‘Edinburgh-lite’ and the other Scottish cities you must visit

With its good looks and epic festivals, Edinburgh gets most of the love – and the bulk of the tourists – but Scotland has alternative city breaks if you’ve already been to its glorious capital. Blessed with absorbing history and culture, enticing boltholes, food and drink, these cities also have beautiful diversions on their doorsteps, from loch-carved national parks to rustic island escapes.

Glasgow

Highland cattle graze at Pollock Country Park, Glasgow.

Gritty, glamorous and gallus (cheeky, confident), with ace shopping, comedy, art and live music scenes, Glasgow is Scotland’s largest city, yet due to its gridiron street plan, flanked by imposing Victorian buildings, it sometimes feels like a North American metropolis. “Glasgow has a booming filmmaking industry, and we’ve doubled as New York, Philadelphia and even San Francisco, thanks to some of the hills,” says Martin Heaney, genial owner of Gallus Pedals, which offers cycling tours covering the city’s vibrant central core, regenerated Clyde riverside, leafy suburbs and gentrifying quarters.

As we pedal, Martin explains how Glasgow morphed from a small monastic settlement into one of the British Empire’s richest ports, pointing out key and secluded sights and revealing nuggets about his fellow Glaswegians. One of our stops is beneath a huge mural of St Mungo, a 6th-century missionary and the city’s patron saint (it was painted by Glasgow-based Australian street artist Sam Bates, aka Smug).

While increasingly bike friendly, Glasgow is walkable, also boasting the world’s third-oldest subway (after London and Budapest) plus suburban railway lines. One brings you to Pollok Country Park, where Highland cattle graze and the revamped Burrell Collection displays more than 9000 eclectic objects, from Babylonian relics to Rodin sculptures. Gifted to the city by a Glaswegian shipping magnate, it won the prestigious Art Fund Museum of the Year 2023.

About 90 other parks dot Glasgow, which means “Dear Green Place” in Scottish Gaelic (Glaschu). Pronounced Glas-a-hoo, Glaschu is also the name of the fine-dining restaurant by the city’s Museum of Modern Art (GoMA). Savour dishes like cured rainbow trout with mango, papaya and chilli, Scottish duck breast with roasted peach, kale and honey jus, and chocolate tart and whisky ice cream.

Stay Centrally located, the Kimpton Blythswood Square hotel has nightly rates from about £190 ($355). See kimptonblythswoodsquare.com

Side tripping Enjoy pleasure cruises and hikes in Loch Lomond & the Trossachs National Park, just 45 minutes from Glasgow by road. Or ferry hop around the islands off Scotland’s west coast, including Arran and Bute. See peoplemakeglasgow.com

Stirling

The National Wallace Monument looms outside Stirling.

“Some of our guests call Stirling ‘Edinburgh-lite’,” says Kari Couser, who runs boutique hotel Victoria Square in one of the prim sandstone properties in Stirling’s Lower Town, the city’s answer to Edinburgh’s New Town. Lording above, meanwhile, is the Old Town, where steep lanes wriggle up an extinct volcano to a mighty castle long prised for its strategic importance between the Scottish Highlands and Lowlands. It was a favoured residence of the Stuart (or Stewart) dynasty, and a castle visit shows off the lavish renaissance apartments built for King James V, father of Mary Queen of Scots.

Although Stirling is popular with Edinburgh and Glasgow day-trippers, it warrants a longer stay, with sightseeing possibilities scattering the compact centre and picturesque outskirts. Just down the castle hill, there’s the gothic Church of the Holy Rude – where Queen Mary’s infant son, James VI, was crowned in AD 1567 – and the neighbouring Stirling Old Town Jail is now an immersive visitor attraction, with costumed actors recalling stories of crime and punishment as you roam the atmospheric cells and corridors.

Stirling Castle in Stirling, also known as ‘Edinburgh-lite’.

About four kilometres away – visible from the upper castle hill – is the National Wallace Monument, a whimsical Victorian gothic pile honouring William “Braveheart” Wallace. Housing an exhibition about the Scottish warrior, it looms above the River Forth, by the fields where Wallace’s army defeated the Auld Enemy (England) in the late 13th century.

Traditional keepsakes, including tartan, kilts and bagpipes, are sold at Stirling’s stores, and there’s good modern Scottish cuisine, particularly at Brea. Meaning “fine” in Gaelic, this bistro serves the likes of chicken and haggis croquettes, pea and spinach risotto, and dry-aged Tweed Valley rib-eye steak with optional whisky sauce.

Stay Victoria Square has bed and breakfast doubles from about £120 ($230). See victoriasquare.scot

Side tripping Also steeped in medieval folklore is Doune Castle and Bannockburn, where King Robert the Bruce’s troops bested the English in AD 1314. See yourstirling.com

Aberdeen

Old Aberdeen is a quaint student enclave.

