Dundee holidays

How to reach Dundee

• Flight time: Flights to Dundee from London take around 1 hour 30 minutes.

• Transfer time: Dundee Airport is just 3km west of the city centre; you could feasibly walk, but otherwise a taxi will get you to the centre within 10 minutes.

• Price: There are no buses into the centre so expect to fork out around £10 for a taxi.

Best time to visit Dundee

This will depend on what you want to do during your holidays to Dundee; some activities are seasonal, and the weather may also play a part in your decision.

• April to June: Spring sees mild temperatures, ranging from 10°C to 17°C, making it the ideal time to explore the city’s parks and the nearby coastline. Rainfall is moderate, and there’s usually more than enough sun to go around, typically 6-8 hours daily.

• July to August: The city bursts into life with festivals and outdoor events, with temperatures a comfortable 15°C to 20°C. Rainfall is lightest in these months and there’s plenty of sunshine for those moments of alfresco dining along the waterfront.

• September to November: Cooler but still pleasant weather, with temperatures ranging from 9°C to 16°C. Rainfall can be heavy, but with 4-6 hours of sunshine daily, there are still plenty of opportunities for getting outside. Autumn is a good time to take in Dundee’s fine roster of museums, though you may wish to coordinate a visit around whatever’s on at the V&A.

• December to March: Winter can be chilly, with temperatures hovering around 2°C to 6°C, but the Christmas markets and cosy pubs more than compensate. It may even snow, so pack plenty of layers and an umbrella; it’s likely to rain, a lot.

Practical information

• Spoken languages: English. You’ll find that the locals have a distinctive Scottish accent, but they are friendly and willing to help if you’re struggling to understand.

• Local habits and customs: Dundonians are proud of their city’s history, and you’ll notice a relaxed but polite attitude. Respect for others, especially in queues and public spaces, is important, and a bit of local slang can be a fun way to break the ice.

• Currency: The currency in Dundee is the Pound Sterling (£). Credit and debit cards are widely accepted, and ATMs are readily available.

• Getting around: Local buses leave from the High Street or nearby Union St. The Xplore Dundee Shop at 80–82 Commercial St sells Daysaver tickets, which provide unlimited bus travel for a day (£4.40), and hands out information on local bus routes.

• Time zone: Dundee operates on Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) and observes British Summer Time (BST) during daylight saving months.

Best things to do in Dundee

Dundee has brilliantly managed to shed its post-industrial image with a reinvigorated cultural scene and an impressive waterfront development based around Discovery, the ship of Captain Scott (‘of the Antarctic’) and a new outpost of the V&A.

Viewpoints and panoramas

• Tay Bridges: A mile-and-a-half-long, the bridges offer a magnificent panorama of the city on the northern bank of the Firth; look out for seals bobbing in the water.

• Dundee Law: The plug of an extinct volcano and, at 171m, the city’s highest point. Once the site of a 7th-century defensive hillfort, it’s now an impressive lookout point, with great views across the whole city and the Tay.

The best districts

• Waterfront: Once a post-industrial area, the now glittering waterfront has been transformed into a vibrant hub, encapsulated by the superb V&A Dundee.

• City Centre: Compact and easy to explore, packed with shops, restaurants and cafés. including Murraygate and High Street both of which offer a variety of independent outlets.

Museums

• V&A Dundee: Shaped like a futuristic ocean liner, the V&A is the first museum of its kind in Scotland and the only other V&A anywhere in the world outside London; the highlight is the Scottish Design Galleries, which holds a brilliant reconstruction of Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s Ingram Street Tearooms.

• McManus Art Gallery and Museum: The ground-floor rooms explore the nature of museums, the surrounding natural landscape and the making of modern Dundee, while upstairs there’s the splendid Victoria gallery, its curved red walls densely hung with an impressive collection of works by masters including Rossetti and Henry Raeburn.

Historical monuments

• RRS Discovery: Something of an icon for Dundee’s renaissance, Discovery is a three-mast steam-assisted vessel built in Dundee in 1901 to take Captain Robert Falcon Scott on his polar expeditions.

• St Paul’s Episcopal Cathedral: Gothic Revival structure designed by George Gilbert Scott, notable for its vivid if sentimental stained glass and floridly gilded high altar.

• HMS Unicorn: An endearingly simple wooden frigate built in 1824, this is the oldest British warship still afloat. Although the interior is sparse, the cannons, the splendid figureheads and the wonderful model of the ship in its fully rigged glory are fascinating.

Parks and gardens

• Camperdown Park: Dundee’s largest public park, Camperdown has everything from woodland walks to a wildlife centre.

