20 Best Things to Do in Inverness, Scotland

Inverness, Scotland is a gorgeous, walkable city that feels small despite being the capital of the Scottish Highlands and one of the fastest growing cities in the U.K.

During my six-night stay in Inverness, I loved walking along the cobblestone streets, getting lost in the Victorian market, and learning about the history around every corner of Inverness.

Here are some of the best things to do in and around Inverness, Scotland.

What to Do IN Inverness, Scotland

1. Walk along River Ness and Cross the Greig Street Bridge

River Ness flows through Inverness, giving it its name — “mouth of the (River) Ness.” We often walked along the river during our time in Inverness. It’s a peaceful, scenic thing to do, especially in the mornings. The Greig Street Bridge, originally built in 1880, is a lovely footbridge and a great place to take photos. Definitely check it out as you walk around Inverness, along River Ness.

2. Search for Bullet Holes in the Old High Church Graveyard

Old High Church is the oldest church in Inverness and was actually the birthplace of Christianity in the Highlands. The graveyard (or kirkyard) sits on a hill overlooking parts of the city. It’s a very picturesque and historic place with incredible views.

Some of its history, though, is a little dark. Just after the Battle of Culloden in 1746, many soldiers were captured and taken to Old High Church, eventually sentenced to death by firing squad right in the graveyard. Stray bullets hit gravestones, leaving holes.

We were told this bit of history from a tour guide and later came to see for ourselves. We found one or two holes…can you find any more?

Note that it’s free to walk around, and there’s a sign welcoming you in. You won’t be trespassing.

3. Visit Leakey’s Bookshop

Just around the corner from Old High Church is the famous Leakey’s Bookshop, the largest independent used bookstore in Scotland. There are a lot of treasures in here; you can easily spend over an hour browsing the shelves. It’s also a beautiful store, one we simply adored. Perfect for any kind of bookworm.

4. Shop at the Victorian Market

The Victorian Market in Inverness dates back to 1890 (hence why it’s called the Victorian Market). It’s a covered market in the city center that is home to several shops and restaurants. It’s a cute, picturesque market that we enjoyed walking around. We even bought our tartan scarves here.

5. Visit Ness Islands

A visit to Ness Islands is such a beautiful, peaceful walk, perfect for a day overcoming jet lag. The natural islands in the middle of River Ness are easily accessible by footbridges.

We were able to walk from the city center; it took about 20 minutes to walk a mile from our hotel to the Ness Islands. We grabbed a yummy chai latte from Cafe by the Cathedral, on the way, and sipped as we walked. It was so lovely.

The islands are beautiful (and free) to explore, and you’ll even come upon Nessie, the Loch Ness Monster, painted on a fallen tree stump.

6. Listen to Live Music in the Pubs

Inverness has a thriving music scene, coming alive at night. In many of its famous pubs, live bands will play almost every night. Some play traditional Scottish music, others contemporary music. You may need to reserve a table in advance as restaurants are often booked full. We dined at Hootananny for dinner (with reservations) and loved the vibe. Here are a few pubs to check out:

• Hootananny on Church St.
• Gellions on Bridges St.
• Lauders on Church St.
• Highlander on Church St.

Check the restaurant’s website for a music schedule and more information.

7. Visit a Free Museum

There is a free museum in Inverness, filled with historical artifacts, geological findings, and art. The Inverness Museum and Art Gallery is worth a visit if you have some extra time.

Also in town is the Abertarff House, the oldest house in Inverness. You can tour the house for free during opening hours. We were in town a few days before the Abertarff House opened for the season, so we missed this, unfortunately. Otherwise it would have been right up our alley.

8. Visit Inverness Cathedral and Cafe Ness by the Cathedral

Inverness Cathedral was built in the 1860s and is open to the public. We peeked inside as a choir was practicing, filling the air with lovely music.

Behind the church, you’ll find Cafe Ness by the Cathedral, an old boys school that was converted into a cafe. They have delicious sandwiches and chai lattes. I’d definitely recommend stopping in for lunch or refreshments.

