Aberdeen

The “Granite City” built of silver-grey stone, gateway to Royal Deeside, Balmoral Castle and clifftop Dunnottar Castle.

Aberdeen sits on Scotland’s northeast coast between the River Dee and the River Don. It is Scotland’s third-largest city, with a population of about 220,000. Much of the city is built from local pale-grey granite that sparkles in the sun, earning it the nickname “Silver City”; after North Sea oil was developed in the 1970s, it also became known as the “Oil Capital of Europe”.

Sightseeing falls into three areas: ① The city — Marischal College, Union Street and the Castlegate, the Art Gallery and the Maritime Museum make a good half-day on foot; to the north, Old Aberdeen has King’s College and St Machar’s Cathedral; Footdee fishing village at the harbour mouth, Torry Battery (for dolphin watching) and Aberdeen Beach can fill another half-day. ② The southern coast — the small town of Stonehaven and clifftop Dunnottar Castle, plus the Fowlsheugh seabird reserve in summer. ③ The Castle Trail and Royal Deeside to the west — Drum, Crathes, Fraser and Craigievar castles, and further west Ballater, Balmoral Castle, Royal Lochnagar Distillery, Loch Muick and Braemar; to the north are the Newburgh seal beach, Slains Castle and Fyvie Castle.

The best time to visit is May–Sep, when days are long and castles and gardens are fully open (many NTS castles open only their grounds in winter); summer highs are mostly 15–19°C, and the sea wind is strong, so bring a windproof jacket in any season. Getting there: Aberdeen Airport has flights to and from London, Amsterdam and elsewhere, and the train from Edinburgh takes about 2.5 hours. The city and Stonehaven are reachable by train or bus, but driving is strongly recommended for the castles and Deeside (drive on the left). Plan to stay 3–4 days: 1 day in the city, 1 day on the coast and 1–2 days for the castles and Deeside.

Top sights

• Dunnottar Castle – A castle ruin on a cliff promontory overlooking the North Sea. It is one of Scotland's most photogenic castles and the top attraction aroun…
• St Machar's Cathedral – An ancient granite cathedral in Old Aberdeen, known for its twin-towered west front and a heraldic ceiling from about 1520.
• Marischal College – The second-largest granite building in the world, with an elaborate Gothic Revival facade. It is the face of Aberdeen, the 'Silver City'.
• Crathes Castle – A 16th-century tower castle with painted ceilings and famous walled gardens. It is the highlight of the castle trail along Deeside.
• Craigievar Castle – A pink fairy-tale castle with layers of tower roofs and spires, said to be one of the inspirations for the Disney castle.
• King's College & Old Aberdeen – The ancient campus of the University of Aberdeen, founded in 1495. The Crown Tower chapel and cobbled High Street evoke a medieval atmosphe…
• Aberdeen Art Gallery – A free city art gallery with Scottish and European paintings. Its rooftop terrace, reopened after the 2019 renovation, overlooks the city c…
• Aberdeen Maritime Museum – A free museum by the harbour telling the story of shipbuilding, whaling and North Sea oil. Its giant model of an oil platform is a highligh…
• Provost Skene's House – One of Aberdeen's oldest surviving houses, now the free 'Hall of Heroes' museum introducing famous local people.
• Kirk of St Nicholas – A historic church in the city centre known as Aberdeen's 'Mither Kirk', home to one of the largest carillons in Scotland.
• Union Street & Castlegate – Aberdeen's granite main street, a mile long, ends at Castlegate, where a market cross dating from 1686 stands.
• Footdee (Fittie) – A 19th-century fishermen's village at the harbour entrance, its colourful sheds and small courtyards decorated in a fairy-tale style.
• Aberdeen Beach – A golden sandy beach stretching 3 km east of the city centre, with a seafront promenade, amusement park, restaurants and sea views.
• Torry Battery – A 19th-century battery ruin on the south bank of the harbour entrance, one of the best places in Britain to watch wild bottlenose dolphins…
• Duthie Park & David Welch Winter Gardens – A Victorian park on the River Dee with one of Britain's largest indoor gardens. The cactus house is the most popular.
• Brig o' Balgownie & Seaton Park – A 14th-century Gothic single-arch bridge over the River Don. Together with Seaton Park beside St Machar's Cathedral, it forms a riverside w…
• Gordon Highlanders Museum – A military museum telling the two-hundred-year history of the famous Scottish Highland regiment, which has earned excellent ratings from tr…
• Stonehaven – A seaside town south of Aberdeen, known for harbour fish and chips and a clifftop path leading to Dunnottar Castle.
• Fowlsheugh RSPB Reserve – A seabird reserve on the cliffs south of Stonehaven, where tens of thousands of kittiwakes, guillemots and puffins nest on the cliff face i…
• Drum Castle – One of Scotland's oldest intact towers, a 13th-century square keep joined to a 17th-century mansion, with a historic rose garden.
• Fyvie Castle – A large castle with an 800-year history. Its five towers were each built by a different family, and it houses portraits by Raeburn and othe…
• Castle Fraser – One of Scotland's largest Z-plan tower castles, a classic stop on the Castle Trail, with woodland walks on its estate.
• Bennachie – A landmark hill range in Aberdeenshire. Climb to the 'Mither Tap' hillfort ruins for a panoramic view over the whole north-east plain.
• Slains Castle – A 19th-century castle ruin on the sea cliffs of Cruden Bay, said to have inspired Bram Stoker's *Dracula*.
• Newburgh Seal Beach – Hundreds of grey seals gather year-round on the sandbanks at the mouth of the River Ythan. You can watch them from across the river, making…
• Bullers of Buchan – A collapsed sea cave about 30 metres deep, known as the 'Great Pot'. Clifftop paths let you get close to seabird colonies in spring and sum…

Where to eat

• Moonfish Café – A bar-style restaurant in the merchant quarter, run by a MasterChef finalist, serving modern Scottish food. It has been…
• The Silver Darling – A well-known seafood restaurant in the old Customs House at the harbour entrance, overlooking the North Sea and the har…
• Café Boheme – A French bistro tucked up the steep Windmill Brae lane, with warm wooden décor and a consistently good reputation.
• Rustico – A long-established Italian eatery beside Union Street, with 1950s retro décor and a great-value lunch set menu.
• Maggie's Grill – An American Southern barbecue and Cajun restaurant on Marischal Square with very generous portions, consistently top-ra…
• The Ashvale – A long-established northeast Scottish fish and chip shop founded in 1979. It was once named UK fish and chip shop of th…

Itineraries

• Shetland and Orkney: Northern Isles – Take the overnight ferry from Aberdeen north to Shetland, then head south to Orkney to explore brochs, seabirds, and Ne…
• Eastern Scotland: Fife to the Cairngorms – Travel from the fishing villages of Fife to Dunnottar Castle, then cross Royal Deeside and the Cairngorms, returning vi…