• Baxter Park: A smaller, beautifully landscaped park known for its Victorian pavilion and brilliantly colourful flower beds.

Day trips in the area

• St Andrews: A breezy seaside town acknowledged as the home of golf, and possessing Scotland’s oldest university.

• Cairngorms: These mountains are home to wildlife such as the capercaillie and the golden eagle, and are a magnet for walkers, climbers and skiers.

• Perth: Georgian terraces and imposing civic buildings line the riverside in this genteel city, which is also packed with great art.

Activities for families in Dundee

Dundee has oodles of activities that will keep kids and adults entertained, thanks in the main to the city’s expertise in tech development which has led to a raft of excellent museums.

• Beaches: The seaside settlement of Broughty Ferry is a pleasant and relaxing spot with some good restaurants and pubs, and both the beach and the castle’s ‘green’ (or grounds) are popular run-around spots for kids.

• Interactive museums: Dundee’s reputation as a centre of technological excellence is manifest in some superb museums, not least the Dundee Science Centre, which is packed with hands-on exhibits and gizmos. Another great option is Verdant Works, where interactive displays bring Dundee’s industrial heritage to life.

• Planetarium: From October to March the Mills Observatory planetarium runs a fortnightly show, while the observatory also has special opening times to coincide with eclipses and other astronomical events.

Free things to do in Dundee

You don’t need to spend a lot to enjoy Dundee holidays, with plenty of free attractions and activities if you look hard enough.

• Free events: Dundee’s cultural calendar is packed with free events, from music festivals to community fairs. Keep an eye out for the Dundee Summer Streets Festival, which brings live music, food stalls and family entertainment to the city centre.

• Street art: Dundee’s creative side is also manifest in numerous street art projects, such as Open/Close Dundee, which is injecting life into the alleyways and forgotten corners of the city, working with local artists - this is a terrific way to enjoy free art in your own time.

Nature and outdoor activities

Dundee is surrounded by a landscape that, weather conditions apart, is extremely attractive for outdoor pursuits at all levels of fitness and ambition.

• Hiking and hillwalking: For some challenging hikes, head to the nearby Angus Glens, offering some of the most rugged and majestic landscapes for walking in northeast Scotland; Glen Clova and Glen Doll are particularly beautiful.

• Paddleboarding: The River Tay lends itself to a number of water-based activities, but paddleboarding is the big thing here at present. Seek out Paddle Antics who offer guided multi-rider paddleboard trips.

• Cycling: Get yourself down to the Dundee Cycle Hub and discover the different parts of Dundee on two wheels. Here you can hire bicycles, get your bike fixed and even refuel with their own speciality coffee at their café.

Local dishes in Dundee

Cooked breakfasts, high-quality meats and the freshest fish in the British Isles: traditional Scottish food satisfies the heartiest of appetites, invariably washed down with a drop of whisky.

Some typical dishes

• Cullen Skink: Rich soup made from smoked haddock, potatoes and cream.

• Arbroath Smokies: A speciality of the nearby town of Arbroath, these powerful hot-smoked haddocks are served simply with butter and bread.

• Haggis: Flavoursome sausage meat (spiced liver, offal, oatmeal and onion) cooked inside a bag made from a sheep’s stomach. Its traditional accompaniments are ‘bashed neeps’ (mashed turnips) and ‘chappit tatties’ (mashed potatoes).

Meat dishes

• Scottish beef: Scottish-reared beef is often delicious, especially the Aberdeen Angus breed, though Highland cattle are also rated for their depth of flavour.

• Venison Stew: The meat of the red deer is low in cholesterol and very tasty; it’s served roasted or in casseroles, and is often cooked with juniper and red wine.

Fish and seafood dishes

• Fish Supper: You can’t go wrong with a classic fish supper: crispy battered haddock or cod, served with chunky chips - what could possibly be better?

• Scallops: Best eaten seared and served with black pudding, a combination that perfectly balances sweet and savoury flavours.

Sweets and desserts

The city’s eponymous Dundee Cake is a rich fruit loaf topped with whole almonds - washed down with a cup of tea, it’s an absolute belter. Home-made shortbread, scones and tablet (a hard, crystalline form of fudge) are similarly popular sweet treats.

Local drinks

• Whisky: No trip to Scotland would be complete without sampling a dram of whisky. Dundee’s close proximity to the whisky regions of Speyside and the Highlands means you’ll find a good selection of local varieties to taste.

• Brewed Ales: For beer lovers, Dundee’s craft breweries produce a range of ales that showcase local ingredients. Sample a pint of something from 71 Brewing, a popular local brewery known for its creative and bold flavours.