Dundee - 20 Great Things To See & Do in Dundee, Scotland
Dundee is so often overlooked by visitors to Scotland, but it really is worth at least a day of your time to discover all its hidden gems. In this video (above) I share all my favourite places to visit in this vibrant Scottish city. Please do put aside any preconceptions you may have about Dundee and visit with fresh eyes – you’ll be really pleased you did.
Dundee is Scotland’s sunniest city which is appropriate for such a warm and welcoming city. Although Dundee has just as long a history as other Scottish cities, it’s often overlooked simply because much of its medieval past remains hidden. This is a great shame because Dundee is a vibrant, cosmopolitan University city with a long, fascinating history and much to explore.
Over the last twenty years Dundee has pulled away from its industrial past to reinvent itself as the ‘city of discovery’. Dundee is now a world centre for medical research and digital media and its universities are some of the best in the UK. In fact, Dundee University is so popular that its students account for 1 in 7 of the population of Dundee!
The county of Angus is often overlooked by tourists, which is a missed opportunity to see some of the north east’s greatest scenery. From the heather clad hills and tumbling rivers of the Angus Glens, to the long sandy beaches and secret bays of the coast – Angus is a rewarding county to explore.
A surprise to many, Dundee is one of the most important places in the world for digital games development. Some of the biggest digital games in the world have come from design studios in Dundee, including Grand Theft Auto and Lemmings. Abertay University is now the top university in Europe for game development courses. In recognition of its innovative and pioneering outlook, the city became the first in the UK to be awarded a UNESCO City of Design.
Dundee is the fourth largest city in Scotland with a population of around 142,000. It is situated on the north bank of the river or Firth of Tay which flows into the North Sea and, being south facing, attracts a better than average amount of sunshine for a Scottish City!
Dundee’s fortunes as a city have been inextricably linked with the sea and many of its past industries, including textiles, whaling and ship building have relied upon it. In fact, Dundee used to be called the city of “jam, jute and journalism” all of which thrived in Dundee and supported many jobs. The city used to be the jute capital of the world with a large number of textile mills in the 19th Century where imported jute was woven and then exported all around the world.
The production and export of Keiller’s marmalade also became a big employer in the city too. The publishers, D.C. Thomson & Co still successfully publish magazines and newspapers today.
Nowadays, however, Dundee is rightly promoted as the “City of Discovery” in recognition of its pioneering contribution to science and technology and also to honour Captain Scott’s ship the “RRS Discovery”, built in Dundee over 100 years ago, and now berthed in the City at Discovery Point.
Due to its geographical location in a natural harbour and its links with maritime trading, Dundee was once an important ship building city during the 19th Century, but sadly this industry no longer exists.
With the decline of the traditional industries, the city has reinvented itself and now employs a significant number of people in biotechnology and the biomedical science industry and also in digital and software development. Dundee is now very much at the pioneering end of these industries and “discovery” therefore continues to be an important theme for this City and its future. The city was, in fact, the first place to manufacture the Sinclair ZX Spectrum in the 1980’s and more recently is home to the company that produced the Grand Theft Auto series of computer games and now has a very healthy software development industry.
The city is a very popular university town with two main universities, the University of Abertay and the University of Dundee. The former is particularly recognised for its work in the fields of computing and technology, whereas the latter is strong in the fields of biomedical science and biotechnology. With a student population of around 20%, it is a young, vibrant city, with a nightlife to match.
DUNDEE VISITOR ATTRACTIONS
Dundee has some excellent attractions for visitors. If you only have a few hours in the city, top of your list must be RRS Discovery at Discovery Point, The V&A Museum Dundee next door and The McManus Art Gallery & Museum. It’s a very easy city to get around. The train station is directly opposite Discovery Point and the V&A Museum and a lot of attractions are within easy walking distance of each other.
THE V&A DUNDEE MUSEUM
The fabulous V&A Dundee Museum is Scotland's first design museum and the first to open outside London. It is free to visit and very easy to access being right opposite Dundee's main train station. The new Scottish Design Galleries bring together hundreds of historically significant objects from the renowned V&A collections, alongside prominent loans from across Scotland and around the world. The museum is open 7 days a week from 10am and has a great restaurant with stunning views of the waterfront for visitors to enjoy. We thoroughly recommend also visiting RRS Discovery which is located next door to the museum.
