Aberdeen, Scotland, The Granite City And Places To Visit
Aberdeen is the third largest city in Scotland, in relationship to populous size. Since the mid 18th century Aberdeen’s buildings have been built using local grey granite and the city benefits from its sandy coastline. This has led to the city being nicknamed the Silver City with the Golden Sands and also the Granite City. However in more recent times the city has added the nicknames of the Oil Capital of Europe or the Energy Capital of Europe due to the discovery of oil in the North Sea. Aberdeen has benefitted greatly from the income generated by the oil industry and the support industries. Nowadays the city is thoroughly modern and immensely vibrant with a lively nighlife.
Aberdeen hotels are often booked by business visitors but also by many other types of people keen to take advantage of the many visitor attractions the city has to offer. Below you will discover details of three; Satrosphere Science Centre, Duthie Park Winter Gardens and Aberdeen Maritime Museum:
Aberdeen Maritime Museum
Aberdeen’s Maritime Museum is found close by the harbor, at the legendary Shiprow. There are stunning panoramas of the harbour from the museum. The Maritime Museum can be found in a small number of buildings, which include a former church and one of the oldest dwellings in Aberdeen. The museum has exhibits that include everything to do with the marine environment, from the oil industry to the fishing boats. In essence, the museum conveys the story of Aberdeen’s lengthy relationship with the sea. Some of the collections contain models, photographs, paintings and ship plans from the foremost of Aberdeen’s shipbuilders.
Duthie Park Winter Gardens
Lady Elizabeth Duthie of Ruthrieston,in 1881, gifted to the council, 44 acres of land. 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 misfortune occurred and the greenhouses had to be demolished and reconstructed. This was due to horrendous storm damgage. Today, the David Welch Winter Gardens at Duthie Park are one of Scotland’s favourite garden attractions, and also the largest indoor gardens in the whole of Europe. Each greenhouse has an important collection such as, the Victorian House, Japanese Garden, Fern House, Tropical House, Temperate House and Corridor of PerfumesVictorian House, Fern House, Tropical House, Temperate House, Japanese Garden 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 hands-on, interactive science center, has over fifty exhibits and live science demonstrations, and opened to the public in 1988. Even though the center is aimed at school age children, the attraction of the exhibits is universal. The center is found in the old tram sheds, near to the sea front, on Constitution Street. The aim is to inspire teenagers to become scientist’s, as entry into 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 encompassed in a magic bubble.
There are a great many more tourist attractions in and about Aberdeen which are well worth a visit and those above were randomly chosen. If you are planning to take a vacation in Aberdeen, Scotland then you will find numerous quality hotels in Aberdeen, or various other types of accommodation, available to book online.