and Pulse.
02:35The show will be running until the 5th of January, and they have adult-only performances
02:39on their final weekend too.
02:42But if you're wanting to avoid the busy city completely, the Met Rock Centre will be open
02:46from 9am until 5pm on Christmas Eve, and will reopen on Boxing Day at 10am.
02:51They too have an open-air ice rink located in the Yellow Mall car park, and that will
02:55be running until the 5th of January as well.