Visitor Attractions in Aberdeen, The Granite City

Posted on | October 28, 2008 | Leave a Comment

Aberdeen is the third largest city in Scotland, in relation to the city’s population size. Since the mid 18th century Aberdeen’s buildings have been built using local grey granite and the city has a sandy coastline. This has led to the city being nicknamed the Silver City and also the Granite City. However in more recent times the city has also gained the nicknames of the Energy Capital of Europe or the Oil Capital of Europe due to the discovery of oil in the North Sea. Aberdeen has benefitted greatly from the revenue generated by the oil industry and the support industries. Today Aberdeen is thoroughly modern and incredibly vibrant with a lively nighlife.

Hotels in Aberdeen are often booked by businessmen but also by various other types of people eager to take advantage of the many visitor attractions Aberdeen has to offer. Below you will find details of 3; Aberdeen Maritime Museum, Satrosphere Science Centre and Duthie Park Winter Gardens:

Aberdeen Maritime Museum

Aberdeen’s Maritime Museum is situated near to the harbor, at the legendary Shiprow. There are stunning panoramas across the harbour from the museum. The Maritime Museum inhabits a small number of buildings, which include a former church and one of the oldest dwellings in Aberdeen. The museum has exhibits which include everything relating to the oceanic environment, from the oil industry to the fishing boats. In essence, the museum tells the story of Aberdeen’s long relationship with the ocean. Some of the collections contain photographs, models, ship plans and paintings donated by the foremost shipbuilders of Aberdeen.

Duthie Park Winter Gardens

Lady Elizabeth Duthie of Ruthrieston,in 1881, gifted 44 acres of land, to the council. The land for the park was purchased, as a lasting memorial to her brother and uncle. In 1899, when the gardens were completed, they opened up to the public. However, in 1969 disaster struck and the greenhouses had to be knocked down and rebuilt. This was due to severe storm damgage. Today, one of Scotland’s favourite garden attractions are the David Welch Winter Gardens at Duthie Park, and also the largest indoor gardens in the whole of Europe. Each greenhouse has an important collection such as, the Victorian House, Tropical House, Temperate House, Japanese Garden, Fern House and Corridor of Perfumes.

Satrosphere Science Centre

One of the first science and discovery centers in Scotland was the, Satrosphere Science Center, in Aberdeen. This interactive, hands-on science center, has over 50 exhibits and live science demonstrations, and opened to the public in 1988. Although the center is aimed at school age children, the appeal of the exhibits is universal. The center is located in the old tram sheds, near to the sea front, on Constitution Street. The aim is to inspire youngsters to become scientist’s, as interest in science courses in universities, is in decline. One of the favorite exhibits at the center is the famous giant soap bubble, where each child can be encircled in a magic bubble.

There are a great many other visitor attractions in and about Aberdeen which are worthwile visiting and the 3 above were chosen randomly. If you are planning to visit Aberdeen, Scotland then you will discover numerous quality Aberdeen hotels, or various other forms of accommodation, available to book online.