Things to do in Aberdeen

Q: What are the top things to do in Aberdeen?

The top things to do in Aberdeen are: Crathes Castle The Gordon Highlanders Museum Drum Castle, Garden & Estate Pitmedden Garden Craigievar Castle

Q: What are the top activities in Aberdeen?

Top activities in Aberdeen include: Loch Ness and the Highlands Small-Group Day Tour from Aberdeen Dunnottar Castle and Royal Deeside Small-Group Tour from Aberdeen Scottish Highlands & Inverness Tour Taste of Scotland Tour Balmoral & Royal Deeside Tour

Victorian grandeur, rugged coastline

Known as the Granite City, Aberdeen is an imposing Scottish destination ruled by the sea. Since its beginnings as a quaint fishing town, Aberdeen has grown into a city of sprawling Victorian parks, top universities, high-end restaurants, and luxury shopping. It’s not all about splashing the cash, though. The Highlands are just a short drive away, and Aberdeen’s 55 golf courses are a utopia for golfers. The beach is golden, though windswept, and porpoises and dolphins regularly visit the harbor. With castles, countryside, vibrant nightlife, and some of the best seafood in Scotland, there are plenty of things to do in Aberdeen.

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Top 10 attractions in Aberdeen

Tours & Tickets

Crathes Castle

Set among the wooded countryside of Aberdeenshire, the 16th-century Crathes Castle is known for its ties to Robert the Bruce. The tower house’s interior features original painted ceilings, portraits, and antique furniture, while the 593-acre (240-hectare) estate encompasses walled gardens and parkland threaded by marked trails.More

Tours & Tickets

The Gordon Highlanders Museum

Located in Aberdeen’s West End, the Gordon Highlanders Museum is dedicated to what Sir Winston Churchill once described as “the finest regiment in the world.” The Gordon Highlanders were active from 1794 to 1994, and the independently run military museum is committed to preserving and sharing the legacy of the historic infantry unit.More

Tours & Tickets

Drum Castle, Garden & Estate

The origins of Drum Castle, one of Scotland’s oldest tower houses, can be traced back to the 14th century. Home to the Irvine family for more than six centuries, Drum Castle, Garden & Estate—now owned by the National Trust for Scotland (NTS)—features a medieval grand hall, a Jacobean mansion house, a Victorian-era library, and an ancient oak forest.More

Tours & Tickets

Pitmedden Garden

The beautifully landscaped Pitmedden Garden in northern Scotland dates back to 1675. The center piece of the property is the Great Garden, a formal walled garden that was originally designed by Sir Alexander Seton, 1st Baronet of Pitmedden. In the 1950s the National Trust of Scotland began recreating the garden using designs from the 17th century. Some of the designs might have been used in the gardens at the Palace of Holyroodhouse, Edinburgh in 1647. One section is a heraldic design based on Sir Alexander's coat of arms. Today Pitmedden Garden has more than 5 miles of box hedging arranged in intricate patterns forming six sections. These different sections of the garden are filled with color during the summer months from approximately 40,000 plants.Pitmedden Garden sits on a 100 acre estate. Also on the property is the Museum of Farming Life which teaches visitors about historical agriculture. There are also several woodland trails, ponds, an extensive herb garden, a nature hut, and a visitor center.More

Craigievar Castle

Boasting conical-roofed turrets, towers, and battlements, this pink-hued Scottish Baronial-style tower house is one of several properties said to have inspired Walt Disney’s Cinderella Castle. Constructed in 1626, the property is replete with original features, precious artworks, and historical artifacts including armor and weapons.More

Fyvie Castle

Fyvie Castle is a 13th-century castle in Scotland that has been occupied by five different families throughout history. The Preston, Meldrum, Seton, Gordon, and Forbes-Leith families each added to the castle and left their own mark. Most notably, each family added another tower to the building, resulting in the five towers you see today. The castle was originally one of a chain of fortresses throughout medieval Scotland. The oldest part of the castle, dating from the 13th century, houses a great wheel staircase and still stands today.The interior of Fyvie Castle contains furnishings from the Edwardian period. Collections of arms, armor, paintings, tapestries, and antique furniture can be found throughout the castle. In the 17th-century Morning Room, you can still admire the contemporary paneling and plaster ceilings. Outside is landscaped parkland, an 18th-century walled garden with fruits and vegetables, a restored racquetball court, and walkways near the loch.More

Duff House

A Georgian mansion dating back to 1740, Duff House was designed by renowned Scottish architect William Adam. The country manor is known for its ornate baroque exterior and estate of landscaped gardens. It was refurbished by the National Galleries of Scotland in the 1990s and is now a destination for its collection of Renaissance and Scottish art.More

