Aberdeen travel guide
Tours, attractions, events and places to stay, picked by people who know the city.
Scotland's third city sits between the mouths of the Dee and the Don, built almost entirely of grey granite that sparkles silver in the sun. The compact centre runs along Union Street to the Castlegate and the harbour, with two miles of sandy beach a short walk east and the medieval university quarter of Old Aberdeen to the north. It is also the gateway to Royal Deeside, Balmoral, Dunnottar Castle and the whisky country of the North-east.
- Currency
- Pound sterling (£)
- Main airport
- Aberdeen International (ABZ), about 30 minutes by Jet 727 bus
- Time zone
- GMT, BST (UTC+1) in summer
- Paying for transport
- Contactless Tap On, Tap Off on First buses; contactless or cash on Stagecoach
Most-booked tours
Ratings and prices from verified bookings.
ViatorAberdeen City Centre Walking Tour
1.5 hoursFrom £14
ViatorDunnottar Castle and Royal Deeside Small-Group Tour from Aberdeen
9 hoursFrom £56.76
ViatorAberdeen’s Distillery Discovery Tour
1 hourFrom £35
ViatorAberdeen Private Half Day Tour: Dunnottar, Crathes Castles +more
4.5 hoursFrom £182
ViatorLoch Ness and the Highlands Small-Group Day Tour from Aberdeen
12 hoursFrom £94.93
Viator2 hour Gin School Experience in Aberdeen
2 hoursFrom £99
Viator5 Star Tour of Aberdeen's Historic Centre and Street Art
2 hoursFrom £14
ViatorNorth East Coastal Trail Small Group Day Tour from Aberdeen
9 hoursFrom £57.78
Day trips from AberdeenDunnottar Castle and Stonehaven, Balmoral and Royal Deeside, Crathes Castle and moreTop attractions
The sights most visitors build a trip around.
Aberdeen Art GalleryFree
Free: 700 years of art in the heart of the city
Dunnottar Castle
Book online or pay by card on arrival
Aberdeen Maritime MuseumFree
Free: shipbuilding, fishing and North Sea oil
Old Aberdeen and King’s CollegeFree
Free: the medieval university quarter
Footdee (Fittie)Free
Free: a fishing village inside the city
Aberdeen Beach and EsplanadeFree
Free: city beach with dolphins offshore
What's on
Tickets via Ticketmaster and Tiqets. Updated nightly.
Where to stay
Pick a neighbourhood first. Each one suits a different kind of trip.
City Centre
Union Street, the station and Union Square, museums and the Christmas Village on your doorstep · 10 places we rate
West End
Grand granite hotels on Queen's Road, quieter streets and good restaurants around Union Street's west end · 6 places we rate
Royal Deeside
Balmoral, castles and Cairngorms walking from Banchory, Aboyne, Ballater and Braemar · 11 places we rate
Stonehaven
A harbour town 17 minutes by train from Aberdeen, with Dunnottar Castle on the coastal path · 3 places we rate
Local guides
Plans and tips for getting the most out of Aberdeen.
Christmas in Aberdeen 2026: Christmas Village, ice rink, panto and opening hours
The Broad Street Christmas Village and ice rink, Goldilocks at His Majesty’s, carols in the Winter Gardens, Stonehaven’s Hogmanay fireballs and what is open over the holidays.
Read the guide · 6 minDay trips from Aberdeen: castles, Royal Deeside and whisky
The best day trips from Aberdeen: Dunnottar Castle and Stonehaven, Crathes, Balmoral and Royal Deeside, Braemar, and the whisky distilleries of Aberdeenshire and Speyside.
Read the guide · 7 minFirst time in Aberdeen: a 2-day itinerary
Two days in the Granite City: the Art Gallery, Marischal College, the harbour and dolphins on day one, Old Aberdeen and the beach on day two, with an optional dash to Dunnottar.
Read the guide · 6 minFree things to do in Aberdeen
Aberdeen’s best sights cost nothing: a prize-winning art gallery, a maritime museum, dolphins at the harbour mouth, two miles of beach, Victorian glasshouses and a medieval cathedral.
Read the guide · 5 minDay trips from Aberdeen
Easy days out by train or coach.
- Dunnottar Castle and StonehavenAbout 17 minutes by train to Stonehaven, then a 30 to 40 minute coastal walk
- Balmoral and Royal DeesideAbout 1 hour by road, or about 2 hours on Stagecoach bus 201
- Crathes CastleAbout 30 minutes by road, or the 201 bus towards Banchory
- Braemar and the CairngormsAbout 1 hour 25 minutes by road, or about 2 hours 20 minutes on the 201 bus
- Speyside whisky (Glenfiddich, Dufftown)About 1 hour 15 minutes by road from Aberdeen Airport
- Glen Garioch distillery, OldmeldrumAbout 50 minutes on Stagecoach bus 35, or 30 minutes by road
Getting around
Walking
The centre is compact and mostly flat. Union Street, the main street, runs about a mile from the Castlegate in the east towards the West End, and Aberdeen railway station, Union Square bus station and the harbour sit together just south of it. The Art Gallery, Marischal College and the Maritime Museum are all within a 10-minute walk of the station. The beach and Footdee are about 20 minutes on foot from the Castlegate, and Old Aberdeen is around three miles north, so most people take a bus there.
City buses
First Aberdeen runs most city routes, with many stopping on Union Street. Tap On, Tap Off is the easiest way to pay: tap the same contactless card or phone on the reader when you board and again on the reader when you get off, and the fare is worked out by distance. An adult single costs from £2.25 to £3.50, and fares cap automatically at £5.80 a day and £27 over seven days. A FirstDay ticket bought on the bus or in the First Bus app is also £5.80, and a Two-Trip 24-hour ticket is £5.45. Under-22s living in Scotland travel free with the National Entitlement Card. The Scottish Government has announced a £2 cap on single bus fares in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire from April 2027.
Trains and regional buses
Aberdeen station has direct ScotRail trains to Stonehaven (about 17 minutes), Edinburgh (about 2 hours 35 minutes), Glasgow, Dundee and Inverness, plus LNER trains to London King's Cross. Stagecoach buses to Royal Deeside, Stonehaven and the rest of Aberdeenshire leave from Union Square bus station next door, including route 201 to Banchory, Ballater and Braemar.
Airport transfers
Aberdeen International Airport is at Dyce, about seven miles north-west of the centre. The Stagecoach Jet 727 runs between the terminal (stance 1) and Union Square bus station (stance 3) around the clock, up to every 15 minutes in the daytime, taking from about 30 minutes. A single is £5.50 and a 28-day return is £10.50; Stagecoach also sells a £5.80 Dayrider valid between Union Square and the airport. Aberdeen City zone tickets are valid because the airport is inside the city boundary.