Aberdeen, The Granite City, And Fascinating Places To Visit
Aberdeen is Scotland’s third largest city, in relation to the size of the city’s population. Aberdeen’s buildings, since the mid eighteenth century, have been made 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 revenue 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 people visiting on business but also by many other types of tourists wishing to enjoy the many tourist attractions the city has to offer. Below you will find details of three; Aberdeen Maritime Museum, Satrosphere Science Centre and Duthie Park Winter Gardens:
Aberdeen Maritime Museum
Aberdeen’s Maritime Museum is situated close to the harbor, at the historic Shiprow. There are amazing panoramas of the harbour from the museum. The Maritime Museum occupies a small number of buildings, which include a former church and one of the oldest homes in Aberdeen. The museum has exhibits that include everything to do with the oceanic environment, from the oil industry to the fishing boats. Basically, the museum conveys the story of Aberdeen’s lengthy relationship with the sea. Some of the collections contain ship plans, paintings, models and photographs from the foremost shipbuilders of Aberdeen.
Duthie Park Winter Gardens
In 1881, Lady Elizabeth Duthie of Ruthrieston, gifted 44 acres of land, to the council. The land for the park was purchased, as a lasting memorial to her uncle and brother. In 1899, the gardens were ready, and were opened to the public. However, in 1969 disaster struck and the greenhouses had to be knocked down and rebuilt. 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 Tropical House, Japanese Garden, Fern House, Victorian House, Temperate House and Corridor of Perfumes.
Satrosphere Science Centre
In Aberdeen, the Satrosphere Science Center was one of the first science and discovery centers in Scotland. This interactive, hands-on science center, has more than 50 exhibits and live science shows, and opened its’ doors to the public in 1988. Even though the center is aimed at school age children, the appeal of the exhibits is universal. The center is situated in the old tram sheds, close to the sea front, on Constitution Street. The purpose is to inspire teenagers to become scientist’s, as entry into science courses in universities, is in decline. One of the best loved exhibits at the center is the famous giant soap bubble, where each child can be enclosed in a magic bubble.
There are a great many other tourist attractions in the Aberdeen area which are well worth visiting and the above 3 were chosen randomly. If you are planning to take a vacation in Aberdeen, Scotland then you will discover numerous quality hotels in Aberdeen, or many other forms of accommodation, available to book online.
Posted on: Thursday, October 30, 2008 at 8:34 am
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