DISCOVERY POINT & RRS DISCOVERY
Located near the city centre, Discovery Point is a fascinating visitor centre that narrates the story of the impressive RRS Discovery (moored alongside) and Captain Robert Falcon Scott. You can climb on board the ship itself and explore the interactive multimedia displays to discover what life was really like for these courageous and intrepid Antarctic explorers.
HMS FRIGATE UNICORN
The Frigate Unicorn is a magnificent warship dating back to 1824 and is the oldest British-built ship still afloat. She is unusual in that she has spent all her working life in Dundee and even predates many of the buildings in the city centre. If you’re visiting RRS Discovery please make sure you also visit this amazing ship and help ensure its future. It’s an incredible ship.
MILLS OBSERVATORY
Mills Observatory is located in Balgay Park and is the UK’s only full-time public observatory. It was built in 1935 and has a distinctive 7-metre dome made from paper mache which houses the Victorian refracting Telescope. Admission is free to the Observatory and displays (planetarium shows attract a small charge.)
DUNDEE SCIENCE CENTRE
Opened in 2000, Dundee Science Centre is dedicated to inspiring youngsters to learn more about science and technology. Based on the five senses, there are interactive exhibits including the sight & perception zone and the brain zone and science demonstrations throughout the day. Terrific for getting children excited about science!
THE MCMANUS ART GALLERY & MUSEUM
Dating back to 1867, the McManus has recently undergone extensive refurbishment. The Museum contains the city’s extensive collection of artefacts and paintings charting the city’s development from a small settlement to the city it is today. There are 8 different galleries covering all aspects of the city, it’s landscape, history and people and is a must see for anyone visiting Dundee.
BROUGHTY CASTLE MUSEUM
Broughty Castle was built in 1496 and sits at the mouth of the River Tay. It has seen plenty of action over the years due to it strategic position on the River Tay. The museum houses interesting exhibits on the history of Broughty Ferry and its people and offers some fantastic views over the River.
THE VERDANT WORKS
The Verdant Works tells the story of the Jute industry in Dundee and is a fascinating insight into a bygone industry that used to employ tens of thousands of people in Dundee. The mill dates back to 1833 and has been lovingly and authentically restored with multimedia technology and interactive displays bringing the mill and the life of its workers back to life.
DUNDEE CONTEMPORARY ARTS - DCA
DCA opened in 1999 and is Dundee’s visual art centre housing a cinema, two contemporary art galleries, a print studio, visual research centre, shop and a cafe bar. The DCA is very much one of Dundee’s social and cultural hubs and hosts numerous exhibitions, workshops, talks, events and film festivals throughout the year.
CAMPERDOWN WILDLIFE CENTRE
Situated just 15 minutes from Dundee, the wildlife centre is located within the lovely Camperdown Country Park. The centre is not only a place for enjoying the animals but also has a serious role to play in research, education and conservation of our most endangered species.
GLAMIS CASTLE
Located near Forfar in the Strathmore valley, Glamis Castle dates back to the 14th century, although much of the present building is 17th century. The Castle is home to the Earl and Countess of Strathmore and Kinghorne and was the childhood home of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother. Tours of the garden and the castle are a must for visitors. The time to drive here from Dundee is about half n’ hour.
ARBROATH ABBEY
Arbroath Abbey was founded in 1178 by King William the Lion for monks of the Tironensian order. It is perhaps most famous for the Declaration of Arbroath in which Scottish nobles asserted their freedom and independence from the English. Today it is largely a ruin and has been for several hundred years, but the excellent visitor centre does a great job of bringing this historic abbey back to life. The time to drive here from Dundee is around 40 minutes.
Thanks for watching. It's just me doing the filming, so a like and a subscription really helps me out to keep filming. If you'd like to hire me as your guide, or for filming, you can contact me through my website -
https://www.davidwheater.com
Thanks for subscribing to my newsletter & Youtube channel and I’ll be back with another video from around Scotland soon :-)
Best wishes & thanks,
David
David Wheater is a Writer, Guide, Photographer & Filmmaker living and working in Edinburgh, Scotland.
