Sunderland (Things to do - Places to Visit) - SUNDERLAND Top Tourist Placesbr City in Englandbr Sunderland is a city at the center of the City of Sunderland metropolitan borough, in Tyne and Wear, England, 10 miles southeast of Newcastle upon Tyne and 12 miles northeast of Durham at the mouth of the River Wear. br br Historically in County Durham, there were three original settlements by the mouth of the River Wear on the site of modern-day Sunderland. On the north side of the river, Monkwearmouth was settled in 674 when King Ecgfrith of Northumbria granted land to Benedict Biscop to found Monkwearmouth Monastery. In 685, Ecgfrith further granted Biscop the land adjacent to the monastery on the south side of the river.