Quick answer: Metrocentre opens 9.00am to 9.00pm Monday to Friday, 9.00am to 7.00pm on Saturday and 11.00am to 5.00pm on Sunday, with late-night shopping to 9.00pm on weekday evenings and extended hours through December.
Metrocentre at Gateshead is one of the largest indoor shopping centres in Europe, with more than 270 shops and some 60 places to eat across five themed malls. This guide sets out the opening times for every day of the week — Saturday, Sunday, weekday and late-night hours — along with the Christmas, Boxing Day, Easter and bank-holiday schedules. There is also a categorised look at the shops worth a detour, practical notes on getting there from Newcastle and across the north-east, and where to stop for lunch.
Metrocentre Opening Times
The standard weekly hours below are taken from the centre’s own published schedule and apply outside the festive period and certain bank holidays. Individual shops may keep slightly different hours, and the food court and Odeon cinema run later than the headline mall hours — see the eating section below for those.
| Day | Metrocentre hours |
|---|---|
| Monday | 9.00am – 9.00pm |
| Tuesday | 9.00am – 9.00pm |
| Wednesday | 9.00am – 9.00pm |
| Thursday | 9.00am – 9.00pm |
| Friday | 9.00am – 9.00pm |
| Saturday | 9.00am – 7.00pm |
| Sunday | 11.00am – 5.00pm |
The 11.00am to 5.00pm Sunday window reflects the Sunday Trading Act six-hour limit for retail units over 280 square metres. Smaller shop floors, the food court, the Odeon cinema and the leisure venues (NAMCO Funscape, The Escapologist, Acropolis bowling and Activate) typically run longer Sunday hours.
Correct as of June 2026. Hours are set by the operator and do change for seasonal and brand-specific reasons — please check the official Metrocentre opening hours page before you travel.
Gateshead Shops on Sunday: Opening Hours
Sunday at Metrocentre runs 11.00am to 5.00pm. That six-hour window is not the centre being cautious — it is the Sunday Trading Act, which caps large shops (any retail floor over 280 square metres, which covers almost every unit here) to six hours of trading between 10.00am and 6.00pm. Most retailers across Gateshead and the wider north-east keep the same 11.00am to 5.00pm pattern on a Sunday for exactly this reason. The food court, the Odeon cinema and the leisure venues sit outside the rule and stay open later, so a Sunday afternoon can roll comfortably into an early-evening film or supper even after the shops have closed. The 11.00am opening is the calmest hour of the day; the hour before the 5.00pm close tends to fill as families make a final pass.
Key Metrocentre Store Hours
The headline anchors broadly follow the centre’s own hours, though each sets its own times and a flagship can open a few minutes early or trade slightly later. The table below is a planning guide anchored to the mall schedule, not a guarantee.
| Store | Typical hours (confirm for a special trip) |
|---|---|
| Marks & Spencer | Mon–Fri 9.00am–9.00pm; Sat 9.00am–7.00pm; Sun 11.00am–5.00pm |
| Next | Mon–Fri 9.00am–9.00pm; Sat 9.00am–7.00pm; Sun 11.00am–5.00pm |
| Primark | Mon–Fri 9.00am–9.00pm; Sat 9.00am–7.00pm; Sun 11.00am–5.00pm |
| H Beauty (former House of Fraser) | Mon–Fri 9.00am–9.00pm; Sat 9.00am–7.00pm; Sun 11.00am–5.00pm |
| TK Maxx | Mon–Fri 9.00am–9.00pm; Sat 9.00am–7.00pm; Sun 11.00am–5.00pm |
| Boots | Mon–Fri 9.00am–9.00pm; Sat 9.00am–7.00pm; Sun 11.00am–5.00pm |
Typical hours only, anchored to the centre’s published schedule — individual stores set their own times and may vary, so confirm with the retailer before a special trip.