9. Dine at One of Inverness’ Incredible Restaurants

We were mightily impressed by Inverness’ food scene. There are SO many amazing, popular restaurants in Inverness, so popular you will definitely need reservations. We learned this the hard way on our first night in town, when were were hopping from restaurant to restaurant, looking for dinner, only to be told in each one that they were booked full. That night, as we ate our meal deal from Tesco, we booked dinner reservations at different restaurants for the rest of our stay.

Our advice to you: Book your dinner reservations at least 1-2 days in advance if you’d like to eat out for dinner while in Inverness. (I was able to book most on the OpenTable app.)

Here are some restaurants we loved and would recommend:

• Velocity Cafe (especially for breakfast and chai lattes)
• The Mustard Seed
• The White House
• Hootananny

10. Admire Inverness Castle (Coming in 2025)

Most of Inverness Castle is under scaffolding as it’s being repaired and renovated. It’s set to open to the public again in 2025 (tentatively). Keep it on your list if you plan to visit Inverness after that date.

What to Do NEAR Inverness, Scotland

Inverness is a great base for exploring the greater Scottish Highlands area. We did just that, spending almost a week in Inverness and taking day trips out to various castles, distilleries, and hikes. Consider doing the same, and returning to Inverness each night, ready for dinner and a night on the town.

11. Tour a Nearby Whisky Distillery

Whisky is a billion-pound industry in Scotland, and several distilleries are located in the Scottish Highlands. We visited Glen Ord (or The Singleton Distillery), as part of a group tour, and though neither my mom nor I are drinkers, we found it fascinating.

It’s a complicated process to create whisky, but Glen Ord is sustainable about it, ensuring all of the ingredients are grown/found locally. At the end of the tour, we were taken to a tasting room, allowed to try three types of whiskies. The visitor center at Glen Ord has just undergone a million-pound renovation, and it’s looking very nice, I should say.

You can schedule a tour at Glen Ord Distillery on your own, or go with a tour group like we did. Note that the specific Rabbie’s tour we went on is being revamped, the distillery tour removed for a coastal walk instead, starting in April 2024.

There are several other whisky distilleries to check out, as well, including Glen Moray Distillery and Tomatin Distillery. Both of those can be visited on one group tour with Rabbie’s (departing from Inverness), or on your own.

• Glen Ord Distillery (aka The Singleton Distillery)
• Glen Moray Distillery
• Tomatin Distillery

12. Visit Clava Cairns

Any Outlander fans out there? Clava Cairns is the inspiration for the filming site of the stone circle that takes Claire from Outlander back in time.

Aside from its fictional draws, Clava Cairns is also a fascinating historical site, or should I say Neolithic, dating back thousands of years ago.

It was special getting to visit Clava Cairns, almost magical. Just thinking that humans have been at this very spot for thousands of years? and that they felt it was special enough to build these stone monuments here? Incredible.

It’s still not exactly known what these stone monuments meant or were used for; one can only imagine.

We visited this site on a group tour with Rabbie’s, but you can also come on your own. It’s free! And it’s also not too far from Inverness city centre.

13. Visit the Culloden Battlefield and Museum

I’ll be honest that I didn’t know what the Battle of Culloden was before visiting the Scottish Highlands. But we heard about it from several tour guides and soon came to understand it was a very important historical event here in Scotland. It really changed life in the Highlands forever.

One of our tours with Rabbie’s stopped at the Culloden Battlefield and Museum, where we were able to walk around the battlefield and learn more about it in their newly built, million-pound museum.

At the museum, don’t miss:

• 360-degree video room: There’s a room with screens on every wall, giving you a 360-degree video of the battle, making you feel in the middle of it all.
• Rooftop talk: There is also a brief talk on the rooftop, where a museum employee will point out how the battle unfolded.

All in all, the museum made history come alive, and I came away touched by the experience and would recommend it to any visitors to Inverness.

