Things to Do in Newcastle When It Rains: Indoor Ideas, Mostly Free

The best things to do in Newcastle when it rains are mostly free: the Discovery Museum, the Great North Museum: Hancock, the Laing Art Gallery, Baltic and Seven Stories all cost nothing to enter, and the Lit & Phil library is free to anyone who walks in. Add a film at Tyneside Cinema or lunch under the roof of the Grainger Market and you have a full wet day. The catch is opening days: the Laing and the Grainger Market are shut on Sundays, Baltic on Mondays and Tuesdays, and the Discovery Museum and Laing on bank holidays. Everything below was checked in October 2026. For more, see What's On.

Discovery Museum, Blandford Square

A short walk west of Central Station, the Discovery Museum is free and fills its atrium with Turbinia, the steam turbine ship. It opens 10am to 4pm on weekdays and 11am to 4pm at weekends, and is closed on bank holidays. The Turbinia Café on the second floor serves until 3.30pm, and the Steam to Green exhibition is the current headline. Details are on the museum's visit page.

Great North Museum: Hancock, Barras Bridge

By Haymarket Metro, the Hancock is free and opens 10am to 5pm Monday to Friday, 10am to 4pm on Saturday and 11am to 4pm on Sunday. Beyond the Living Planet gallery, autumn 2026 brings Bayeux-on-Tyne, sections of a Victorian paper copy of the Bayeux Tapestry, free half term family activities, and a ticketed Great Festive Dinosaur Show for Christmas. On school-holiday Tuesdays there is a relaxed opening from 9am to 10am, and weekdays after 2.30pm are quietest.

Laing Art Gallery, New Bridge Street

The Laing is free and opens Monday to Saturday, 10am to 4.30pm. Pre-Raphaelites: Art and Poetry, over 100 works, runs until 13 February 2027 and is the one show with an admission charge; Sublime Landscapes runs until 5 December 2026. Before Christmas the gallery opens on Sundays 29 November and 6, 13 and 20 December, 11am to 4pm. It is closed on bank holidays.

Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead Quays

Across the Millennium Bridge, Baltic is free and opens Wednesday to Sunday, 10am to 6pm. It is a big building to wander on a grey day, the Level 5 viewing terrace looks back over the Quayside, and the Baltic Kitchen does veggie sausage rolls and toasties. Check current exhibitions on Baltic's site.

The Lit & Phil, Westgate Road

Founded in 1793 and on Westgate Road since 1825, the Literary and Philosophical Society at number 23 holds more than 200,000 books and 20,000 CDs and LPs in a Grade II* listed building. Access is free to all. It opens 9.30am to 7pm Monday, Wednesday and Thursday, to 8pm on Tuesday, to 5pm on Friday and 9.30am to 1pm on Saturday. Talks, concerts and author events run through the week; see the Lit & Phil's What's On.

Tyneside Cinema

The city's independent cinema is a registered charity and runs seasons as well as new releases. For Halloween 2026 there are two horror All-Nighters, on Saturday 24 and Saturday 31 October, an interactive Rocky Horror screening on 23 October and Ken Russell's The Devils from 30 October to 12 November. Opera and ballet screenings include Manon on 27 October and Carmen on 10 November.

Seven Stories, Lime Street

At 30 Lime Street in Ouseburn, Seven Stories is the free visitor centre and museum for children's books. It usually opens every day except Wednesdays in term time, 10am to 5pm. Building improvements are planned over the coming months; it stays open, but some spaces may close temporarily, so email before a special trip. Storytimes and workshops are paid extras, bookable ahead.

Grainger Market

For lunch out of the rain, John Dobson's Grade I listed market of 1835 has over 100 independent traders under one roof, including the Marks and Spencer Original Penny Bazaar. It opens Monday to Saturday, 9am to 5.30pm, and is closed on Sundays.

Good to know

The best wet-day loop is Discovery in the morning, lunch at the Grainger Market, then the Laing, all walkable from Central Station and Monument. On a Sunday, swap the Laing and market for Baltic and the Hancock. Donations are welcome at Discovery, the Hancock and the Laing. If the rain stops, our things to do in Newcastle guide covers the outdoor half of the city, and our bars page has places to dry off.

FAQs

What free museums are there in Newcastle?

The Discovery Museum, the Great North Museum: Hancock and the Laing Art Gallery are all free, as are Baltic in Gateshead and Seven Stories in Ouseburn. The Lit & Phil library is free to visit too. Some special exhibitions, such as the Laing's Pre-Raphaelites show, charge.

What is open in Newcastle on a rainy Sunday?

The Discovery Museum (11am to 4pm), the Great North Museum (11am to 4pm), Baltic (10am to 6pm) and Seven Stories are open on Sundays, and Tyneside Cinema runs screenings all weekend. The Laing, the Grainger Market and the Lit & Phil are closed on Sundays.

What can kids do indoors in Newcastle?

Seven Stories, the museum and visitor centre for children's books, is free and opens every day except Wednesdays in term time. The Discovery Museum and the Great North Museum are both free, and the Hancock runs relaxed early openings from 9am on Tuesdays in school holidays.

Are Newcastle museums open on bank holidays?

Not all of them. The Discovery Museum and the Laing Art Gallery are both closed on bank holidays, so check before planning a wet bank holiday Monday around them.