Inverness Travel Guide
Travel guide to Inverness, Scotland with comprehensive information about events, shopping, and major Inverness sporting events to help you enjoy your visit more.
Inverness Overview
Inverness is located in the Scottish Highlands, a mountainous and generally little inhabited area of northern Scotland.
The city, the only one in the Highlands, is relatively small, having a population of around 50,000 people, but it does have an important role to play, being an area of significant industrial and economic development. The city is forecast to grow dramatically over the next few years as more investment comes into the area, particularly into technology, where there is a self titled "Silicone Glen", named to reflect its similarity to the United States' Silicon Valley.
These new developments are far removed from the history of the area, with Culloden Moor, where the English defeated the Scots in the last pitched battle to be fought in Britain, nearby. Macbeth's castle is also close by.
Culturally Inverness has a great deal to offer. There are many exhibitions and galleries here, along with a number of theatres where the performing arts are well represented. The diversity and quality of what is on offer is excellent and really cements the city's position in the Highlands as a leader.
The climate of the area is not the sunniest it has to be said, but the dramatic scenery makes up for that and, in winter when the snow comes, the local resort of Aviemore is a popular skiing resort, with people travelling from throughout the country to ski on the slopes. A regular visitor to Aviemore over the Christmas and New Year period is Prince Charles and his family, who are keen skiers.
Top Inverness Attractions
Loch Ness is a popular location, being the reputed home of the Loch Ness Monster, a water based creature that swims around the Loch though no one really knows whether it is fact or fiction. There have been photographs taken but nothing that has proved conclusive. It seems that "Nessie" will stay just as a good story for now, like Bigfoot and the Yeti.
Shopping in Inverness
As the only city in the Highlands it has fallen upon Inverness to maintain a good balance of shops for the area. People from all over the Highlands therefore come to the city in order to get the best brands and latest goods that are often not available in the smaller towns and villages. There are shopping centres, retail parks and dedicated specialist shops around the city catering for all peoples needs.
Inverness Sporting Events
The city does have its own football team, Inverness Caledonian Thistle, who have made great strides within the Scottish Football League and now play in the Premier League there. One of the clubs finest moments came when they beat the mighty Celtic in a cup game some years ago when no one expected them to have a hope of defeating the strongest side in Scotland at that time.
