Photo: Chensiyuan (CC BY-SA 4.0), via Wikimedia Commons
Things to do in Dundee
The best holidays are planned around great days out. Here's what's on the doorstep in Dundee, from big-ticket attractions to rainy-day savers. Highlights include Dundee Science Centre, Discovery Point and D'Arcy Thompson Zoology Museum.
Showing museums, aquariums and attractions with indoor areas — the ones that work whatever the forecast.
Aquariums
10.3 mi from Dundee
St Andrews Aquarium
St Andrews Aquarium is a family-owned aquarium and animal attraction on the Fife coast, home to more than 120 species from native sharks and rays to Humboldt penguins, meerkats and...
Museums & Galleries
0.2 mi from Dundee
Dundee Science Centre
Dundee Science Centre is a charity-run science centre offering interactive exhibitions, hands-on activities and immersive experiences designed to make science accessible to visitor...
0.2 mi from Dundee
Discovery Point
RRS Discovery is a barque-rigged auxiliary steamship built in Dundee, Scotland, for Antarctic research. Launched in 1901, she was the last traditional wooden three-masted ship to b... — Wikipedia
0.2 mi from Dundee
D'Arcy Thompson Zoology Museum
The D'Arcy Thompson Zoology Museum is a museum of zoology at the University of Dundee in Scotland. — Wikipedia
0.3 mi from Dundee
V&A Dundee
V&A Dundee is Scotland's design museum, set beside the waterfront and dedicated to inspiring and empowering through design. It brings design from around the world to Dundee while g...
0.3 mi from Dundee
The McManus
The McManus is Dundee's art gallery and museum, set within a striking Gothic Revival building in Albert Square. Inside, eight galleries across two floors trace 400 million years of...
0.4 mi from Dundee
Verdant Works
Verdant Works Museum, set in a beautifully refurbished Mill building in Dundee City, tells the story of the city's jute industry and the lives of its mill workers through original...
0.6 mi from Dundee
HMS Unicorn
HMS Unicorn is Dundee's oldest ship, launched in 1824 and recognised as the sixth oldest surviving ship in the world. Originally built as a 46-gun frigate at Chatham Royal Dockyard...
1.1 mi from Dundee
Dundee Museum of Transport
Dundee Museum of Transport is an independent museum in Dundee City, Scotland, preserving the city's transport heritage through classic vehicles, exhibits and interactive displays....
4 mi from Dundee
Broughty Castle Museum
Broughty Castle Museum sits on the seafront at Broughty Ferry, a short walk from Broughty Ferry station, and offers free entry into one of Scotland's best preserved coastal fortres...
9.8 mi from Dundee
Cupar Heritage Centre
Cupar Museum and Heritage Centre is a small museum telling the story of Cupar, from an early Pictish settlement through Medieval times, its rise to Royal Burgh and market town, and...
10.3 mi from Dundee
R&A World Golf Museum
The R&A World Golf Museum sits in St Andrews, Fife, and tells the story of golf through immersive galleries rooted in the game's medieval origins. You can explore over 400 years of...
10.4 mi from Dundee
St Andrews Museum
The St Andrews Museum is a museum focusing on the history of the town of St Andrews in St Andrews, Fife, Scotland. — Wikipedia
10.5 mi from Dundee
Wardlaw Museum
The Wardlaw Museum is associated with the University of St Andrews. The museum houses a selection of the university's historic, artistic and scientific collections, which comprise... — Wikipedia
10.7 mi from Dundee
St Andrews Preservation Trust Museum
The St Andrews Preservation Trust runs the St Andrews Heritage Museum and Garden at 12 North Street, recently redeveloped with a new Garden Gallery. Formed in 1937 to protect histo...
10.8 mi from Dundee
Bell Pettigrew Museum
The Bell Pettigrew Museum is a natural history museum within the University of St Andrews, exploring creatures and fossils from around the world, including extinct species, rare sp...
11.5 mi from Dundee
Fife Folk Museum
Fife Folk Museum sits in the picturesque village of Ceres, housed in the old Weigh House and Tollbooth building, with the weavers cottage and Woodward Cottage added alongside. It's...
11.5 mi from Dundee
Meigle Sculptured Stone Musuem
Meigle Sculptured Stone Museum is a small Historic Scotland site in Meigle, Perthshire, home to a collection of 26 carved Pictish stones dating from the late 700s to late 900s. Hig...
Theme Parks
18.7 mi from Dundee
Active Kids Adventure Park
Active Kids Adventure Park is a theme park set in the Perthshire countryside, combining 11 acres of outdoor play with a treehouse-themed indoor playground, so there's something to...
Zoos & Wildlife
11.6 mi from Dundee
Scottish Deer Centre
The Scottish Deer Centre is a wildlife park set across more than 55 acres of Fife countryside, home to 12 species of deer alongside wolves, lynx, Scottish wildcats and a European b...
More around Dundee
Itineraries
- A weekend in Scotland with the kids · 2 days
- A weekend in Scotland · 2 days
- A weekend in Scotland with older parents · 2 days
Haunted Britain
Dundee is an easy city to plan around. The attractions are close enough together that you can walk or drive between two or three in a day without feeling rushed, and the wider area — St Andrews, Fife, Pitlochry and, a little further off, Aberdeenshire — gives you somewhere to point the car when you fancy a change of scene. What follows is a practical way to sort the options into days that actually work.
