Kitch-en is an utter utter gem, a small indepent gallery and shop tucked away on Montrose Street…read morethat is well worth a visit. The gallery holds fequent exhibition openings by oh-so-hip contemporary artists (on one opening night that I went to guests were invited to add their own decorations to the gallery's walls with paint and markers!) and really makes you feel that you're right in the midst of the hottest new art around. The shop stocks a great range of quirky magazines such as Meat Magazine, as well as art materials and artworks by visiting artists and artist in residence, Art-eest.

A great local history museum, with free entry and is right near the huge Albert park, so is well…read moreworth a visit. Great displays on local life and the local industries. Also info about the War and Victorican era. There is also an interactive section for kids. They also have a small cafe, which sells a selection of drinks and snacks.

Lovely little cafe situated at the front of the museum. Only a few seats so if you are a small…read moregroup (2 people) they generally tend to share tables. Staff are great and attentive, very reasonably priced considering most cafe 'tea houses' will charge you almost £10 for a sandwich now. Food was made fresh and I would prefer going here to many other places in Middlesbrough for a light bite to eat or tea with my friends.

At first I hated this place because it involved the demolition of my two favourite places, the…read moreDovecot arts centre and the Cannon Cinema. But it grew on me. It is big and yellow and was shut down for a year or so because of mis-management. A bit of the wall revolves because of 'art.' The outside is spoilt by metal walkways to save on cleaning costs. There is one big theatre, a smaller auditorium used for stand up gigs, a gym, a cinema and rehearsal rooms, as well as bars and restaurants. It is a little too big for the area but I think the guys have got their act together in terms of publicity so that people in the area who want to go know when stuff's on. It really comes alive during Stockton festival, when all the weird european street performers use it as a base. If you're in the area this is the best place to go for a night out.

I Love this show - its the last friday of every month and they do a couple of special gong shows…read moreeach year - watch out for those in the arc brochure. The setting up stairs is excellent you can either reserve seats for larger groups or just turn up on the night. You have a choice of sitting at a table or sitting in stadium seating up the side. Only complaint I have is that the breaks between acts where you have time to go to the bar are too long - they are supposed to be 15 mins but are always at least 30 mins as the staff try and get people in from the bar area - you can bring your drinks into the show with you. By the end of the night people are getting a little rowdy as a lot of alcohol is consumed. But very good fun.

Great shop for mounted canvas pictures from your own artwork or just straight from the display…read more They also print onto t-shirts. It's a grungy little shop that always has an interesting window display. Go see!