Here’s the tour I did with Rabbie’s that included a visit to Culloden Battlefield and Museum: “Glen Affric, Culloden, and Clava Cairns 1-Day Tour“

14. Walk amid an Ancient Caledonian Pine Forest at Glen Affric

Glen Affric is a nature reserve about an hour’s drive from Inverness. It’s home to Caledonian pinewoods, lochs, and mountains, and is absolutely beautiful. We were so excited about visiting Glen Affric because we had heard about Scotland’s native Caledonian pine trees from a previous tour guide as we drove past them. To walk among them? How special.

What’s so great about Caledonian pine trees? They are a protected, ancient species of tree only found in Scotland; they almost went extinct, but are slowly coming back. (Caledonia is a Latin name that once referred to the Scotland area, way back during Roman times.)

On our group tour, we stopped at the River Affric car park and had more than an hour to walk the two trails.

• The Am Meallan Viewpoint Trail is only 1/4 mile long (out and back) but a little steep.
• The River Trail is a 1/2 mile loop that goes down to the banks of River Affric.

Both trails are beautiful and worth doing, especially since they’re so short.

Here’s the tour I did with Rabbie’s that included a visit to Glen Affric: “Glen Affric, Culloden, and Clava Cairns 1-Day Tour“

15. Visit Loch Ness

What visit to Inverness is complete without a stop at Loch Ness? There are lots of places to stop around Loch Ness to take in views (that’s what we did), but there are also more legitimate viewing areas.

Village of Dores: One of the closest to Inverness is the village of Dores. There’s a lovely, small pebble beach to enjoy and watch for Nessie, the Loch Ness Monster.

Fort Augustus: Farther out, on the other side of the loch, is Fort Augustus, the main tourist section of Loch Ness, where you can find lots of shops, cafes, and a boat touring company to take a scenic cruise on Loch Ness. We did that cruise on a prior trip to Loch Ness.

16. Visit Dunrobin Castle (and Dornoch)

Dunrobin Castle is a gorgeous chateau in the Scottish Highlands, about an hour’s drive from Inverness. I’ve seen it in tons of pictures and knew I had to visit. It’s even more beautiful in person.

We joined a day tour with Rabbie’s to visit Dunrobin Castle, which included several other stops, such as Dornoch, that were simply a bonus.

History of Dunrobin Castle: Dunrobin Castle has a dark history most don’t know about, and the castle’s brochures/plaques won’t tell you about, but our tour guide (from Rabbie’s) grew up in Golspie, near Dunrobin, and explained all the history to us. It gave us a lot of good context for our visit.

It’s a long story involving the first Duke of Sutherland who evicted about 15,000 people during the Highland Clearances in order to use the land for more profitable ventures, such as farming. With the money made doing this, Dunrobin Castle expanded to the castle it is today.

However, our tour guide shared that she knew the current earl’s family and said they often give back to the community, to not judge them too harshly for their ancestors’ decisions.

Village of Dornoch: The highlight of the day tour was, of course, Dunrobin Castle, but also the nearby village of Dornoch, surprisingly. We had never heard of this village before, but it really impressed us.

• Best hot chocolate. Dornoch is small, but there are a lot of cute shops and cafes, including Cocoa Mountain, home of the BEST chocolate we have ever had. You must try the rocky road chocolate bar at Cocoa Mountain.
• Jail converted into shops. Dornoch’s historic jail has interestingly been converted into a shopping plaza with old cells converted into shops.
• Last witch in Scotland. In the center of town, you’ll see a graveyard, and this is known to be the place where the last witch in Scotland was executed. Sad, yet fascinating.

If you’re visiting Dunrobin Castle, you simply MUST visit Dornoch, as well.

17. Take a 2-Day Trip to the Isle of Skye

Inverness is a great starting point for an overnight trip to the Isle of Skye. There are several tour companies that arrange group tours to the Isle of Skye, as Inverness is only 110 miles from Portree (the main city in the Isle of Skye).

