Aberdeen

Home to a population of 212,125, Aberdeen is a thriving, cosmopolitan port in the North-east of Scotland.

Built at the mouth of two major Scottish rivers, the Dee and the Don, and covering an area of 184.47 square kilometres (71.22 square miles), the Granite City owes its distinctive appearance to the famous, locally quarried and widely exported, building material. Traditional industries such as fishing and farming still flourish in and around the city but Aberdeen's buoyant modern economy - reflected in unemployment rates consistently under 2% - is fuelled by the oil industry, earning the city its epithet as 'Oil Capital of Europe'.

With bustling shopping malls, a wide variety of entertainment and leisure amenities, and a vibrant arts scene, Aberdeen is a major retail, tourism leisure and cultural centre. First class road, rail, sea and air communications - London is only an hour's flight away - ensures the city, though Northerly, is not isolated.

• Tour Aberdeen's attractions