Metrocentre Opening Times Saturday
Metrocentre is open 9.00am to 7.00pm on Saturday, a ten-hour trading day. Saturday is consistently the busiest day for visitors, particularly during sale weekends and the run-up to Christmas. The 9.00am to 11.00am window is the calmest Saturday morning slot — door-open arrivers can park close to the main entrances at the Yellow, Red, Blue, Green and Platinum mall entrances before the 11.00am to 4.00pm peak fills the multi-storey car parks. From 6.00pm onwards Saturday tends to thin out as families head home; the final hour through to the 7.00pm close is noticeably calmer. Saturday hours run as standard year-round, with extensions during the December festive period.
Metrocentre Opening Times Sunday
On Sunday the centre runs 11.00am to 5.00pm — a six-hour window set by the Sunday Trading Act. In practice many boutiques start admitting browsers from 10.30am, with full till transactions running between 11.00am and 5.00pm. The food court restaurants and the Odeon cinema keep longer Sunday hours and stay open into the evening. Sunday is the second busiest day of the week after Saturday — the calmest hour is the 11.00am opening window.
Metrocentre Opening Times Today and Tomorrow
The standard hours above apply on any normal trading day. The exceptions are the December festive period, Christmas Day (closed), Boxing Day, New Year’s Eve, Easter Sunday and Easter Monday, and the spring and summer bank holiday Mondays — see the festive and bank-holiday sections below for those specific dates. If today or tomorrow falls outside any of those listed exceptions, Metrocentre trades 9.00am–9.00pm Monday to Friday, 9.00am–7.00pm Saturday or 11.00am–5.00pm Sunday.
Metrocentre Christmas Opening Times: Boxing Day and New Year
The centre typically extends its hours through December, with most weekdays running to 10.00pm in the final shopping fortnight. Metrocentre publishes the exact 2026 festive schedule in late October or early November; until then, the dated table below gives the verified 2026 dates against the centre’s established festive pattern — treat the times as typical and expected, and confirm nearer the time.
| Date (2026) | Typical hours |
|---|---|
| Mid-December weekdays | 9.00am – 10.00pm |
| Thu 24 Dec (Christmas Eve) | 9.00am – 5.00pm |
| Fri 25 Dec (Christmas Day) | Closed |
| Sat 26 Dec (Boxing Day) | 9.00am – 7.00pm |
| Sun 27 Dec | 11.00am – 5.00pm |
| Mon 28 – Wed 30 Dec | 9.00am – 8.00pm |
| Thu 31 Dec (New Year’s Eve) | 9.00am – 5.00pm |
| Fri 1 Jan 2027 (New Year’s Day) | 11.00am – 5.00pm |
Metrocentre Boxing Day opening times in particular bring forward the start to handle the post-Christmas sale rush — Boxing Day at Metrocentre typically runs 9.00am to 7.00pm. Brand-led promotional pricing tends to drop simultaneously at door-open rather than building through the day, so for serious bargain-hunting it is worth being on site close to the 9.00am Boxing Day opening.
Metrocentre late night shopping in December gives you the longest evening trading of the year — from around mid-December through to 23 December most weekdays run to 10.00pm.
Correct as of June 2026. Hours are set by the operator and do change for seasonal and brand-specific reasons — please check the official Metrocentre opening hours page before you travel.
Metrocentre Easter Opening Times and Bank Holidays
Metrocentre Easter opening times follow a published seasonal pattern. Easter Sunday is closed by law for retail units over 280 square metres under the Sunday Trading Act — the same rule that closes large stores on Christmas Day. A small number of leisure operators (the Odeon cinema, food court restaurants, NAMCO Funscape, Activate and The Escapologist) typically remain open on Easter Sunday on shorter hours. Good Friday, Easter Saturday and Easter Monday all trade — Good Friday and Easter Saturday on standard hours, and Easter Monday on the bank-holiday-Monday schedule of 10.00am to 6.00pm.
Metrocentre opening times bank holiday Mondays run 10.00am to 6.00pm — slightly shorter than the standard weekday hours and confirmed by the operator’s own FAQ. Easter Monday, the early May bank holiday Monday, the late May (spring) bank holiday Monday and the August (summer) bank holiday Monday all follow this 10.00am to 6.00pm bank holiday pattern.
