At first glance NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE - virtual capital of the area between Yorkshire and Scotland - may appear to be just another northern industrial conurbation, but the banks of the Tyne have been settled for nearly two thousand years and the city consequently has a greater breadth of attractions than many of its rivals. The Romans were the first to bridge the river here, and the "new castle" appeared as long ago as 1080. In the seventeenth century a regional monopoly on coal export brought wealth and power to Newcastle and - as well as giving a new expression to the English language - engendered its other great industry, shipbuilding. At one time, a quarter of the world's shipping was built here, and the first steam train and steam turbine also emerged from Newcastle factories. In its nineteenth-century heyday, Newcastle's engineers and builders gave the city an elegance which has survived the ravages of recent development. Industrial decline hit Newcastle early, as highlighted by the Jarrow March of 1936, but this remains a vibrant place, with a resilience that's symbolized commercially by the hugely successful MetroCentre shopping mall across the river at Gateshead, and artistically by Antony Gormley's Angel of the North , a magnificent steel sculpture the size of a jumbo jet that welcomes anyone approaching the city from the south by rail or road. There's an impressive energy about Newcastle's handsome city centre, too - encapsulated in the International Centre for Life , which combines a cutting-edge biotechnology research centre with noisy and edifying science lessons at the state-of-the-art LIFE Interactive World - while its revitalized Quayside , scene of much of the city's nightlife , goes from strength to strength. Indeed, there's a sharper edge to Newcastle's carousing these days, with new cafés, bars and clubs rivalling the traditional knees-up antics of the notorious Bigg Market. Culturally, too, Newcastle is way ahead of its local rivals - Durham included - boasting the best traditional art gallery in the Northeast, the Laing , and a slew of good theatres and all-round arts venues. This pre-eminence will be cemented with the imminent opening of the BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art , a quayside flour mill that's being transformed into the largest visual arts space in the country outside of London, and will be further reinforced in 2003 by the equally adventurous Music Centre Gateshead alongside.

Hard times and a sense of remoteness from the capital have given Newcastle's inhabitants, known as Geordies , a partisan pride in their city, which finds its most evident expression in fanatical support for the Newcastle United football team (the "Magpies"). With the stadium firmly anchored in the city centre, and every other young (and not so young) supporter wearing the familiar black-and-white shirt, it's difficult to overstate the team's importance - the death a few years ago of United's most famous goalscorer, Jackie Milburn, brought thousands onto the streets for what was almost a state funeral.