19 Amazing Things to Do in Inverness, Scotland

Heading to the Highlands, and looking for things to do in Inverness?

You’re in the right place.

Inverness was a must for me on our Scotland itinerary and I didn’t find out until after that it isn’t usually the top priority for people visiting the Highlands.

That being said, we loved Inverness and it’s so worth a visit if you have the time.

Let’s dive into the best things to do in Inverness – the largest city in the Scottish Highlands!

Amazing Things to Do in Inverness, Scotland

1. Walk around the historic downtown

Downtown Inverness is very walkable, with many historic buildings, shops and places to visit.

I highly recommend carving out some time to just walk around the see the downtown.

Some of the historic buildings to see downtown Inverness (all of these are located pretty close to eachother in the downtown core, just a few minutes walk from eachother):

• The Old Town Cross (1685)
• The Town Steeple (formerly a towl booth, and a jail)*see my tip below
• Abertarff House (1593) the oldest residence in Inverness, now a museum
• The Old High Church (1769–72), and St. Andrew’s Cathedral (1866–71)

Places to Eat in Downtown Inverness

• The Mustard Seed Restaurant, set in an old church serving European cuisine. Serves lunch and dinner, has a kids’ menu and a vegan menu.
• Hootananny, a local’s favourite live music bar. Also has a hotel attached to it
• Fig & Thistle serves more high-end eats and cocktails. Perfect for special occasions – we probably would have eaten here if it was an adult only trip (although they do welcome families)
• The Victorian Market, if you’re a foodie you’ll love this place!

2. Browse through Leakey’s Bookshop

Leakey’s Bookshop has been gaining the title of being the cutest bookstore in the United Kingdom, and its also the largest second-hand bookstore in Scotland.

It’s located in an old church, right downtown in Inverness.

Visiting Leaky’s Bookshop was a huge priority for us, as all four of us are book lovers. It has a cozy feeling, a log fire (only in the colder months) and that old book smell.

My Personal Opinions on Leaky’s Bookshop: It’s a beautiful little bookshop, with an old-world feel. I do recommend stopping in there. The downside though is that it gets quite crowded with tourists. It wasn’t easy to navigate or walk around, as there were too many people; many of whom were just in there filming and taking photos. The staff was lovely, and helped my daughter pick out a book.

3. Walk over the Greig Street Bridge

Greig Street Bridge is a pedestrian-only bridge that crosses the River Ness. It’s a suspension bridge built in 1880. Its a great walk to get views of the city.

There are a few bridges over the river that pedestrians can walk on, but Greig Street Bridge is the one that is car-free. It’s very popular for photos and selfies!

If you don’t want to cross the bridge, you can also just head to the Greg Street Bridge Viewpoint for some photos.

Pro Tip: The east of the river is the more tourist-centred area of Inverness, but there are some cool things to see on the other side too – some take out restaurants on Greig street.

4. Shop at the Victorian Market

The Victorian Market has been running since the 1800s and is a great place to get food, and shop.

There’s a food court with some great options – Scottish, ethnic, vegan, gluten free, pizza, bakery – you name it.

The Victorian Market right downtown and open from early morning until evening daily.

I saw a lot of unique Scottish souvenirs here that I didn’t commonly see anywhere else, and needless to say, we didn’t leave empty handed (which is saying something because we didn’t feel inclined to buy at too many other places on our trip.)

5. Do a Dolphin spotting cruise

Distance from Inverness: 10 minutes

There are cruises that take you out to the sea surrounding Inverness, where it’s often possible to spot dolphins.

We know how easy it can be to spot dolphins, as we saw them from our accommodation, Tangle Tower (it has views of the Moray Firth.)

But you can also take a cruise with Dolphin Spirit Cruises to see them.

6. Try to spot dolphins in the Moray Firth from land

Distance from Inverness: 10-30 minute drive, depending on the spot

If you don’t have time for a dolphin cruise, or tend to get seasick, the good news is you don’t have to get on a boat in order to see dolphins from Inverness.

The Moray Firth is the largest firth in Scotland, and is known for being one of the best places in Europe to spot dolphins.

The Moray Firth stretches a total of 29 km (16 miles) and it’s connected to the River Ness which runs through Inverness.

Where to get views of the Moray Firth in/near Inverness

• Carnarc Point, 10 min drive from downtown Inverness
• Chanonry Point, 30-minute drive from Inverness
• Tangle Tower, a 3-bedroom guesthouse, sits right on the edge of the Moray Firth (we stayed here, and we saw dolphins – very tiny and far in the distance, but we saw them!)

7. Visit the Culloden Battlefield

Distance from Inverness: 15 minutes

The Culloden Battlefield is probably one of the most historically significant places you can visit in Scotland.

