Aberdeen Maritime Museum

Open Monday to Saturday from 10am to 5pm and from noon to 3pm on Sunday, the museum is the only one to cover the North Sea oil and gas industry. It features scale models of an oil rig and deep-sea diving equipment, bringing the sheer scale of the operation to life. The museum also covers the city’s impressive ship-building history, with clippers, fishing trawlers, whalers and commercial trawlers having been built in the historic docks.

The building itself is just as historic as the exhibits. The original building, Provost Ross’s House, dates back to 1593. It was left derelict until 1950, when it was leased to Aberdeen Council and transformed into a museum.

The award-winning museum underwent a multi-million-pound expansion in 1997, creating five times the exhibition space, as well as a dramatic glass and steel front that links the Provost building to the Trinity Church, which was converted into extra museum space. This provides enough room to house the nine-metre-long scale model of an oil rig.

Following the expansion, the Maritime Museum now includes everything from historic naval paintings to modern touchscreen displays, computer consoles, hands-on exhibits and an education room. The Maritime Café is the perfect spot to refuel after a morning or afternoon trawling the exhibits, and offers impressive view across the dock and out to the North Sea. There’s also a gift shop selling a wide range of nautical-themed souvenirs if you want a little something to remember your visit.