Aberdeen - City of Granite, the Center of the European Oil Industry

The granite of Aberdeen gives visitors the impression of a dour and harsh place that is not helped by the weather that is frequently poor, and marked with high winds, heavy rain, and bitterly cold temperatures throughout much of the year. Aberdeen is an exposed city in the far north of Scotland, buffeted constantly by the winds from the North Sea, and frequently battered by storms that blow south from the Arctic.

Anyone who spends any time in the city however soon discovers that it is actually a very welcoming place that offers a wide range of reasons to visit. Aberdeen is the heart of the North Sea Oil industry, and heavy investment from the various oil companies in improving the local infrastructure has created a modern and exciting city that is able to appeal to almost anyone, and which provides people with all of the entertainment and excitement that they could possibly want.

The nightlife in Aberdeen is one of the best reasons for visiting the city. Whenever workers from the offshore rigs arrive into town they bring a real party atmosphere with them, and turn the center of town into a non stop party for two or three days. When the weather is good in the summer, you will find many barbeques on the beaches around the city, and great opportunities to have fun in the center of the city of Aberdeen.

The city is so far north that it almost offers 24 hour sunshine in the summer months, but this is by no means the most remarkable thing about Aberdeen's skies. If you are in the city during April or October and the skies are clear, you can enjoy one of the most spectacular natural shows anywhere in the world. The Northern lights are clearly visible in the skies above Aberdeen, and each year hundreds of people turn up to watch them from the north facing beaches just outside the city where the light pollution of the street lights is out of sight.

There are a number of the best golf courses in Scotland within easy reach of Aberdeen including the famous St Andrews old course where the British Open has regularly been held, and also several smaller and less well known private courses that offer spectacular views of the sea from their cliff top locations.

The city itself has many landmark buildings including the Marischal College and the Salvation Army Citadel, which both share the stark granite architecture that is common to the region, and which offer great photo opportunities to visitors.