Why go

When the North Sea wind is biting, the David Welch Winter Gardens are the warmest free place in Aberdeen. These large glasshouses in Duthie Park hold what the council calls one of the most visited public indoor plant collections in Scotland, with tropical, arid, temperate and Japanese gardens under glass. Around them, Duthie Park is a classic Victorian park on the banks of the River Dee, with a bandstand, fountains, boating ponds and an award-winning playpark.

The park opened in 1883 after Elizabeth Crombie Duthie gave the land to the city in 1880 for the ‘wellbeing and recreation of Aberdeen inhabitants’. It gained Aberdeen’s first Green Flag award in 2013 and has kept it since.

What to see

  • The Tropical House. Humid and green, with palms, orchids, ponds and fish.
  • The Arid House. A large collection of cacti and succulents, warm and dry, and home to a talking cactus that children love.
  • The Japanese Garden and Temperate House. Calmer spaces with seasonal displays. The Temperate House is also used for weddings.
  • The Victorian park. The restored bandstand, fountains and boating ponds, plus a mound with views over the Dee.
  • The playparks. One for younger children and one for the more adventurous, which the council says has been voted the best play space in Scotland.
  • The Deeside Way. The former railway line to Royal Deeside starts beside the park, making it a good place to begin a longer walk or cycle.

Plan your visit

The park is open 24 hours. The Winter Gardens open daily from 10.30am to 4pm from November to February and until 5pm from March to October. Both are free. Allow an hour for the glasshouses and longer if you want to walk the park or let children loose in the playpark.

Duthie Park is on Polmuir Road, about 25 minutes’ walk south of Union Street, or a short city bus ride. There are free car parks, but from Monday to Friday between 8am and 4pm there is a three-hour maximum stay and no return within one hour.

The Park Café is popular, and there are toilets in the Winter Gardens and a public toilet in the park. Paths are mostly flat and wide, with some steeper slopes on the mound; inside the Winter Gardens some areas have uneven ground and steps.

In winter and at Christmas

From November the Winter Gardens close at 4pm, and they are shut on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and 1 and 2 January. On Saturday 12 December 2026 the council holds its annual carol concerts in the Winter Gardens, one of the city’s favourite festive traditions. Check the council’s events pages nearer the date for times and whether tickets are needed.

Nearby

Follow the river path along the Dee, or carry on along the Deeside Way towards Cults, a pleasant flat walk or cycle on the old railway line. The city centre and Union Square are a 25-minute walk north, and the Maritime Museum makes a good indoor follow-on if the weather turns.