The battle of Culloden took place in 1746 and was very defining in terms of British rule over Scotland, and the overall history of Scotland.

The Culloden Battlefield is about a 15-minute drive from downtown Inverness. You can choose between:

• a guided tour (highly recommended, only lasts 30-40 minutes)
• a self-guided tour
• museum or battlefield only, or both

My Personal Opinion: We decided to get a guided tour of the battlefield and the museum entrance and we’re glad we did. I’ve read the Outlander books and thought I knew a good deal about the Jacobite uprising and the Culloden battle. But the tour opened my eyes to some things I didn’t realize. Also, we ate lunch at the café on site and it was delicious!

8. Get city views from the Inverness Castle

*At the time of writing, Inverness Castle is not currently open. It is set to open in 2025, so check their website for updates.*

Inverness Castle was originally built, but its been destroyed and rebuilt many times.

one of the coolest parts of visiting is being able to get an amazing view of the river Ness flowing through the city from above.

9. Do a Loch Ness Lake Cruise

Distance from Inverness: 25 minutes

Loch Ness is a long lake just south of Inverness. It’s known for the legendary Loch Ness monster, but it’s so much more than that – it’s a beautiful, picturesque lake, which would likely be popular even without the Nessie legend!

There are a few companies that you can buy tickets from. We decided to get our tickets from Jacobite Cruises because they were the only ones (from what I could see) did drop offs at Urquart Castle, which I really wanted to see and figured it would be easier to see it from the cruise than plan a separate excursion.

Urquhart Castle

Urquhart Castle is about a 30-minute drive south of Inverness, and it can be visited by car, or through a Loch Ness boat cruise!

It’s quite large for a caste in such ruins, and we spent a good hour here and didn’t see everything.

The views of the lake were stunning, and we were also lucky it was such a nice day. There’s also a gift shop and restrooms in a building onsite.

10. Get views of the Culloden Viaduct

Distance from Inverness: 20 minutes

The Culloden Viaduct (also known as the Clava Viaduct and other variations of that name) is a Harry-Potter-looking railway near the Culloden Battlefield and the Clava Cairns.

You can spot it from a few different areas. It’s been getting more popular lately, so there may be some competition for the lookout areas.

If you’re lucky, you’ll see the train going by across it!

11. Visit the Highlanders’ Museum (FREE)

Distance from Inverness: 20 minutes

The Highlanders’ Museum near Inverness is the ultimate place to learn about the history of human civilization and culture in the Scottish Highlands (even going way back before Scotland was Scotland.)

Also, the entrance is free!

Visiting the museum also gives you access to Fort George, which gives you reall nice views of the Moray Firth, and the surrounding landscape.

However, one really cool thing that the Highlander’s Museum offers is a private tour around all the historic sites of the area and includes a Jacobite Loch Ness Cruise. This day tour costs £130 per person, and you’re driven in a van. It’s a good deal, because a Jacobite cruise alone would cost half of that. See details here.

12. Check out the Clava Cairns

Distance from Inverness: 15 minutes

The Clava Cairns are a 4,000-year-old burial site. There are mysteries surrounding how or why it was used, but its from a time long before Scotland was Scotland.

It’s only a 5-minute drive from Culloden Battlefield, so we came here right after our battlefield tour – and from what we saw, many other tourists do the same.

It’s a small area that doesn’t take too long to walk through. There are a few of the stone mounds, and some tall flat stones that inspired the stones that Claire used to travel through time in Outlander.

There’s a small parking lot, and it can get busy – plus, tour buses come here. So just keep that in mind. Entrance is free!

13. Hang out in the Inverness Botanic Gardens and Café

Inverness Botanic Gardens are a great way to get outside on a beautiful day.

If you have kids with you, its worth it to also check out Whin Park which is right by the Botanical Gardens.

14. Go for a walk in the Merkinch Local Nature Reserve (North end)

Merkinch Local Nature Reserve is a nice area of green space on the water, and apparently the only local nature reserve in the highlands.

It’s mostly popular with locals who enjoy bringing their kids, or walking their dogs here.

Since we were staying at Tangle Tower just down the road, we spent lots of time here. The views of the lake and mountains in the distance are incredible, especially in spring with the bright yellow flowers. You also have views of the Kessok bridge.

15. Enjoy live traditional folk music at the Hootananny

Hootanay features bands that play Scottish traditional folk music. They’ve been supporting independent music artists and bringing people together through music.

You can check their menu, and book a table (or even accommodation imn their attached hotel) on their website.

16. Drop into the Inverness Museum and Art Gallery

The Inverness Museum and Art Gallery is right downtown in Inverness and houses artifacts of the history of the area going back thousands of years.

