Part gritty oil town with its foot in the North Sea, part historic Royal burgh, Aberdeen is a collision of the old and the new Scotland. As you wander its age-old streets, spy out the glimmering granite rises of 18th- and 19th-century buildings. They fuse with the steel cranes and hulking tankers of the oil port, lacing blocks that are dotted with Aberdeenshire pubs and whisky houses and more. 

Delve inside the striking Victorian galleries and museums and you will be rewarded with famous artworks by Scottish Colourists and the avant-garde alike – think Tracy Emin next to Henry Raeburn. The Aberdeen Maritime Museum is a doozy for those keen to unravel the rise of Aberdeen the oil city through exhibits that showcase the sheer audacity of the engineering work in the rigs of the North Sea. Beyond those, Aberdeen tour guides can help navigate blocks of granite-fronted architecture, all the way down to quaint Footdee, an earthy fishing village with swinging lanterns and stony streets. 

Want something wilder? Aberdeen Beach stretches northwards in a long arc of sand and frothing sea. On the odd day the sun shines, it’s a prime spot to laze and swim, but mostly it's for bracing walks and windsurfing.