House of Dun

The House of Dun is a Georgian house built in 18th century that is set among Victorian gardens and woodlands and adjacent to the Montrose Basin Nature Reserve. It is home to the Hutchison and Stirling collections of paintings and furniture, including 30 paintings by prominent Scottish artists. It was originally built for David Erskine, Lord Dun, from 1730 to 1743 and was home to generations of Erskines until 1947. It functioned as a hotel until 1985.Guided tours of the House of Dun last just over an hour and talk about the construction of the home while pointing out a variety of ornate plasterwork and period equipment, such as a boot bath from the 1800s. The surrounding gardens are a must-see, as part of the landscape has been reconstructed to what it would have looked like in the 1740s.More

Haddo House

Haddo House is an impressive stately home in Scotland that was built in the 1730s. The estate was owned by the Gordon family for centuries, and they lived there even before the current house was built. It was designed by William Adam for William Gordon, the 2nd Earl of Aberdeen, and it was refurbished in the 1880s. The house is a blend of Georgian architecture and late Victorian interiors. Throughout the house, visitors can admire antique furniture, portraits, ceramics, and other memorabilia from the Gordon family. Hundreds of years of history can be found inside the walls of this home.The grounds of Haddo House include a formal terrace garden with geometric rosebuds and a fountain, trees and an herbaceous border, and peaceful hills. The surrounding area of Haddo Country Park, which can be reached by an avenue that is lined with lime trees, has lakes, monuments, woodland walks, and a deer park.More

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Tours & Tickets

St. Andrews Castle

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Just north of St. Andrews’ town center, the ruins of St. Andrews Castle sit on a windswept headland overlooking a beach. Dating from around 1200, the castle was the main residence of St. Andrews’ bishops and archbishops, and the main administrative center of the Scottish church in medieval-era Scotland.More

Tours & Tickets

Explore Aberdeen by interest

Top activities in Aberdeen

Loch Ness and the Highlands Small-Group Day Tour from Aberdeen

From

$78.24

Dunnottar Castle and Royal Deeside Small-Group Tour from Aberdeen

From

$65.42

Scottish Highlands & Inverness Tour

From

$107.57

Taste of Scotland Tour

From

$93.65

Balmoral & Royal Deeside Tour

From

$82.26

Aberdeenshire Private Half Day Castle & Historic Building Tour

From

$213.88

Speyside Whisky Trail Day Tour from Aberdeen Including Admissions

From

$123.57

Aberdeen Dyce Airport (ABZ) to Aberdeen - Arrival Private Transfer

From

$56.61

Aberdeen's Union Street: A Self-Guided Audio Tour

From

$5.34

500 Years of Crime and Punishment: A Self-Guided Audio Tour of Aberdeen

From

$5.40

The Dark Side of Aberdeen: A Self-guided Audio Walk

From

$6.99

Aberdeen & Shire Castle & Distillery Private Group one Day Tour

From

$316.38

Aberdeen Historical Walking Tour

From

$56.95

Aberdeenshire Castles Cows and Whisky Private Day Trip

From

$504.95

Skip the Line: The Gordon Highlanders Museum Admission Ticket

From

$11.69

Aberdeen to Edinburgh Luxury Taxi Transfer

From

$474.58

Aberdeenshire and Royal Deeside Private Half-day Castle Tour

From

$201.22

Private Aberdeen Arrival Transfer - Airport to Hotel / Accommodation

From

$43.34

Aberdeen To Glasgow | Executive Transfer

From

$759.32

per group

Aberdeen to Glasgow Luxury Taxi Transfer

From

$556.84

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All about Aberdeen

When to visit

Aberdeen is fantastic in two seasons: summer and winter. The summer is a city transformed, as the trademark granite buildings sparkle in the sunshine, and the days are long. Surf on the breaks on Aberdeen Beach, and further afield, take a stroll on the dunes and walks of Balmedie and Donmouth beaches. Visit Aberdeen in the winter and enjoy the Christmas markets along Broad Street and the twinkling lights brightening the Flemish Gothic architecture of the city.

Getting around

Aberdeen’s city center is compact enough to be easily walkable; however, the local bus service in Aberdeen is convenient and easy to use if you’d rather relax. A hop-on, hop-off ticket called a Grasshopper can be purchased from the bus driver, or you can buy group tickets so the whole family can travel together at a reduced cost. Local taxi services are quick and reliable and trains from Aberdeen travel directly to and from Edinburgh, Glasgow, and Inverness regularly.

Traveler tips

Visiting the West End of Union Street in Aberdeen offers a charming blend of historic architecture, boutique shops, and diverse dining options. Here you’ll find some of the hippest cocktail bars in the city, juxtaposed against simple, locally-beloved pubs where you can enjoy a good pint.

Aberdeen information

Number of Attractions	10
Number of Tours	63
Number of Reviews	15
Currency	GBP

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What are the top things to do in Aberdeen?

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Northeast Scotland

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Things to do in Aberdeen

Victorian grandeur, rugged coastline

Top 10 attractions in Aberdeen

Explore Aberdeen by interest

Top activities in Aberdeen

Explore our promoted experiences

All about Aberdeen

When to visit

Getting around

Traveler tips

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Aberdeen information

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