Announcing this emphatically on the road into Newcastle is the Angel of The North, a steel sculpture by Antony Gormley.
Standing 20m high with a wingspan of 54m - wider than the Statue Of Liberty is tall - it has earned a place as one of the official Icons of England. It is the first sign for visitors of a Newcastle reinvention.
Another is the city's Gateshead Quays area. It's the cultural hub, home to the beautifully designed Sage Gateshead and the Baltic Centre For Contemporary Art, both of which bring great music and exhibitions to the city.
The Quays area is also the buzzing home of the city's best bars and nightclubs - and the thing you notice most (apart from the scanty clothing, despite near-freezing temperatures) is the infectious affability of the partygoers.
This is the face of Newcastle's future, but it hasn't come at the expense of its past.
The city is still chock-full of museums. The Discovery Museum, looking at all aspects of the region's history, is one of the best, but the Great North Museum, scheduled to open next year, will be one to watch out for.
It will combine collections from several other museums, and will include a planetarium, and a large-scale interactive model of Hadrian's Wall.
The real wall, a stone-and-turf fortification built by the Roman emperor Hadrian in AD122 to keep out the marauding Scots, starts in Newcastle and should be high on any visitor's list of places to visit.
The wall, which once stretched 117km from the city across to the west coast, is the most spectacular reminder of Roman Britain. Standing on this awe-inspiring relic, admiring the view and contemplating history, makes you wonder why the Romans didn't bother pushing on further north - those Scots must have been just too tough.
Heading further afield, north and out to the coast from the city through the open fields and rustic dry-stone walls, you come to the island of Lindisfarne, known also as Holy Island and the cradle of Christianity in the British Isles.
It was in AD635 on this barren, windswept island, now connected to the mainland by a causeway open only when the tides suit, that St Aiden founded a community of monks with an eye to converting the Anglo-Saxons from paganism.
What remains of its holy past are the ruins of the 12th-century priory, sacked with the rest of England's monasteries by Henry VIII in 1537. But enough of it remains to appreciate what an impressive building it must once have been.
On the far side of the island, atop a rocky outcrop, sits stately Lindisfarne Castle.
Unlike the priory, the castle has survived in good condition since its construction in 1570, again to keep out those troublesome Scots.
It must be said that the Scots, and their long-standing border war with the English, have been responsible for most of the historic footprints left in Northumberland - including the fact that the county has the highest concentration of castles in England.
Alnwick and Bamburgh, both just south of Lindisfarne, are two of the finest examples. Each has more to offer than walls and parapets; Alnwick is renowned for its amazing gardens, and Bamburgh has a bracing beach location, previously named as one of Britain's best views.
For a different trip back in time, don't miss a trip to Beamish on the outskirts of Newcastle, an open-air, living museum which recreates life in England's northeast at two points in history, 1825 and 1913.
This museum has no glass cases and few labels. Instead, the buildings are the exhibition and inside, you'll find the artefacts being used just as they would have been back in their day.
There is a functioning pub (not at 1913 prices, unfortunately), a working sweetshop and a tram to take you around the site.
It's a perfect spot to end a tour of the northeast - a glimpse of the past and a reminder of how far the region has come.
David Barrington travelled courtesy of Emirates and One NorthEast, the regional development agency for northeast England.
IF YOU GO
Emirates now flies direct to Newcastle via Dubai. The airline has deals on airfares for travel to Newcastle booked before May 16. For travel September 7-30, a return fare will cost $2679; travel between October 1 and November 30 will cost $2582.
WHERE TO STAY
The Orchard House, High St, Rothbury, Northumberland; a modern, boutique-style hotel mixed with the historic surrounds of a Georgian building. www.orchardhouserothbury.com
The Blue Bell Hotel, Market Place, Bellford, Northumberland; a lovely former coaching inn with an old-world feel and a bar packed with locals. www.bluebellhotel.com
Grey Street Hotel, 2-12 Grey St, Newcastle; housed in a listed building, it combines period charm with contemporary style. www.nichehotels.com
