Newcastle-upon-Tyne was today named as Britain's best town for students.

Drawing from over 36,000 student reviews at 56 separate locales, AccomodationForStudents.com asked students to rank their university locations across five criteria: going out (restaurants, pubs, clubs), shops (supermarkets, corner shops, book shops, video shops), transport links (buses, trams, train, underground), community (safety, student population, surroundings) and facilities (gyms, libraries, parks).

The findings come on the eve of the release of The Times Good University Guide university rankings for 2009.

Newcastle emerged on top with an overall ranking of 63 per cent. Tying in a close second were nine other cities, including last year's number one, Aberystwyth. Belfast settled just outside the top ten with 61 per cent.

London and Cambridge ranked unexpectedly low, managing overall scores of 56 per cent each.

The more popular locations in the survey might say something about the economics of attending university. Cities like London and Cambridge are infamously expensive places to live, while cities like Newcastle have been singled out for their thrift potential.

"Despite its popularity with weekend visitors, Newcastle is a cheap city to be a student in," says Gemma Davies, editor of Newcastle University's newspapaer The Courier in April. "The cost of living is among the best in the country."

Read Gemma's student guide to Newcastle.

In addition to Newcastle University, the city is also home to Northumbria University.

"This information...represents students’ real opinions about where they study and is, of course, helpful to students going to university for the first time," said Simon Thompson, co-founder and director of AccomodationForStudents.com. "It is also useful for existing students who are looking to move as it also provides a breakdown of the best areas within cities."

AccomodationForStudents.com has over 1.8 million registered student users, the site says. It offers a free search engine for student accommodation, student houses, student flats, and larger private accommodation in Britain.

Britain's top ten university towns:

1 Newcastle-Upon-Tyne

2 Aberdeen

3 Aberystwyth

4 Brighton

5 Dundee

6 Edinburgh

7 Exeter

8 Glasgow

9 Manchester

10 Sheffield

Times recommends

• Women are outperforming men at university
• Top universities fail to admit state pupils
• Oxbridge continues to dominate the field