It covers the geology, the earliest human settlers, wildlife, and so much more. There’s a tiny art gallery included with the museum. And there’s also a little cafe inside that serves traditional Scottish tea time (menu here.)

17. Enjoy family-friendly fun

If you’re in Scotland with kids, then there are a few things to in Inverness that are worth it with kids:

• Play in Whin Park, which is just outside of the Botanical gardens
• Visit the Loch Ness Alpacas – 20 minute drive from Inverness, and located right on Loch Ness lake.
• Ness Islands Railway (summer only) book here

18. Do a tasting at the Singleton Distillery

Distance from Inverness: 22 min drive

The Singleton Distillery is also called the Distillery of Glen Ord, and its located a bit in the outskirts, northwest of Inverness in a town called Muir of Ord.

You can do a tour that introduces you to the craft of whisky making, and you get to try a few samples.

This old stone distillery is beautiful, founded in the 1800s, and makes unique whiskeys. Book tours here

19. Eat breakfast at Jammy’s

Jammy’s is a casual all-day breakfast place in Inverness, with indoor and outdoor seating.

In Scottish slang, a ‘jammy’ is a lucky person. (Where I’m from it would mean pyjamas.)

Jammy’s is a local favourite, dog friendly, and open from 9am every day (10am on Sundays.) Check current menus on their Facebook page

20. Visit the Wardlaw Mausoleum

Distance from Inverness: 20-minute drive

Wardlaw Mausoleum is a 20-minute drive from Inverness, but it’s worth visiting, especially for Outlander fans.

It’s just an old church with a graveyard that dates back to the 1600s. It’s a part of the Fraser Clan, which is why it’s symbolic for fans of Outlander.

Best Places to Stay in Inverness

As a family of four, we were looking for a self-serve house or apartment-style accommodation in Inverness. We found an amazing place called Tangle Tower.

Tangle Tower is a 3-bedroom house right on the Moray Firth. It has a huge yard with spectacular views, and it’s about a 5-10 minute drive into downtown Inverness.

I’d highly recommend Tangle Tower if it’s available. Out of our entire 2 weeks in Scotland, it was our favourite place to stay. We were actually sad when it was time to leave.

You can also read more about the accommodation on their official website (just note you can’t book directly through the website, but you can read about the interesting history of the building, and email the owners with questions or to book.)

Other places to stay in Inverness (by budget):

• Mid Range: Bluebell House is an historic building right downtown Inverness, with a cozy, Victorian feel. A delicious breakfast is served every morning, and it’s just a short walk from the city centre
• Mid-Range: Hootananny, the live music bar in downtown Inverness has the Hoot Hotel. They have a few different room options and guests of all ages are welcome. It’s a great place to stay because of its view of the river, being so central – plus, it has the on-site food and entertainment. To be honest, I don’t know if being attached to the live music restaurant makes this a noisy place – based on ratings, it isn’t. However if you want to air on the side of caution, maybe choose a different place
• Luxury: The Old Manse, Loch Ness (highland-escape) a 6-bedroom villa just outside of Inverness that you can rent out. It sleeps 12, so it may be more room than most people need, but its a special treat. It’s a 15-minute drive from Inverness, right on the Loch Ness. Beautiful lake and mountain views

Inverness FAQ

Here are the most commonly asked questions about visiting Inverness, Scotland

Is Inverness worth visiting in Scotland?

Inverness Scotland is definitely worth visiting if you have the time. The reality is that not everyone has much more than one week to spend in Scotland. And if that’s the case, then it’s not that Inverness isn’t worth it – but may not be as high on your priority list as other really spectacular places, such as the Scottish Highlands, Edinburgh or the Isle of Skye/

How to spend a day in Inverness?

Start a day in Inverness by walking around the city centre. Check out the bridge, and walk across it. Get photos of the old architecture. Then, head out for a Loch Ness boat cruise or Culloden Battlefield in the afternoon (both are located about a 15 minute drive from downtown Inverness.)

Is Inverness a walkable city?

Yes, downtown Inverness is very walkable. Within a short walk, there are shops, eateries, a market, old churches and other historic buildings, and walks along the beautiful River Ness

What is Inverness famous for?

Inverness is famous for being the largest city in the Scottish Highlands, and for being close to the Culloden Battlefied and the Loch Ness lake where the legendary monster is found.

Final Thoughts on Inverness

Inverness is, without a doubt, one of the most beautiful coastal cities in the UK and I’m glad you’re taking the time to come out here to see it.

We had two full days in Inverness, but I do wish we could have had more. There’s only so much time in a 2-week Scotland itinerary with kids. However, its worth to come out here even just for the day or two.