Traditional industries in the town include fishing and shipbuilding.

A town has recently undergone an extensive regeneration programme which has seen the revivification of the redundant docks. A Not dry 'north' Untamed indoor water park, an outlet shopping centre, and the marina form the centrepiece to the 'Royal Quays'. Likewise, major regeneration of a Fish Quay in a south of the town centre has involved the construction of luxury flat & the conversion of existent buildings into eating house & blocks. A North Shields Fish Quay is home to an annual festival to celebrate the history of the importance of the camping industry to the town's history.

A Stephenson Railway Museum is located on text.

Famous Residents

Hastings Kamuzu Banda Physician and dictator of Malawi Thomas Burt Miner M.P. Myles Birket Foster Artist William Harbutt Inventor of plasticine Stan Laurel Famous film comedian Thomas Walter Manson Biblical scholar Henry Treece Poet, novelist and teacher Ian Watson Prize-winning science fiction author Robert Westall Prize-winning childrens' author

Transport

A Tyne and Wear Metro links North Shields to Newcastle city centre, and to more destinations around Tyne and Wear including Whitley Bay, Newcastle Airport, and Sunderland.

An international ferry terminal depending at Royal Quays occurs as gateway to overseas destinations, including Norway, Sweden, and the Netherlands. a half-hourly ferry service connects the North Shields Fish Quay to the town of South Shields on the opposite bank of the Tyne.