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The third-largest city in Scotland, ABERDEEN , commonly known as the Granite City, lies 120 miles northeast of Edinburgh, on the banks of the rivers Dee and Don smack in the middle of the northeast coast. Based around a working harbour, it's a place that people either love or hate. Certainly, while some extol the many tones and colours of Aberdeen's granite buildings, others see only uniform grey and find the city grim, cold and unwelcoming. The weather doesn't help: Aberdeen lies on a latitude north of Moscow and the cutting wind and driving rain (even if it does transform the buildings into sparkling silver) can be tiresome.
Since the 1970s, oil has made Aberdeen a hugely wealthy and self-confident place: only four percent of Scotland's population live in the city, yet it has eight percent of the country's spending power. Despite (or perhaps because of) this, it can seem a soulless city; there's a feeling of corporate sterility and sometimes, despite its long history, Aberdeen seems to exist only as a departure point and service station for the transient population of some ten to fifteen thousand who live on the 130 oil platforms out to sea.
Staying in such a prosperous place has its advantages. There are plenty of good restaurants and hotels, local transport is efficient and certain sights, including Aberdeen's splendid Art Gallery and the excellent Maritime Museum , are free. Furthermore, the fact that the city is the bright light in a wide hinterland helps it to sustain a lively nightlife with some decent pubs and a colourful arts and cultural scene.
The City Aberdeen divides neatly into five main areas. The city centre , roughly bounded by Broad Street, Union Street, Schoolhill and Union Terrace, features the opulent Marischal College , the colonnaded Art Gallery with its... read more >>
Union Street and the surrounding area has a glut of attractive cafés and restaurants . Like most ports, Aberdeen caters for a transient population with a lot of disposable income and a desire to get drunk as quickly as possible: although you'll find no shortage of loud, flashy bars catering to such needs, there are still a number of more traditional old pubs which are well worth a visit.
Cafés and restaurants Ashvale 46 Great Western Rd. One of Scotland's finest, and biggest, fish-and-chip shops, with seating for 300. Restaurant open daily until 11pm; takeaway until 1am. Inexpensive. Howies 50 Chapel St tel 01224/639500. Aberdeen... read more >>
Pubs and bars Archibald Simpson 5 Castle St. A J.D. Wetherspoon chain-pub on the corner of Union Street, named after one of the architects of the Granite City, in typically ornate style with tiled floors and an extravagant interior. Ma Cameron's Inn ... read more >>
Clubs and live music The Blue Lamp 121 Gallowgate. A big bar featuring live bands (Fri & Sat) and a folk session (Mon); there's also a much smaller snug for relative peace and quiet. The Globe Inn 13-15 North Silver St. Pleasant city-centre inn... read more >>
Theatres and cinemas Belmont Picture House 9 Belmont St tel 01224/343536, . Art-house cinema showing the more cultured new releases and a back-list of classic, cult and foreign-language films. There's a decent café inside and some good places nearby for a... read more >>
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