Durham is a beautiful city, located south of Newcastle, in northeast England. The city is famous for the British Romanesque-style architecture Cathedral and the 11th-century castle. If historical landmarks are not your cup of tea, there is still plenty of great things to see and do in the city. You can enjoy a boat ride along the River Wear, visit the botanic gardens or enjoy a bit of retail therapy.

On our visit on the bank holiday Monday, they had the touring Umbrella street, located next to Prince Bishop Shopping Centre. They are only there for this Summer, 2019. The umbrella streets seem to be touring all around the world at the minute, going from city to city. They are part of the Umbrella Sky Project. A public art installation composed of 820 bright and colourful umbrellas, designed by the Portuguese creative visionaries Sextafeira Productions.

If you are not visiting Durham in the Summer, 2019, then the umbrella might not be there. So please don’t make a trip just to see them. You may be disappointed.

There may be no umbrella, however, the city still has a lot of other great things to offer. Here are my favourite things to see and do, in the City of Durham:

Durham Cathedral

The Cathedral Church of Christ, Blessed Mary the Virgin and St Cuthbert of Durham, is known as Durham Cathedral. It is the home of the Shrine of St Cuthbert. The Cathedral is free to enter, however, they do ask for donations. You can also pay to go up one of the towers, at a cost of £5 per adult and £2.50 per child, providing great views across the City of Durham.

Durham Castle

Durham Castle is a beautiful Norman castle, located in the centre of Durham. The castle has been wholly occupied since 1840, by the University College. The castle is open to the general public to visit, however, you can only visit on guided tours. This is due to it been used as a working building. The castle is home to over 100 students.

Walk Along The River Wear

There is a beautiful riverside circular walk you can do. It is 3 miles long, taking you along the River Wear. It’s a great way to escape the crowds in the city centre and enjoy the beauty of nature. The 3-mile long walk takes around 1 – 1.5 hours to complete. If you are short of time, you can just walk part of it. We only walked a small part of the route as we did not have a lot of time.

For more information on the route, please click on this link: Riverside Walk.

Lunch At The Boat Club

The Boat Club is a lovely bar and restaurant, located on the riverfront. It has a great food menu, cool decor, and a great atmosphere. You have a choice to sit inside or outside when the weather is nice. I enjoyed a lovely club sandwich for lunch. In the afternoon, after our lovely riverside walk, we decided to pop back from a coffee. It’s a perfect place to enjoy food or drink.

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