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 Aberdeen Skyline
Aberdeen is the third largest city in Scotland and the largest city in the north of the country serving as the regions main centre, it’s a city of 19th Century architecture and thriving industry.
 Aberdeen City
Once a key maritime city and still the main port for the northern isles, Aberdeen is now largely swallowed up by the North Sea oil industry. They call it the 'Granite City' with buildings and roads built of grey granite and Aberdeen boasts some fabulous Georgian architecture that glistens in the sunshine, but more often than not, looks dour and grey to match the clouds.
Built on a ridge between the River Dee and River Don, Aberdeen was a thriving fishing and trading port centuries before the oil companies moved in. The town was granted land by Robert the Bruce for its support against Edward I in the 13th Century, and the town continued to prosper, particularly with the large number of whisky distilleries that were and indeed still are in the Aberdeenshire region. With the discovery of offshore oil in the 1970s, Aberdeen boomed as the main service port for the North Sea oil fields, one of the largest oil fields in the world.
 Maritime Museum
In terms of attractions, Aberdeen has art galleries, a maritime museum, the regimental museum to the Gordons Highlanders and some attractive college architecture. The town has a variety of restaurants and a bustling nightlife of bars and clubs, frequented by an odd mix of locals, university students and transient oil industry workers, who all go to make up Aberdeen’s population of just less than 200,000.
In the surrounding area of Aberdeen, you’ll find the largest proportion of baronial castles and whisky distilleries in Scotland. Also tucked away in the Grampians is the Queen’s favourite Royal residence, Balmoral Castle, in the hamlet of Ballater in Royal Deeside.
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