In recent times Newcastle has transformed itself into the north east’s top tourist location as well as becoming the regions business centre. Millions of pounds of investment have revived the city centre turning it into a desirable place to live as well as work and helped to make thousands of brand new jobs. There are numerous reasons to pay a visit to Newcastle and it’s been voted the UK’s favourite city break for four consecutive years in The Guardian/Observer travel awards. Newcastle has many fantastic sight-seeing opportunities for all your family and a weekend break defintely won’t be enough to explore all of them. It is well known the north east is a hotbed of sporting fanaticism and given that Newcastle United are back in the Premier league there are sure to be a large number of football supporters from around the country doing the journey to St James’s Park. The Great North Run which is organised every year is yet another event which draws in a huge number of participants and spectators and raises tens of millions for charity. Shopping is an additional big attraction to the city with a huge selection of stores as well as boutiques in the city centre and three big shopping centres inside the city itself. The MetroCentre contains the largest shopping centre and complex in Europe with a host of top name brands in one place. With the Newcastle Quayside Market beginning in July 2010 as well as the already established Grainger market, Jesmond market and the Farmers & Country marketplace you’re hard pressed not to grab a good deal somewhere. Newcastle has the most impressive variety of night clubs and pubs in the united kingdom and possesses a reputation through the UK as the place to go for a fantastic night out. The Quayside and the Bigg market bring in a lively, young crowd and for the slightly more mature you will find a large number of traditional pubs, theatres as well as excellent restaurants. And of course no visit to Newcastle would be complete without trying the famous Newcastle Brown Ale at least once. As you would expect from a modern and dynamic city there’s a good variety of hotels in Newcastle available. From B&B’s to five star hotels there is accommodation to match each and every pocket and I can personally highly recommend the Rosebery Hotel in Jesmond as a fantastic place to stay.