Aberdeen

Aberdeen has a proper sandy beach right on the edge of the centre, a long sweep of sand and dunes running north from the harbour mouth. Further up the coast, Balmedie and the dunes towards Newburgh offer wide, empty strands within half an hour.

Swimming is another matter. The North Sea rarely gets much above 13°C even in late summer, the wind is often strong, and most people on the sand are walking dogs rather than lying in the sun. A few hardy sea swimmers go in all year, but a visitor should treat the beach as a place for a bracing walk, not a reason to come.

The food that belongs to Aberdeen is plain and good: North Sea fish and shellfish, Aberdeen Angus beef from the farms inland, and the buttery, a flaky, salty bread roll that locals eat for breakfast. Fish and chips are a serious matter along this coast, and the harbour town of Stonehaven just to the south is famous for them.

Beyond that, the city offers a solid but limited spread of restaurants, pubs serving hearty Scottish cooking, and a few ambitious kitchens using local produce. Whisky from the Speyside distilleries is everywhere. It is a pleasant place to eat, but not a city people visit for its tables.

Aberdeen is built almost entirely of silver-grey granite, which gives the centre a stern, uniform beauty that shines after rain. Marischal College, one of the largest granite buildings in the world, is the showpiece, and Union Street runs as a grand Georgian spine through the middle.

The best part is Old Aberdeen, a separate medieval burgh to the north with the crowned tower of King's College, cobbled lanes and the fortress-like St Machar's Cathedral. The Aberdeen Art Gallery has a good Scottish collection, the Maritime Museum tells the story of fishing and North Sea oil, and Footdee, a cluster of fishermen's cottages by the harbour, is worth a wander. Two or three days covers it comfortably.

Two universities keep Aberdeen's evenings livelier than its size suggests. Belmont Street and the lanes around Union Street hold most of the pubs, cocktail bars and late venues, with a handful of clubs nearby that fill up with students on term-time weekends.

It is a pub city first: traditional bars with a long whisky list, real-ale houses and busier places for a Friday crowd. Midweek and outside term the centre quietens early, and there is nothing here a visitor would travel for.

Aberdeen sits at the gateway to some of Scotland's finest country. Follow the River Dee west and within an hour or so you are in Royal Deeside and the Cairngorms National Park, with high plateau walks, Lochnagar, pine forests around Braemar and Ballater, and skiing at Glenshee and the Lecht in winter. Bennachie, a small granite hill range, is an easy half-day climb closer to town.

The coast is just as good: cliff walks south towards Stonehaven, seabird colonies, and the dunes and seal colony at the Ythan estuary to the north. Bottlenose dolphins are often seen from Torry Battery at the harbour entrance. Weather is cool and changeable, so come prepared.

The countryside around Aberdeen is thick with castles. Dunnottar, a ruined fortress on a sea stack, is twenty minutes south beside the harbour town of Stonehaven. Inland lies the Castle Trail, with tower houses such as Crathes, Craigievar and Fyvie, and up Deeside the royal estate at Balmoral and the Victorian villages of Ballater and Braemar.

Speyside, the heart of malt whisky distilling, is about an hour and a half away, with distillery visits and the ruined cathedral at Elgin. Dundee, with its waterfront design museum, is a little over an hour by train, and the fishing villages of the Aberdeenshire coast, such as Pennan and Crovie, make a scenic drive. A car helps for most of this.

Aberdeen is a safe, unhurried city that is easy with children, though there is not a great deal built for them. The Aberdeen Science Centre is the main indoor draw, and the beach esplanade has a traditional seaside funfair and leisure attractions for rainy days.

Duthie Park has a large winter garden of glasshouses, and Hazlehead Park offers woodland and play areas. Spotting dolphins at the harbour mouth is a hit with most ages. Cold, windy weather much of the year means plans need an indoor fallback.

The centre is compact: Union Street, the harbour, Marischal College and the main museums are all within a short walk of each other, and the station sits right in the middle. The beach is a twenty-minute stroll east, and Old Aberdeen about half an hour north on foot or a short bus ride.

Buses cover the city adequately but there is no tram or metro. Trains run along the coast to Stonehaven and Dundee and inland to Inverness, but most of the castles, Deeside and the distilleries are much easier with a car.

Shopping in Aberdeen is mostly practical. Two large indoor shopping centres in the city centre, one beside the railway station and the other a few minutes north off George Street, hold the familiar British chains, and Union Street has the rest. Belmont Street, the lanes around it and the Rosemount area have a scattering of independent shops, delis and small galleries.

The things worth taking home are Scottish knitwear, tartan and whisky, and these are often better chosen in the Deeside villages or at the distilleries than in town. It is not a city to come to for shopping.

Aberdeen has British prices for meals, drinks and taxis, so it is not a cheap city. Hotels are the saving grace: the city has plenty of rooms aimed at business travellers, and weekend and summer rates are often reasonable for a Scottish city. Museums and the art gallery are free, and the landscape costs nothing, though hiring a car to reach it adds up.

His Majesty's Theatre, a handsome Edwardian house on Rosemount Viaduct, is the centre of the city's stage life, hosting touring drama, musicals, and visits from the national opera and ballet companies. The Music Hall on Union Street takes the classical concerts, including visits from the Scottish orchestras.

Smaller venues stage comedy, folk and indie gigs, and a large arena near the airport takes major touring acts. Traditional Scottish music turns up in pub sessions. It is a decent regional programme, but most of it is visiting rather than home-grown.

There is no bathing or spa culture to speak of in Aberdeen. Wellness means hotel spas in town or a country-house hotel with treatments out in Deeside. The city is unhurried and the countryside close, so a stay can be restful, but nobody comes here to be pampered.