The “Granite City” on Scotland’s north-east coast lives up to its name, flush with buildings constructed of the locally quarried stone, which produces a sparkle on bright days thanks to its high mica content. Landmarks include the Aberdeen Town House, with its neck-craning clock tower, and Marischal College, which claims to be the world’s second-largest granite building (after Spain’s El Escorial palace).

At the Aberdeen Maritime Museum, you’ll discover how the North Sea has been the city’s lifeblood, from yesteryear’s fishing and shipbuilding to the offshore oil and gas discovered in the 1960s. Take in the sea air and vistas from the five-kilometre promenade that skirts the city’s sandy beaches, wedged between two rivers, the Don and the Dee. By the former, you’ll find Old Aberdeen, a quaint student enclave with a 12th-century cathedral, cobbled lanes and ivy-clad university buildings.

Marischal College, Aberdeen, claims to be the world’s second-largest granite building.

By the Dee, at the mouth of Aberdeen’s bustling harbour, Footdee (“Fittie”) is sprinkled with old fishermen’s cottages and The Silver Darling, a restaurant named after the herring caught by local fleets. Seafood platters here feature oysters, scallops and langoustines and there are seasonal dishes from the land, such as roasted venison loin. Photographs of past diners decorate the walls, including Dame Judi Dench and Sir Alex Ferguson, ex-boss of Aberdeen and Manchester United football clubs.

Stay Craft beer giant BrewDog was born in Aberdeenshire, and above its city centre Castlegate bar are cosy-chic, soundproofed Kennels (studios and suites), with beer-filled fridges by the showers. Priced from about £99 ($190). See brewdog.com

Side tripping Take ferries to the Orkney or Shetland isles or head inland to Cairngorms National Park. Its attractions include Balmoral, the royals’ Scottish country retreat. visitabdn.com

Perth

The charming city of Perth is perched beside the River Tay.

Unlike its West Australian namesake, you shouldn’t expect sun, sea and a metropolitan buzz in Scotland’s Perth. But this is a charming wee city, perched beside the River Tay and endowed with natural and cultural treats. The new Perth Museum has just opened at the former City Hall, with its centrepiece the myth-shrouded Stone of Destiny, which was used for crowning ancient Scottish kings and also featured in King Charles III’s coronation. Another must is the Black Watch Castle & Museum, which charts the engrossing history of Scotland’s oldest Highland regiment.

Perth is most beguiling, however, when you’re browsing contemporary art in its lush riverside gardens, scaling the trails and vantage points of Kinnoull Hill Woodland Park and enjoying kayaking or stand-up paddleboarding tours on the Tay. The views are splendid: soaring church spires, wildlife like beavers, cormorants and herons, and tree-tufted banks and islands that change colour with the seasons.

Refuel at The Bothy, a smart, casual Perth restaurant that does good cocktails and inventive dishes like seafood crumble – salmon, prawn, haddock and cod, topped with Arran-smoked cheddar crumb.

Stay Fronting onto a pretty park, Parklands Hotel has double rooms with breakfast from about £104 ($199). See theparklandshotel.com

Side tripping Tour the old royal palace and gardens of Scone – pronounced Scoon – just outside the city, then see where the TV series Outlander was shot in the mountainous Perthshire countryside. See perthcityandtowns.co.uk

Five other Scottish hubs

Dunfermline
A 30-minute train ride from Edinburgh, Scotland’s “newest” city oozes history, from a gorgeous medieval abbey (resting place of Robert the Bruce) to the humble birthplace of Andrew Carnegie, once the world’s richest man.

Inverness
Scotland’s northernmost city is the gateway to Loch Ness, the distilleries of Speyside and the North Coast 500, one of Britain’s most spellbinding road trips.

Dundee
Just 30 kilometres from Perth, Dundee also sits by the Tay, with its revitalised waterfront home to the first Victoria & Albert Museum outside London.

St Andrews
Sporting legendary golf courses, an esteemed university and haunting cathedral ruins, St Andrews is a gem on the Fife coast.

Fort William
A magnet for adventurers, Fort William is the springboard to climb Ben Nevis – Britain’s highest peak – and to hit the Isle of Skye.

The details

Fly
From Sydney and Melbourne, Emirates (emirates.com/au) flies to Glasgow via Dubai and Qatar Airways (qatarairways.com/en-au) flies to Edinburgh via Doha.

Getting around
Scotland’s towns and cities are well-connected by rail, but a hire car is handy for exploring the countryside. See scotrail.co.uk

The writer was a guest of Visit Scotland (visitscotland.com) and Visit Britain (visitbritain.com).