Best for families
The obvious first stop is Dundee Science Centre, which is built for hands-on curiosity and suits a wide age range. It's also the sort of place where you can happily spend a couple of hours and still have an afternoon left over.
For older children and teenagers who'd rather be doing than looking, the wakeboarding track is the one to know about. It's a proper burn-off-energy activity, and a good counterweight if the rest of your trip leans heavily on museums.
Broughty Castle Museum tends to work well with children too — a castle to climb around in and a museum inside it is a fair trade for most under-twelves.
Best for a rainy day
Dundee is unusually well supplied with indoor options, which takes the sting out of a grey forecast.
- Verdant Works — the city's industrial story told in a mill setting, and easily a half-day if you read the panels properly.
- The D'Arcy Thompson Zoology Museum — small, specific and genuinely memorable, with specimens that children remember long after the trip.
- Tayside Medical History Museum — niche, free-standing and interesting if you like the stranger corners of local history.
- Dundee Science Centre again, which is the safest bet when the rain has properly set in and you need somewhere the children won't want to leave.
Best for heritage
If old stones and local stories are your thing, split your heritage days between Dundee and St Andrews. In Dundee, Broughty Castle Museum and Verdant Works cover the defensive and the industrial sides of the city.
In St Andrews, St Andrews Castle Visitor Centre is the headline, with St Andrews Museum and the St Andrews Preservation Trust Museum filling in the town's wider past. The Wardlaw Museum adds a collections-led visit, and the Meffan Institute Museum & Gallery and Brechin Town House Museum are both worth a look if you're building a longer museum trail.
Further out, Wemyss Cave Museum & Visitor Centre, the Museum of Abernethy and Alyth Museum in Fife are the kind of small, locally run places that reward an unhurried visit. Mill of Benholm in Aberdeenshire and the Pitlochry & Moulin Heritage Centre are better treated as destinations in their own right rather than add-ons.
Best for being outdoors
The wakeboarding track is the standout active option, and worth booking around rather than squeezing in. The Scottish Seabird Centre over in St Andrews pairs well with a coastal day, and Broughty Castle Museum gives you an outdoor setting with an indoor fallback — handy when the weather can't make up its mind.
How to group it into a sensible day
A Dundee city day: start at Verdant Works when it's quietest, break for lunch in town, then take in the D'Arcy Thompson Zoology Museum or Tayside Medical History Museum before finishing at Broughty Castle Museum for the views.
A family day: Dundee Science Centre in the morning, lunch, then the wakeboarding track in the afternoon. Bring towels and a full change of clothes.
A St Andrews day: St Andrews Castle Visitor Centre first, then St Andrews Museum and the St Andrews Preservation Trust Museum, with the Wardlaw Museum or Scottish Seabird Centre depending on how much walking you've already done.
Where to eat
We don't have verified hygiene-rated recommendations for Dundee to pass on, so rather than guess, the practical approach is this: check the Food Standards Scotland rating before you book, eat your main meal in the city centre where there's most choice, and carry a packed lunch on days built around the wakeboarding track or the smaller Fife museums, where options nearby can be limited and opening hours short.
Turning it into a short break
Three nights is the sweet spot: one day in Dundee itself, one in St Andrews, and one spent further afield at Mill of Benholm, the Pitlochry & Moulin Heritage Centre or the Museum of Abernethy, depending on which direction appeals. There are currently no BritStays properties listed in this region, so you'll need to book accommodation elsewhere — look for somewhere central in Dundee with parking, as that keeps every day trip short.
Practical points: ring the smaller museums such as Alyth Museum and Wemyss Cave Museum & Visitor Centre before setting off, as volunteer-run places often open limited days. Book the wakeboarding track ahead. And keep one indoor option in reserve each day.
Frequently asked questions
What's the best attraction in Dundee for children?
Dundee Science Centre is the most reliable choice for families, with hands-on exhibits that suit a range of ages. For older children and teenagers, the wakeboarding track is a better fit, and Broughty Castle Museum works well for under-twelves who like castles.
What can we do in Dundee if it rains?
Dundee has plenty of indoor options. Verdant Works, the D'Arcy Thompson Zoology Museum, the Tayside Medical History Museum and Dundee Science Centre are all under cover and can easily fill a wet day between them.
Which museums should we visit in St Andrews?
St Andrews Castle Visitor Centre is the main draw, with St Andrews Museum and the St Andrews Preservation Trust Museum covering the town's wider history. The Wardlaw Museum, Meffan Institute Museum & Gallery, Brechin Town House Museum and the Scottish Seabird Centre are also in the St Andrews listings if you want a longer museum trail.
Are there places to stay in Dundee on BritStays?
No. There are currently no BritStays properties listed in the Dundee region, so you'll need to arrange accommodation elsewhere. Somewhere central in Dundee with parking makes the day trips easiest.
What is there to do outdoors around Dundee?
The wakeboarding track is the main active outdoor option in Dundee. Broughty Castle Museum gives you an outdoor setting with an indoor fallback, and the Scottish Seabird Centre suits a coastal day over in St Andrews.
What's worth visiting further from Dundee?
Mill of Benholm in Aberdeenshire and the Pitlochry & Moulin Heritage Centre are both worth treating as a day in their own right. In Fife, the Museum of Abernethy, Alyth Museum and Wemyss Cave Museum & Visitor Centre are small, locally run places - ring ahead, as opening days can be limited.
More ways to explore
Not booked yet? See the best places to stay in Dundee.