Things to do
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Cawdor Castle
Drawbridge, tower house and gardens make Cawdor a lived-in castle that is still a family home, with tapestries, portraits and an ancient tree trunk preserved in the vaults. Outside are a walled garden, a flower garden and woodland trails along the burn. It opens seasonally, roughly spring to early autumn, and stays shut in winter.
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Chanonry Point
On a shingle spit between Fortrose and Rosemarkie, bottlenose dolphins chase salmon through the narrow channel of the Moray Firth, often a few metres from the beach. Watchers gather by the lighthouse about an hour after low tide, when the rising water brings the fish in. Parking is tight at the point, so walking from Fortrose is easier in summer.
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Clava Cairns
Three Bronze Age burial cairns stand in a row in a grove of trees near the River Nairn, each ringed by standing stones. Two have passages aligned on the midwinter sunset. Access is open at any hour, with a small car park on a narrow lane about 10 minutes by car from Culloden.
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Culloden Battlefield
Red and blue flags mark the government and Jacobite lines on the open moor where the Jacobite rising ended in 1746. A visitor centre with a rooftop viewing platform explains the short, brutal fight before walkers follow paths past clan grave stones and the restored Leanach Cottage. Paths across Drumossie Moor are exposed and boggy in places after rain.
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Fort George
Grassy ramparts more than a kilometre around enclose an 18th-century artillery fort built after Culloden and still used as an army base. Walkers follow the walls for views over the Moray Firth, where dolphins often surface, then visit barrack rooms set out as they were and a regimental museum. Historic Environment Scotland keeps shorter hours there from October to March.
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Inverness Castle
Rising over the River Ness on its mound, the red sandstone castle reopened in December 2025 as the Inverness Castle Experience after a long redevelopment. Inside, exhibitions tell Highland stories, and the grounds look down the river toward the Ness Islands. Hours run longer from April to October, and timed tickets are worth booking ahead in summer.
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Inverness Cathedral
Facing the castle across the river, St Andrew's Cathedral is a Victorian Gothic church in pink sandstone, finished in the 1860s with its twin towers left without the spires once planned. Inside are stained glass, carved woodwork and a calm nave a short walk from the centre. Services take priority, so sightseeing pauses during Sunday worship.
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Inverness Museum and Art Gallery
Beside the castle in a 1960s block, this museum covers Highland geology, Pictish carved stones, Jacobite relics and Gaelic life in compact galleries. Upstairs, temporary art shows change every few months. Winter brings fewer opening days from November to March, and it stays shut on Sundays, so check the hours before walking up the hill.
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Loch Ness
Dark, peaty water fills a glen more than 35 km long between Inverness and Fort Augustus, deep enough to hold more water than all the lakes of England and Wales together. Cruises leave from Dochgarroch and near Drumnadrochit, and the minor road along the quieter south shore leads to the Falls of Foyers. Boat trips run mostly from April to October.
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Ness Islands
Footbridges hop across a chain of wooded islands in the River Ness, with paths running under tall Scots pines and beeches. Walkers, dog owners and anglers share the circuit, which starts about 15 minutes on foot from the castle along the riverbank. Paths are flat and suit pushchairs, though wet leaves make them slippery after rain.
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Rogie Falls
Salmon leap the falls on the Black Water in late summer, watched from a suspension bridge strung across the river below the cascade. A short forest trail from the car park off the A835 reaches the bridge in about 10 minutes, with a longer loop through the pines for walkers. Bridge and paths near the Black Water turn slippery after rain.
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Urquhart Castle
Ruined walls and the five-storey Grant Tower stand on a headland above Loch Ness, about 25 km south-west of Inverness. A visitor centre screens a short film before the path drops to the ruins, where the tower stairs lead to views up and down the loch. Parking fills in summer, so booking a timed ticket ahead is worth it.
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Victorian Market
Under a glass and iron roof off Academy Street, this covered arcade opened in 1870 and was rebuilt after a fire. Small independent shops, craft sellers and a food hall of street food stalls fill the arcades, useful on a wet afternoon. Several entrances lead in from the surrounding streets, so it doubles as a dry shortcut through the centre.