Shops at Metrocentre: The Full List
Metrocentre has more than 270 shops and restaurants spread across five colour-coded malls — Yellow, Red, Blue, Green and Platinum — plus the Town Square. The line-up covers fashion at every price point, jewellery and watches, beauty and fragrance, sport, electronics, gifts and homeware, alongside a 60-strong food and drink offer. The categorised guide below is a working overview; for live store-by-store status the operator’s site is the place to check.
Anchor stores
Marks & Spencer and Next anchor Metrocentre, alongside Primark, a large Apple store, TK Maxx and Homesense and JD Sports. H Beauty — the Harrods beauty hall concept — occupies the Town Square unit that was formerly House of Fraser, while the former Debenhams unit has been reconfigured by Frasers Group into a Flannels luxury flagship on the ground floor, a Sports Direct on the floor above and an Everlast Gyms above that. The Inditex line-up is one of the centre’s recent draws, with the region’s only Zara joined by Bershka and Stradivarius.
Fashion: high street and premium
Zara, H&M, Bershka, Stradivarius, River Island, New Look, Next, Quiz, Flannels, AllSaints, Reiss, Hobbs, Whistles, Phase Eight, Tommy Hilfiger, Calvin Klein, Charles Tyrwhitt and Moss are among the fashion names trading at Metrocentre.
Sportswear, outdoor and shoes
JD Sports, Sports Direct, USC, Foot Locker, schuh, Clarks, Office, Skechers, Footasylum, Nike, Timberland and Snow+Rock cover sportswear, outdoor and footwear.
Beauty, fragrance and jewellery
Sephora, Lush, Charlotte Tilbury, Jo Malone London, KIKO Milano, MAC, NARS, L’Occitane, Molton Brown, Dermalogica, Boots, Superdrug, The Fragrance Shop and The Perfume Shop cover beauty and fragrance. Jewellery and watches at Metrocentre includes Beaverbrooks, Goldsmiths, Ernest Jones, H.Samuel, F.Hinds, PANDORA, Swarovski and Thomas Sabo.
Electronics, lifestyle and homeware
Apple Store, Currys, EE, O2, Three, LEGO, Smiggle, Build-A-Bear, The Entertainer, Flying Tiger Copenhagen, Card Factory, Clintons, Waterstones, WHSmith, Poundland, Kuoni and Mamas & Papas cover electronics, gifting, travel and homeware.
Food, drink and leisure
The Metrocentre food and drink offer runs to 60-plus cafés and restaurants. Sit-down restaurants include Wagamama, PizzaExpress, Pizza Hut, Bella Italia, Las Iguanas, Fridays, Acropolis, Fattoush and Chiquito. Quick-service includes Pret, Costa, Starbucks, Greggs, KFC, Popeyes, YO! Sushi, Krispy Kreme, Hotel Chocolat, Bubble CiTea and KENJI. Leisure venues include the Odeon cinema, NAMCO Funscape, The Escapologist escape rooms, Activate and Acropolis bowling.
The operator maintains the full, current store directory on its own site.
Metrocentre Late Night Shopping
Metrocentre late night shopping runs to 9.00pm Monday to Friday as standard — making the centre one of the longer evening shopping windows of any UK shopping centre and notably later than most regional malls. The 6.00pm to 9.00pm weekday window is consistently the calmest part of the trading day, with far smaller crowds than the weekend afternoons. Saturday closes earlier, at 7.00pm, and the Sunday window finishes at 5.00pm under the Sunday Trading Act.
The genuine late-night extension is the December festive period, when Metrocentre typically extends to 10.00pm from around mid-December through to 23 December. The Odeon cinema runs to its last screening of the night every night of the year, and the leisure venues (NAMCO Funscape, The Escapologist, Activate) keep similar evening hours.
