Hotels for UEFA Euro 2028 — Newcastle (St James' Park)

A European Championship on Tyneside, in a ground that sits in the middle of the city rather than out by a ring road — which changes the entire day, because the walk to the match goes through the crowds rather than around them. Expect a city that adopts whichever nations turn up and an atmosphere that spills well beyond the ground itself.

There are few grounds in Britain as woven into their city as St James' Park, which has staged football on its site above Newcastle since the 1880s and rises today right in the heart of the city centre. Home of Newcastle United and a byword for football passion, it takes its place among the nine Euro 2028 venues across the UK and Ireland, hosting group-stage matches and one of the round-of-16 ties through June.

Tyneside has welcomed the world before, with games at Euro 96, the 2012 Olympic football tournament and the 2015 Rugby World Cup, and the black-and-white faithful need little encouragement to make a home Euros roar. The great advantage here is closeness, for almost everything is walkable, from the stadium to the Quayside, the Bigg Market and the bridges over the Tyne, so a matchday and a night out fold naturally into one. Stay central and you can leave the car behind entirely, with Newcastle's famous welcome and nightlife on your doorstep between games.

St James' Park is Newcastle United's imposing home, rising dramatically right in the heart of the city centre — few grounds sit so close to everything. Matchdays fill the surrounding streets, Bigg Market and Quayside with a famously passionate Geordie crowd, and the concerts it hosts draw the same energy.

The Metro's St James and Monument stations are a short walk away. Booking a room in the centre means the ground, the nightlife and the restaurants are all on your doorstep, no transport required.