We went with Timberbush Tour’s 2-day group trip to the Isle of Skye and loved it.

Read my full review of our 2-day trip to the Isle of Skye from Inverness.

18. Visit Cawdor Castle and Gardens

Cawdor Castle and Gardens is near Clava Cairns and is open to visitors late April to early October. It’s a privately owned, 600-year-old Scottish castle that has survived through feuds and wars and a tumultuous Scottish history.

It’s about 15 miles from Inverness city centre, an easy distance, if you’d like to check it out.

I wish we could have visited, but our trip to Scotland was in early April, so Cawdor Castle wasn’t open yet.

19. Visit Urquhart Castle

Urquhart Castle is a ruined castle near Loch Ness, popular with tourists and tour companies. The castle is over 1,000 years old, filled with history. We didn’t make it out to these beautiful ruins but hope to one day.

20. Take a 3-Day Trip to Orkney

During our stay in Inverness, we had several recommendations from locals to visit Orkney.

Orkney is a series of islands off the northern coast of Scotland, by the town of John O’ Groats. It has stone circles, Neolithic sites, beautiful coastal vistas, and even puffins.

Rabbie’s offers a three-day tour to Orkney from Inverness, which looks very promising. It is definitely on our ever-growing Scotland bucket list!

Map of Things to Do in Inverness Scotland

Frequently Asked Questions about Visiting Inverness Scotland

Is Inverness Scotland worth visiting?

Yes, Inverness, Scotland is definitely worth visiting. It’s a small but growing town with so much history and charm.

What is Inverness best known for?

As an outsider, before visiting Inverness, I only knew of Inverness as a town near Loch Ness. It’s also known as the capital of the Scottish Highlands.

How many days do you need to see Inverness Scotland?

I’d say you need at least two full days to explore the town of Inverness, but I’d recommend staying longer to use Inverness as a base to visit nearby places in the Scottish Highlands.

What are some free things to do in Inverness Scotland?

• Walk along River Ness
• Visit the Ness Islands
• Cross Grieg Street Bridge
• Visit Old High Church and its graveyard
• Peruse Leakey’s Bookstore
• Browse the Victorian Market
• Visit Clava Cairns
• Tour the Abertarff House
• Visit the Inverness Museum and Art Gallery

What to do in Inverness in one day?

With only one day in Inverness, I’d focus on Inverness city centre, visiting Old High Church, Leakey’s Bookstore, the Victorian Market, Greig Street Bridge, and the Ness Islands. If you have more time, venture out a little to visit Clava Cairns. Don’t forget to grab a pint at Hootananny’s.

What can I do on a week long trip to Inverness Scotland?

We stayed for a week while visiting Inverness and thought it was a good amount of time to spend in this city. Explore for 2-3 days in Inverness, and then use the other days to take day trips to the greater Scottish Highlands regions. You can visit Orkney, Isle of Skye, Dunrobin Castle, Loch Ness and more.

What are some hidden gems or lesser known activities in Inverness Scotland for tourists to explore?

I’d say the Old High Church and Cafe by the Cathedral are some hidden gems in Inverness. Before visiting, I didn’t see them mentioned in any travel blogs I read, but they were highlights for us.

The food in the Cafe by the Cathedral is delicious, and the views at the graveyard of Old High Church were incredible.

What is the best town to accommodate in Scotland for exploring the Highlands — Is it Glasgow or Inverness?

I’ve visited both Glasgow and Inverness and would say that Inverness is definitely the best town for exploring the Highlands. Inverness is the capital of the Highlands after all. It’s so close to many Highland attractions, it makes for a great base.

Is Inverness Scotland safe?

In my own experience, as a female traveler, I felt very safe in Inverness. Statistically, the crime rate in Inverness is low.

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Guide to Visiting Dunvegan Castle on Isle of Skye

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Is a Day Trip to the Scottish Highlands from Edinburgh Worth It?

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