Getting to Metrocentre
By car and parking
Metrocentre sits at Junction 1 of the A1(M) at Gateshead, with dedicated motorway slip roads. Parking is on-site with around 10,000 free spaces across surface lots and multi-storey car parks at each of the colour-coded mall entrances. The headline appeal is that all standard parking is free with no time limit — you do not need to scan receipts or pay on exit. Address for satnav: Metrocentre, Gateshead NE11 9YG.
By train
Metrocentre Railway Station is on-site, served by direct trains from Newcastle Central, Hexham, Carlisle and points further north and west on the Tyne Valley line. The journey from Newcastle Central is about 8 minutes. The station entrance opens directly into the Yellow Mall via a covered walkway.
By bus and Tyne and Wear Metro
The Metrocentre Bus Station sits at the rear of the Yellow Mall and is served by Stagecoach and Go North East routes from across Tyne and Wear, Northumberland and County Durham including Newcastle city centre, Sunderland, Durham, Consett, Hexham and Cramlington. The Tyne and Wear Metro itself does not serve the centre directly — the closest Metro stop is Heworth or South Shields, with onward bus connections.
Where to Eat at Metrocentre
The Metrocentre eating offer runs to more than 60 cafés and restaurants. Notable options include:
- Wagamama — pan-Asian, sit-down
- PizzaExpress, Pizza Hut, Bella Italia — Italian dining range
- Las Iguanas, Fridays, Chiquito — table-service casual dining
- YO! Sushi, KENJI — Asian quick-service
- Acropolis — Greek, sit-down
- Fattoush — Middle Eastern
- Pret, Costa, Starbucks, Bubble CiTea — daytime coffee and lunch
Restaurant hours typically run later than the boutique close — most sit-down restaurants serve through to 10.00pm even on standard trading days, with extended hours during the December festive period.
Metrocentre Opening Times: Frequently Asked Questions
What time do shops open in Gateshead?
Metrocentre, the main shopping destination in Gateshead, opens at 9.00am Monday to Saturday and 11.00am on Sunday. The 11.00am Sunday start applies across most large shops in the area under the Sunday Trading Act. On bank holiday Mondays the centre opens at 10.00am.
What time does Metrocentre open?
Metrocentre opens at 9.00am Monday to Saturday and 11.00am on Sunday. On bank holiday Mondays the centre opens at 10.00am.
What time does Metrocentre close?
The standard close is 9.00pm Monday to Friday, 7.00pm Saturday and 5.00pm Sunday. The 5.00pm Sunday close fits the Sunday Trading Act six-hour trading window for stores over 280 square metres. During the December festive period most days extend to 10.00pm.
Is Metrocentre open on Sundays?
Yes — every Sunday, 11.00am to 5.00pm. The shorter Sunday day reflects the Sunday Trading Act six-hour limit. Smaller shop floors, the food court, the Odeon cinema and the leisure venues typically stay open longer.
Is Metrocentre open on bank holidays?
Yes, with the exceptions of Christmas Day and Easter Sunday. Bank holiday Mondays run on 10.00am to 6.00pm hours per the operator’s own FAQ.
What are Metrocentre Christmas opening times?
Metrocentre Christmas opening times typically run on extended hours through December — most weekdays from mid-December extending to 10.00pm. Christmas Eve closes early at 5.00pm, Christmas Day is closed, Boxing Day opens 9.00am to 7.00pm, and the days between Boxing Day and New Year’s Eve typically run 9.00am to 8.00pm. The exact 2026/27 festive schedule is published on the operator’s site each November.
What are Metrocentre Boxing Day opening times?
Metrocentre Boxing Day opening times typically run 9.00am to 7.00pm. Brand-led promotional pricing tends to drop simultaneously at door-open rather than building through the day, so for serious bargain-hunting it is worth being on site close to the 9.00am Boxing Day opening.
Does Metrocentre do late night shopping?
Metrocentre late night shopping runs to 9.00pm Monday to Friday as standard — one of the longer evening windows of any UK regional shopping centre. The genuine late-night extension is the December festive period, when most weekdays from mid-December through to 23 December extend to 10.00pm.
