The 9 best things to do in Inverness
All products are independently selected by our editors. If you buy something, we may earn an affiliate commission.
Inverness doesn’t do things by half. This is a city proud of the dreamiest castle, the bloodiest battlefield, the most fanciful monster and show-stopper hotels that haunt the imagination — its speciality is providing moments you’ll never forget.
The Highlands capital is busier than ever — hitting in the region of 300,000 visitors annually, according to official figures — and everyone is drawn to its riverside attractions and compact, easily navigable core, as well as the landscapes that crowd around it. In the distance, with crumpled hills on the horizons, the mountains are waiting. The sea, where dolphins dance continually on the surface, is just within reach. Always, adventure is in the air.
These are the places you should put on your travel list to help inspire a visit.
Getty ImagesTake the railway (not the road) for your next adventure
The North Coast 500 — and the overtourism that goes with the 500-mile coastal road trip — now brings in hordes of visitors to Inverness. For a more sustainable trip, hop on the single-track Far North Line, from Inverness to Wick and Thurso and into the far-flung and peaty boglands of the UNESCO Flow Country, or venture west on the scenic Kyle Line. Departing the city for Kyle of Lochalsh via Dingwall, this is single track largely ruled by the forests, glens and lochs of the landscape, and the train passes through communities where the sense of isolation is acute. Look out for station names like Achanalt, Achnasheen and Achnashellach that pass by like sneezes.
Website: scotrail.co.uk
Getty ImagesConsider Culloden
Wind your mind way back to 16 April 1746, when Bonnie Prince Charlie sought to regain the British throne for the Stuart monarchy. The ‘Young Pretender' and his fervent supporters — the Jacobites — made their final stand against the English redcoat army on Culloden Moor, five miles east of Inverness. It was the last pitched battle on British soil, lasting only an hour but leaving 1,600 Jacobites killed or badly injured. These days, there are weapon galleries, artefacts and a rousing immersive theatre that puts you right in the bloody fight, but the highlight — if it can be called that — is the battlefield site. There’s a deeply affecting sense of contemplation when looking out across the windswept open ground, with ghosts all around.
Website: nts.org.uk
Getty ImagesWalk the River Ness
It’s a seductive scene: a pewter river, promenades of hawthorn and oak, a tiny archipelago of islands to explore. Inverness is blessed by the River Ness and it’s instantly the most memorable place to stroll or bike on a sunny day. From the centre, a two-hour circuit will take you south under the watchtowers of Inverness Castle to the Ness Islands, then onto the Caledonian Canal, the longest inland waterway in the UK and connecting the east and west coasts between Inverness and Corpach near Fort William. Overlooking the west bank near Infirmary Bridge, Eden Court is a theatre, cinema and arts venue that thinks outside the box.
Website: eden-court.co.uk
Getty ImagesHunt a big beastie
If you haven’t gone looking for the Loch Ness Monster, have you even been to Inverness anyway? The wrinkled skin and breaking wavelets of Loch Ness have been responsible for perpetuating the myth of the world’s most elusive monster for more than a century, but that’s not to say going on a monster hunting trip today still can’t be a huge amount of fun. The closest departures are from Dochgarroch Lock, five miles south of the city centre, and trips range from 50 minutes to three hours, with the waltzing motion of the boat and percussive sound of wind and water on the vessel adding to the romance of the hunt. Even if it is all phooey.
Website: jacobite.co.uk/tours
Uilebheist DistilleryDrink small-batch whisky
For a long time, encountering a first barrel fill whisky in Inverness was a rarity. Sure, the city has a rich history of spirit production, and there’s a deluge of precious whisky distilleries within less than an hour’s drive (Glenmorangie, Balblair, Dalmore and The Singleton). But until recently, the lack of a distillery within Inverness made the city feel like a sort of spiritless pariah. Uilebheist Distillery & Brewery, opened in 2023 and overlooking the River Ness, is now at the vanguard of the craft revival. Aptly, “Uile-bheist” is Scottish Gaelic for “monster”, and the distillery is not talking about the size of your potential hangover either. For a well-orchestrated tasting room environment, plus appreciative locals as well as tourists, it has to be The Malt Room for a nightcap.
Website: uilebheistshop.com; themaltroom.co.uk
Getty ImagesSpot dolphins in the Moray Firth
Dolphin-watching safaris abound just north of Inverness. The Moray Firth supports a resident population of around 200 bottlenose dolphins that conveniently make regular appearances, creating a sea picture most would more commonly expect in warmer waters. You won’t need to squint either. Thrillingly, the mammals can be seen on boat trips with RIB-boat operators such as Dolphin Spirit Inverness and Avoch Dolphin Trips, based on the road-accessible Black Isle across the inky blue. Also on the Black Isle, Chanonry Point offers Britain’s best cetacean spotting, right from the sand. The overall feeling is it’s Inverness, but only just.
Website: dolphintripsavoch.co.uk
Ness Walk HotelStay in a best-in-class hotel
Thanks to the rise and rise of the North Coast 500 (more of which later), Inverness is having a bit of a hotel moment. The whole point of five-star Ness Walk is its riverside views and terrific Torrish restaurant, while Rocpool Reserve Hotel is the city’s answer to a petite Gleneagles Townhouse — the preened and polished Georgian mansion is home to only 11 rooms, some with sunken baths, hot tubs or private balconies. Beyond the city centre in Culloden, Culloden House Hotel is another worth a splurge, even if the 18th-century Palladian design is more period piece. The focus, quite rightly, is the building’s sprawling 40 acres, the library bar and history. One titbit to impress your friends: Bonnie Prince Charlie (him again) once stayed.
Getty ImagesDiscover new-look Inverness Castle
The city’s most ambitious project for the past few years, Inverness Castle is a departure of sorts from the Scottish fortification of the mind’s eye, with claymores and clan history, baronial architecture and Brigadoon type romance. Built in its current form as a public courthouse and prison, the red sandstone keep has largely been off limits to visitors, but that’s changing later this summer. The Inverness Castle Experience will offer a detailed jaunt through landscaped gardens to the remodeled premise, with the South Tower serving up an interactive journey through the heritage and culture of the Highlands. Which is to say the castle is being replugged back into the Inverness tourism circuit.
Website: invernesscastle.scot
Ardross CastleSee The Traitors’ castle
This one is a bit of a cheat. Ardross Castle is 25 miles north of Inverness on the road to Tain and Dornoch, well beyond the city’s limits. But the magnificent 19th-century castle has become the most talked-about stronghold in the Highlands for the past few years. It’s enlisted an all-star cast in the form of The Traitors TV series, both UK and US versions, and while there are other castles with as much pomp and personality this far north in Scotland (Aldourie, Skibo, Dunrobin, Carbisdale Castle), this is the one that caters to every type of castle fan — but only if you’re prepared to splash out on an exclusive-use wedding there. If that doesn’t work, for an alternative blow-out, hire Aldourie Castle, a sumptuous property from Wildland, a custodian of Highland rewilding estates bankrolled by Danish billionaire Anders Holch Povlsen.
Website: ardrosscastle.co.uk; aldourie.scot