Things to do in Aberdeen

21 activities, venues and outings in Aberdeen, from theatres and live music to parks and tours.

Ranked with the travel guide's picks and well-known places first.

Do
Aberdeen FC
"The Dons" play soccer in the Premiership, Scotland's top tier. Their home ground of Pittodrie is an all-seater stadium, capacity 20,000. It's a mile north of the centre, walk up Park Rd or take any bus up King St.
Do
Aberdeen Harbour Cruises
Tours include harbour trips, spotting sea-life (dolphins, basking sharks, porpoises, puffins), and a ride out to the offshore wind farm.
Apr-Oct
Do
Aberdeen Science Centre
Satrosphere
Interactive science discovery centre in the former city tram depot.
Daily 10AM-5PMAdult £9, child £5.50, conc £6.80, family £23
Do
Adventure Aberdeen Snowsports Centre
Artificial ski slopes with an Alpine run, a Dendex run and a nursery slope. Tuition and kit hire plus public sessions.
Mon Tue Thu 2-8PM, Wed noon-10PM, Fri 10AM-10PM, Sat Sun 9AM-5PM
Do
Cove Rangers FC
"The Toonsers" play in League One, the third tier. Their home ground is Balmoral Stadium (capacity 2600) in Cove Bay two miles south of city centre.
Do
Deeside Golf Club
Founded in 1903, with the 18-hole Haughton course, later adding the 9-hole Blairs course.
Do
His Majesty's Theatre
It hosts a wide range of plays, musicals and panto. It also has a good restaurant.
Do
Linx Ice Arena
Large ice rink, public skating session times vary. Aberdeen Lynx ice hockey team play here Sept-March in the Scottish National League, the UK second tier.
Daily 5:30AM-10PM
Do
Music Hall
Opened as the Assembly Rooms in 1822, this is an elegant setting for classical and popular music, stand-up comedy and other performances.
Do
North East Scotland College
The largest further education college in Scotland, with 21,000 students. The main facility is on Gallowgate, with others in the city and in Fraserburgh.
Do
P&J Live
The Event Complex
Exhibition and events venue which opened in 2019, replacing the Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre. The biennial Offshore Europe exhibition, held in early September of odd-numbered years, is the biggest event.
Do
RGU Sport
Has similar facilities to the Sports Village and a 25-m pool and climbing wall.
Mon-Fri 6AM-10PM, Sat Sun 9AM-7PM
Do
Royal Aberdeen Golf Course
Founded in 1780, and nowadays with two courses. The Balgownie is the championship links course, 6918 yards par 70. It staged the Walker Cup in 2011 and the Scottish Open in 2014. The Silverburn is a par-3 18-hole course.
Do
The Belmont Cinema
3-screen cinema showing arthouse, foreign and selected mainstream films. Went into administration on 6 October 2022, and a charity has been formed to save it; they have redevelopment plans and are fundraising in 2026. Occasional events are held in the cinema whilst it is closed.
temporarily closed
Do
The Lemon Tree
550-capacity performing arts venue, with pop, jazz, blues, rock, comedy, dance and panto.
Do
The Robert Gordon University
RGU
RGU became a university in 1992; it was founded in 1750 by the Aberdeen merchant Robert Gordon. It has 9800 undergrads, 6000 postgrads and 660 academic staff. In 2010 it awarded an honorary degree to Donald Trump but revoked this in 2015, maybe the reason we've heard little of him since.
Do
University of Aberdeen
One of the oldest universities in the UK, founded in 1495. It's research-focused with some 9700 undergrads, 5700 postgrads and 1650 teaching staff. The main campus and admin are at Kings College in Old Aberdeen.
Do Not mapped
Aberdeen Sports Village and Aquatics Centre
This University of Aberdeen centre has a wide range of public facilities including gyms, group exercise and sports hall, plus an Aquatics Centre with 50-m pool and diving facilities.
Mon-Fri 5:30-10:30PM, Sat 7:30AM-7:30PM; Sun 7:30AM-9:30PM
Do
Aberdeen Arts Centre
Castlegate Centre
Community-oriented venue hosting a variety of events.
Do
Newhills Bowling Club
Lawn bowls.
Apr-Sep
Do
Scotstown Moor Local Nature Reserve
34 hectares of lowland heath.

Listings from the Wikivoyage guide to Aberdeen (CC BY-SA 4.0).