Newport is known as Casnewydd by the locals. The area was already inhabited during the Bronze Age. In 75 AD, the Romans built a fort at Caerleon to defend the river crossing. A settlement grew around the fort and by 1314 it was known as Newport.

The city center boasts numerous historic buildings.

• The historic Beechwood House was completed in 1878. It is located in Beechwood Park.
• The Victorian Belle Vue Park was laid out in 1891.
• The Dolman Theatre dates from 1967 and it can seat 400 spectators.
• The Burton Almshouses (dwellings for the poor) were built in 1900. They are located on Friars Road.
• Isca Augusta is also known as Isca Silurum. It consists of the ruins of a Roman legionary fortress and settlement. Most of the remains lie hidden beneath the suburb of Caerleon in the north of Newport.
• The Kings Hotel was built in 1812. The former hotel is located in High Street and it has been redeveloped into apartments.
• The façade is all that remains of the city's Main Post Office. The building was constructed in 1844 and rebuilt in 1907. In 2001, the site was redeveloped, but the old façade was retained.
• Market Arcade is a Victorian arcade that connects High Street with Market Street.
• The historic Masonic Hall is located at 109 Lower Dock Street.
• The Victorian Newport Arcade links High Street with Cambrian Road.
• Newport Castle was originally constructed around 1075 and reconstructed in the 14th century. It has been in ruins since 1522.
• The Newport Cenotaph is a WWI and WWII memorial. It is located in Clarence Place.
• The Newport Civic Centre opened in 1939. The original town hall from 1843 was located in Commercial Street and had become too small, so in 1885, a new building was erected. When this building had become inadequate, the current Civic Center was built to replace it.
• Newport Crown Court was built in 1991.
• Newport Market is a traditional Victorian indoor market. It opened in 1854. It is a cast iron-frame building and it has a glazed barrel roof.
• The Newport Museum and Art Gallery is locally known as the City Museum. The building is also home to the Central Library. The museum originally opened in 1888 and it was relocated to the current building in 1968. It has exhibitions on archaeology and social history, as well as art and natural history.
• Newport Railway Station was originally built in 1850. It was rebuilt in the 1930s and again in 2010.
• Newport Technical Institute is a red-brick building with a copper dome. It was formerly known as the Art College. The building dates from 1910.
• The Old Rising Sun is a former public house in Shaftesbury Street, in the district of Shaftesbury.
• The Riverfront Arts Center consists of a theatre and arts center. It opened in 2004.
• Rodney Parade is a stadium on the east bank of the Usk River. It was constructed in 1875.
• Royal Gwent Hospital was originally constructed in 1836. It moved to its current location in 1901, but in the 1960's, the old buildings were replaced with modern facilities. None of the original buildings remain.
• The Shire Hall is a municipal building that was constricted in 1902.
• The Newport Campus of the University of South Wales was built in 2013.
• The Victoria Almshouses (dwellings for the poor) are located in Stow Hill. They were built in 1900.
• Victoria Place dates from the 1840s.
• The former Waterloo Hotel is located in Alexandra Road.
• Westgate Hotel was originally built in 1779 on the site of a 15th century house. It was rebuilt in 1884. The hotel is located in Commercial Street.
• The West Usk Lighthouse was erected in 1821 at the mouth of the Usk River.
• The W.R. Lysaght Institute was opened in 1928. It is part of a former steel works and it is located in Corporation Road.
• Ye Olde Murenger House is a pub that was built in 1819. It is located in High Street.

• Newport Cathedral is also known as St. Gwynllyw's, or St Woolos' Cathedral. It was built in the 5th century.
• St. Mark's Church dates from 1874.
• St. Paul's Church was built in Victorian gothic style. it was inaugurated in 1836.

• There are 9 bridges in Newport that span the Usk River. They are:
  
  
  • Caerleon Bridge was built between 1806 and 1812. it replaced an earlier wooden bridge.
  • George Street Bridge was constructed in 1964. It spans the Usk River and it is the oldest cable-stayed cantilever bridge in the United Kingdom.
  • The M4 Motorway Usk Bridge was built in 1967.
  • Newport Bridge dates from 1927. It replaced an earlier bridge from 1800 and spans the Usk River.
  • Newport City Bridge is a traffic bridge across the Usk River. It was constructed in 2004.
  • Newport City footbridge is a pedestrian and cycle bridge over the Usk River. It features a unique modern design and it dates from 2006.
  • The Newport Transporter Bridge was erected in 1906. It is one of the world's few remaining transporter bridges.
  • The St. Julian's Railway Bridge was built in 1874 to carry a railroad across the Usk River. It was strengthened in the 1960s and again in the 2010s.
  • The Usk Railway Bridge was originally opened in 1850. In the 1880s, a second bridge was constructed adjacent to the first one. The original 1850 bridge was removed in 1925.

• The town of Nash is located 3.2 km (2 mi) south of Newport. It features the church of St. Mary the Virgin, the oldest parts of which date from the 15th century.

There are many hotels and restaurants in Newport. The city sits at the confluence of the Severn Estuary with the Usk River, 19 km (12 mi) northeast of Cardiff.

Newport ©Sergei Gussev

Newport ©Roland Turner

Transporter Bridge ©Steve Knight

Newport City Bridge ©Richard Szwejkowski

Newport Railway Station ©Hugh Llewelyn

Usk River ©Richard Szwejkowski

Newport ©Roland Turner

Newport ©Roland Turner