Laing Art Gallery

This small but important gallery on Newcastle's New Bridge Street is home to a very impressive collection of sculpture and art and is well known for attracting some of the big hitters in historic, modern and contemporary art to the north east. The permanent collection has some fabulous 18th and 19th century paintings and world class watercolours. The pre-Raphaelite paintings are worth the trip alone. But there is contemporary work here too with Moore's Seated Woman: Thin Neck, Gaugin's The Breton Shepherdess and The Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah by John Martin headlining. Don't forget to examine the local art works here too, each giving a sense of the city's past. There are also plenty of free talks, family activities and artists' workshops to attend.