Things to do in Sunderland

In a city where football is religion, one stadium looms large. Home to Sunderland AFC, The Stadium of Light often welcomes a capacity crowd. To experience a match day is to experience true passion from some of football’s most die-hard fans.

Home to one of the largest theatres in the North, The Empire, Sunderland has a proud and long-standing arts and theatre scene which has attracted some of the planet’s biggest names in entertainment, from Charlie Chaplin to The Beatles.

Thanks to its bid to become the UK City of Culture in 2021, Sunderland’s culture scene is thriving more than ever before. With eclectic galleries, museums telling the stories of Sunderland’s proud industrial past and an exciting events calendar, there’s plenty to discover in this city on the sea.

Sunderland offers a heady range of entertainment opportunities so you’ll never have a dull moment during your stay, whether you’re dancing to your favourite music stars, cheering on your team from the terraces or enjoying what’s on stage at one of the city’s three theatres.

You can eat your way all through the day thanks to Sunderland’s vast assortment of cosy cafés and restaurants, serving hearty breakfasts, tasty light bites and fine dining spots with cuisines from all over the world.

It might be the noisy neighbour of Newcastle but the night is always young where Sunderland is concerned thanks to its heady roster of karaoke bars, gin joints and clubs playing floor fillers into the small hours.

Sunderland is a city with a proud manufacturing heritage and there’s a wide range of museums to catch you up, as well as the ever-impressive North East Land, Sea and Air Museum which gives a glimpse into the city’s wartime past.

With Newcastle airport just down the road, good train links heading North and South and a hop off the A1(M), Sunderland is easy to get to and even easier to get around thanks to the Tyne and Wear Metro.