Aberdeen, Scotland, United Kingdom

Experience the richness of Aberdeen’s proud history and culture — from the sound of residents’ traditional Doric accent to the sights of glittering granite buildings lining the city’s streets. Explore the cobbled roads and historic university buildings of Old Aberdeen, then take a stroll along the nearby sandy beach and watch for dolphins in the busy harbor. Afterward, find your way to the quaint fishing quarter of Footdee, and lose yourself among its tiny cottages and colorful gardens.Sur­pris­ingly, however, this solid metropolis, further north than Moscow, is anything but sombre: roses, daffodils and crocuses flourish in such profusion that the town has repeatedly won the Britain-in-Bloom trophy. Scotland’s third city is Europe’s offshore oil capital, and one of Britain’s major fishing ports. But sur­pris­ingly, however, this solid metropolis, further north than Moscow, is anything but sombre: roses, daffodils and crocuses flourish in such profusion that the town has repeatedly won the Britain-in-Bloom trophy. Scotland’s third city is Europe’s offshore oil capital, and one of Britain’s major fishing ports. For the best show in town, don’t fail to make an early-morning visit (before 7.30am) to the huge harbourside fish market. Containers of fish by the thousand are unloaded from the weathered trawlers. The traditional fishing industry still has a role to play in the economic life of the city, but most of the boats arriving in the harbor service the great oil rigs and platforms out at sea beyond the horizon. Aberdeen is Scotland’s boom city, and its facilities have expanded to accommodate the influx of North Sea oil personnel, creating something of an international atmosphere for the many tourists who visit in the summer.