North East
Free date ideas in Aberdeen
Updated
Aberdeen is a city where a good date doesn’t have to cost a thing. The Art Gallery, the Maritime Museum and Provost Skene’s House are all free, so a grey afternoon has three dry options in the city centre. When it’s fine, walk the Esplanade along the beach to the painted cottages of Footdee, or head over the harbour to Torry Battery and look for the bottlenose dolphins. Old Aberdeen’s cobbled High Street is a quiet stroll from King’s College to St Machar’s, the Winter Gardens at Duthie Park stay warm and green in any weather, and the Nuart murals around the centre make a free treasure hunt. Wrap up, though: the wind off the North Sea bites even in summer.
Our picks
Aberdeen Beach and the Esplanade
Beach Esplanade, Queen's Links, east of the city centre
Address: Beach Esplanade, by the Beach Ballroom, Aberdeen AB24 5NR- Outdoors
- Free
- Best in Spring, Summer
- Active
Walk the long seafront promenade beside Aberdeen's sandy city beach, from Footdee in the south up towards the mouth of the River Don.
Why it's a good date: A flat, straight path and a big sky make it easy to walk and talk. Start or finish at Footdee, and wrap up: the wind off the North Sea bites even in summer.
Photo: Flickr user: Bernt Rostad, CC BY 2.0 (cropped and resized)
Footdee
Between the beach and the harbour entrance, at the south end of the Esplanade
Address: North Square, Footdee, Aberdeen AB11 5DX- Outdoors
- Free
- Best in Spring, Summer, Autumn
Wander the squares of Footdee (Fittie), a 19th-century fishing village of low cottages and painted sheds and summerhouses at the harbour mouth.
Why it's a good date: It's small, quiet and unlike anywhere else in the city, so it suits a slow stroll. People live here, so keep your voices down, then watch the ships come through the harbour entrance from the pier.
Photo: Bill Harrison, CC BY-SA 2.0 (cropped and resized)
Aberdeen Art Gallery
Schoolhill, city centre
Address: Schoolhill, Aberdeen AB10 1FQ- Culture
- Rain-proof ☔
- Free
See Scottish and European art from the 18th century to now, then head up to the top floor for views over the city's rooftops.
Why it's a good date: Free, central and dry, so it's the obvious rain plan. It sits beside Union Terrace Gardens and His Majesty's Theatre, which makes it easy to pair with a walk or a show.
Photo: Tom Parnell from Scottish Borders, Scotland, CC BY-SA 2.0 (resized)
Aberdeen Maritime Museum
Shiprow, just off Union Street
Address: 52-56 Shiprow, Aberdeen AB11 5BY- Culture
- Rain-proof ☔
- Free
Find out how the sea shaped Aberdeen, from clipper ships to North Sea oil, in a museum built around a merchant's house from 1593.
Why it's a good date: The windows look straight onto the working harbour, so you can watch supply boats come and go between exhibits. Walk down to the quay or out to Footdee afterwards.
Photo: Holger Uwe Schmitt, CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped and resized)
Duthie Park and the David Welch Winter Gardens
Polmuir Road, Ferryhill, by the River Dee
Address: Duthie Park, Polmuir Road, Aberdeen AB11 7TH- Outdoors
- Free
- Rainy day
Walk the Victorian park by the River Dee, then step into the Winter Gardens, one of Europe's largest indoor gardens, with a cactus house and tropical plants.
Why it's a good date: Warm and green even on a grey day, so it works in any weather. There's a café in the park, and the path along the Dee is there if you want a longer walk.
Photo: AlasdairW, CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped and resized)
Old Aberdeen
Old Aberdeen, about a mile north of the city centre
Address: High Street, Old Aberdeen, Aberdeen AB24 3EN- Outdoors
- Free
- Best in Spring, Summer, Autumn
- Culture
Stroll the cobbled High Street past King's College Chapel and its stone crown tower to St Machar's Cathedral, then carry on into Seaton Park.
Why it's a good date: It feels like a separate village, quiet and very old, and it's at its best in autumn. There are cafés near the university, and the Cruickshank Botanic Garden is close by for more green.
Photo: Bill Harrison, CC BY-SA 2.0 (cropped and resized)
Torry Battery and Girdle Ness
Greyhope Road, Torry, on the south side of the harbour
Address: Greyhope Road, Torry, Aberdeen AB11 8QX- Outdoors
- Free
- Best in Spring, Summer
Walk out to the old gun battery above the harbour mouth to look for bottlenose dolphins, then follow the coast to Girdle Ness lighthouse.
Why it's a good date: Not many cities let you watch dolphins from the edge of town, and the view back over the harbour is great too. Pick a calm day, and warm up at the Greyhope Bay café beside the battery.
Photo: Alan Jamieson from Aberdeen, Scotland, CC BY 2.0 (resized)
Provost Skene's House
Marischal Square, off Broad Street, city centre
Address: Guestrow, Marischal Square, Aberdeen AB10 1AS- Culture
- Rain-proof ☔
- Free
Explore Aberdeen's oldest surviving townhouse, built in 1545, with its painted gallery ceiling and rooms on the people who shaped the North East.
Why it's a good date: It doesn't take long, so it makes a good first stop on a city-centre date. It opens seasonally, so check before a winter visit, and look up at Marischal College's granite front across the square.
Photo: Ryan Mitchell, CC BY-SA 4.0 (resized)
A street art walk
Around the city centre, especially Belmont Street, Union Street and the Green
Address: Belmont Street, Aberdeen AB10 1JR- Activity
- Outdoors
- Free
- Best in Spring, Summer, Autumn
- Culture
Hunt down the murals left by the Nuart Aberdeen festival on gable ends, lanes and car parks around the city centre.
Why it's a good date: It's a free treasure hunt that takes you down streets you'd usually skip. Find a mural map online before you set off, and stop on Belmont Street for a drink halfway round.
Photo: Colin Smith, CC BY-SA 2.0 (cropped and resized)
Quick answers
Are Aberdeen's museums free?
Yes. Aberdeen Art Gallery, the Maritime Museum and Provost Skene's House are all free to get into. Provost Skene's House opens seasonally, so check before a winter visit.
Where can we see dolphins in Aberdeen?
From Torry Battery, the old gun battery above the harbour mouth on Greyhope Road. Bottlenose dolphins often feed there, and it costs nothing to stand and watch. Pick a calm day for the best chance.
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