One perfect day in new Newy

Thought of as a steel city for much of the 20th century, Newcastle is now the world's largest (by volume) coal export port. However, the City of Newcastle would rather you thought of their pocket of Australia as a great place to visit, and this shows through in the variety of events they host. Whether it's Newcastle Food Month, the Big Picture Fest, or the Newcastle 500 Supercars motor race, their primary goal is to remind potential visitors that their city exists - and is well worth spending some time in.

Economically speaking, the area is very prosperous. But, as locals I spoke to pointed out, few people feel compelled to flash their wealth. I confirmed this with one of the tour operators who said, "still a working class town", with a wry, knowing smile.

There are lots of ways to experience Newcastle, the beachside city north of Sydney. Here's how to spend 24 hours there.

CYCLING TOUR: Newy Rides offers a few different cycling tours, the first of which on weekends is Morning Essentials. A slow and easy ride, and planned specifically for visitors who have just arrived, this runs from 8.30am to about 11am and you'll see several interesting sights in succession, with a guide to tell you about them.

I learned such things as whose Country this is (the Awabakal and Worimi peoples), how various railway infrastructure has been repurposed since the terminus was moved to the western end of the city (and the light rail put in to reach the east), and how significant the port was long before dredging made passage possible for an average of nearly 13 ocean freighters a day. newyrides.com.au

SIGNAL BOX: Like many of Australia's landmarks, the name is literal. It used to be a train signal box and it still has the old mechanical switchboard upstairs (although not for public viewing). It describes itself as having "an open-air courtyard, [an] airy pavilion and plenty of casual seating for you to sip coffee or linger over a glass of red."

The menu is sophisticated and has pretty much everyone covered, including vegan options. As someone who chose to be keto years ago I did my usual trick and went for one of the gluten-free salads, in this case the crispy fried pork belly. signalbox.com.au

NEWCASTLE MUSEUM: While The Lock-Up (a contemporary art space), Newcastle Art Gallery and Fort Scratchley (museum) were all temporarily closed during my visit, happily Newcastle Museum was open. City of Newcastle's museum, archive, libraries and learning director Julie Baird, tells me that Newcastle Museum, housed in the old railway workshop buildings, welcomes more visitors per year than the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney.

The south-eastern wing is dedicated to the old steel works with many artefacts from the former BHP site and a theatrical presentation about six times a day to immerse you in the experience. The north-western wing begins with an acknowledgement of Indigenous culture, and an unrestored Model T car which Julie picked clean herself. They also have exhibitions telling Newcastle's story from many viewpoints. I particularly liked the scale model of the 3801 (the steam train most commonly associated with the Newcastle Flyer service) while the kids there at the time were having fun in the Supernova Hands-on Science Centre. Newcastlemuseum.com.au

MEMORIAL WALK: Some of Newcastle's best views are to be had from the top of the Memorial Walk. Opened in 2015, it marked 100 years since the ANZAC landing in Gallipoli. A 160-metre-long bridge runs from Strzelecki Lookout to another viewing platform. That joins the top of a stairway, which takes you to part-way along Bathers Way, a six-kilometre coastal walk that goes from Nobbys Beach to Merewether Beach.

GUIDED GIN TASTING AT EARP: Assuming you haven't brought your minors with you, a guided gin tasting at local distillery Earp could be a new experience. It's a short taxi ride away because it's actually a functioning factory set in the industrial area. They do have a small bar and restaurant though, so tastings and tours aren't the only things to do there. Starting at 5pm and going for 30 minutes (bookings required), the gins are presented in a deliberate order so that beginners can work their way into it with the simplest variety, Just Juniper, at the beginning and the sweetest variety, Summertime Limoncello, at the end. Earpdistillingco.com

FLOTILLA: For meals around Newcastle you're spoiled for choice, though a distinct feature for some of them is how discreet they are. For example, Flotilla offers a set menu of divine multi-course dishes and a wine list so long you wonder where they keep it all (upstairs and next door; I asked), but you could also drive past and not even notice it's there. Or, Light Years is a fun Asian restaurant with a comprehensive cocktail bar (and when I visited, a chef who actually knew what keto is, which was helpful). theflotilla.com.au; lightyearsasiandiner.com.au

COAL AND CEDAR: One of Newcastle's trendiest bars is actually a closed-door affair. As the barman at Coal and Cedar explained it, a pub (and there are several to choose from) will have an open door, whereas Coal and Cedar retains control of who they let in because the door can only be opened from the inside (they offer instructions to get their attention though, so that's helpful). coalandcedar.com

CRYSTALBROOK KINGSLEY: Described as understated luxury, which is code for very high quality without showing off, Crystalbrook Kingsley was built inside the old council chambers building, with an extra floor added to create a bar (called Romberg's after the building's original architect, Frederick Romberg) and a restaurant (called Roundhouse) with great views over the Port of Newcastle. Parking is limited and must be pre-arranged, but all I had to do was pull up out front, check in, and then my car was parked securely underneath until I needed it again (which in this case, wasn't until I checked out). crystalbrookcollection.com

Sam Hollier visited Newcastle as a guest of Destination NSW.