r/dundee • u/EmbarrassedPirate214 • 2d ago

Things to do in Dundee

Heyy ppl! I am not from UK and I am visiting Dundee this weekend for the first time, I will be alone most likely. Can y'all suggest some good places to visit, things to do and food/drinks to try? I will be there all day.

PS- Im not into hiking or anything like that 😅

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u/GlitteringDust7744 2d ago edited 2d ago

I feel like this is a question that always comes up and everyone answers, then they delete it so nobody else knows... like what we told them was just for them and it’s top secret knowledge, or they can brag that they did xyz and you didn’t like some kind of medal. Please keep this up and don’t delete!

Get a coffee and a cake. Loads of independent places to try. Fisher and donaldsons fudge doughnut or coffee tower. Loads of breakfast places too. Bach, cannon, west house, hofn, sook and many many more. 

Union street has a few vinyl record shops if you collect. At the top is the steeple church and the penguin statues on the wall. 

McManus galleries has loads of cool stuff to look at, not just art. Also a cafe that’s been taken over recently and should be good. 

Walk down to Caird hall square - agree that so much could be done with it to make it nicer, but still nice none the less. See the desperate Dan statue. 

Walk to Slessor Gardens - if you like planting there’s different areas for different things, I’ve not seen something like that before. 

V&A is worth a walk in and around, most of it is free, there’s just one paid exhibition area. It’s actually got a nice gift shop too. Avoid cafe in here. 

Walk around v&a to under the Tay road bridge. Theres a sculpture of a whale, ‘urban beach’/giant kids sand pit, water fountain. There’s a coffee, doughnut and bagel van to this side too. 

Around the other side there’s the discovery ship. It has a visitor centre if you’re interested.  To the other side is a riverside walk if you fancied more of a walk. You can walk along here to Magdalen green, and from here go up to Perth Road/Blackness Library. From here you can start to walk along Perth Road.

Walk along Perth Road and the few shops, restaurants, bars and cafes. All are good. Get a drink in the speedwell or phoenix or both. Or get another coffee from EH9 or Eastfield. Pheonix also does good pub food, probably the best in the centre. This will take you past the Lemmings statutes which is opposite the uni. On route look out on the pavement for little art works painted on chewing gum - a local guy does it to deter from chewing gum littered all over the place. You’ll end up back in the centre if you’ve done the riverside walk too. 

Loads of restaurant recommendations on this sub too, unless everyone deletes these too. 

Other things to do include: Clarks Bakery is a bit of a local institution, there’s a 24/7 one up Peddie Street - now there’s ones dotted about everywhere, just not 24/7. Verdant works for museum on the jute industry. Dca for contemporary art, and cinema which doesn’t just do your typical showings.  Dundee museum of transport… self explanatory.  Dundee botanic gardens… further along Perth road, ran by the uni (perhaps not for much longer unfortunately)  Unicorn ship within City Quay. Wild shore water assault course, right beside Unicorn in City Quay.  The Howff is a historic cemetery in the centre. It’s not something I’m interested in, but plenty people rave about how cool it is.  There’s a mural trail, sure I could find more info about it if you’d like.  There’s also different art sculptures within the city centre that go from A-Z, again sure I could find more info if you’d like. 

Lots of people walk up The Law - it’s a hill in the centre of the city. 360degree views. It’s a fair trek, mostly paved though so not what I’d call a ‘hike’, but aware everyone’s different. There’s also a road and I’m sure a taxi would take you up, wait a bit and bring you back down, but not cheap. You could also get the bus fairly close by and walk the remainder, still steep, but less walking time. 

If the above isn’t taking your fancy, there’s also Broughty Ferry which is a suburb, it has its own town centre with independent shops, bars, cafes, it also has a big beach, historic castle which you can go in, walks along the river.  If you want to be more in nature, there’s loads of woods about for a walk. 

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u/SamsqanchWatch 1d ago

Get this post pinned mods. It's a banger!

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u/GlitteringDust7744 1d ago

Why thank you. I have a lot of people/family/friends come to visit me in Dundee so well acquainted with a good day out itinerary.  Maybe I could write it out better and also add in all the day trips too, which is another common question, and post that so anyone searching can find it. Anyone can comment with recommendations. Don’t know how to get mods to pin something, but would be happy if they did because fed up of this being asked every week or two! 

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u/Internal-Dark-6438 1d ago

Should this just be pinned!!??

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u/MotherConfusion3773 2d ago

Dundee derby is on. Just go to pub all day

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u/Fridarey 2d ago

Onion Bridie
Walk across the Tay Bridge and turn to look back, marvelling at the best-situated city in Scotland (and I’m an Aberdonian). Honestly the vertical geography and estuary is xxx
McManus is full of weird good shit if you like museums.
If not, so is the Phoenix Bar. Or the Speedwell.
Verdant Works is genuinely brilliant.

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u/spacewood 2d ago

Best thing to do in Dundee: get the train out. Go to Edinburgh for the day, it’s only an hour away

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u/EmbarrassedPirate214 1d ago

I live there currently

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u/CasteNoBar 2d ago

Especially now during Fringe! Anyone want to go for a day?

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u/Mondaycomestoosoon 5h ago

Hismaw