What time is Metrocentre open on Saturday?
Metrocentre is open on Saturday from 9.00am to 7.00pm — two hours earlier than the weekday close. During the December festive period Saturdays typically extend to 10.00pm.
What time is Metrocentre open on Sunday?
Metrocentre is open on Sunday from 11.00am to 5.00pm. The six-hour day reflects the Sunday Trading Act six-hour limit for shop floors above 280 square metres. The food court and the Odeon cinema keep longer Sunday hours.
What are Metrocentre Easter opening times?
Metrocentre Easter opening times follow a published seasonal pattern. Easter Sunday is closed by law for retail units over 280 square metres under the Sunday Trading Act, with a small number of leisure operators (the Odeon cinema, food court restaurants, NAMCO Funscape) typically remaining open on shorter hours. Good Friday and Easter Saturday run on standard hours; Easter Monday runs on the 10.00am to 6.00pm bank-holiday-Monday schedule.
What are Metrocentre opening times bank holiday Mondays?
Metrocentre opening times bank holiday Mondays run 10.00am to 6.00pm per the operator’s own FAQ. Easter Monday, the early May bank holiday Monday, the late May (spring) bank holiday Monday and the August (summer) bank holiday Monday all follow this pattern.
How many shops are at Metrocentre?
Metrocentre houses more than 270 shops and around 60 places to eat across fashion, beauty, jewellery, electronics, homeware, sport and food. The operator’s own directory lists the full, current line-up across the five colour-coded malls.
More Late Night Shopping Guides
Looking for late-night shopping in other UK cities? A few more of our city guides:
- Late-night Shopping in Norwich
- Late Night Shopping on Oxford Street
- Late Night Shopping at Canary Wharf
- Late Night Shopping at Westfield Stratford City
- Late Night Shopping at Westfield London
- Late Night Shopping in Kingston upon Thames
- Late Night Shopping in Croydon
- Late Night Shopping in Birmingham
- Late Night Shopping in Manchester
- Late Night Shopping in Leeds
- Late Night Shopping in Glasgow
- Late Night Shopping in Edinburgh
- Late Night Shopping in Liverpool
- Late Night Shopping in Bristol
- Late Night Shopping in Sheffield
- Late Night Shopping in Nottingham
- Late Night Shopping in Cardiff
- Late Night Shopping in Newcastle
- Late Night Shopping in Leicester
- Late Night Shopping in Southampton
- Late Night Shopping in Brighton
- Late Night Shopping in Exeter
- Late Night Shopping in Oxford
- Late Night Shopping in Cambridge
- Late Night Shopping in York
- Late Night Shopping in Bath
- Late Night Shopping in Plymouth
- Late Night Shopping in Derby
- Late Night Shopping in Coventry
- Late Night Shopping in Milton Keynes
- Late Night Shopping in Reading
- Late Night Shopping in Wolverhampton
- Late Night Shopping in Stoke-on-Trent
- Late Night Shopping in Aberdeen
- Late Night Shopping in Dundee
- Late Night Shopping in Chester
- Late Night Shopping in Ipswich
- Late Night Shopping in Lincoln
- Late Night Shopping in Peterborough
- Late Night Shopping in Luton
- Late Night Shopping in Preston
- Late Night Shopping in Colchester
- Late Night Shopping in Worcester
- Late Night Shopping in Swansea
- Late Night Shopping in Bournemouth
- Late Night Shopping in Sunderland
- Late Night Shopping in Middlesbrough
- Late Night Shopping in Blackpool
- Late Night Shopping in Northampton
- Late Night Shopping at Bicester Village
- Late Night Shopping at Cheshire Oaks
- Late Night Shopping at Gunwharf Quays
- Late Night Shopping at the Trafford Centre
- Late Night Shopping at Bluewater
- Late Night Shopping at Lakeside Thurrock
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- Late Night Shopping in Covent Garden
- Late Night Shopping on Regent Street
- Late Night Shopping at Battersea Power Station
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