Places to Visit in Inverness Inverness Castle was built on the site of an earlier fortress in 1835 and sits on a low cliff overlooking the river. Today it houses the Sheriff's Court. Saint Andrew's Cathedral sits on the riverside almost opposite the castle. It has no spires as the funds ran out before they could be completed. The font is a copy of Thorwalden's font in Copenhagen Cathedral. Look out for the Russian gold icons. The teashop in the old schoolhouse is open from Monday to Saturday 10.30am to 3.30pm in the summer months.

Walk along the river banks from the castle and you'll find the Ness Islands where you can escape from the hustle and bustle of the shops. Cross the river on the little bridges and you can visit Bught Park. Close by between the ice rink and the sports centre is the Floral Hall - a sub-tropical horticultural extravaganza with small waterfall, fish and alsorts of plants/trees (open all year round). Continue into the children's play area, miniature train and boating lake in Whin Park. If you walk further you can go along the picturesque Caledonian Canal heading towards Loch Ness.

Inverness Area Loch Ness is one of the most popular places to visit in this part of the Highlands. Take a guided coach tour, drive around the loch yourself or go on a boat trip from Inverness, Drumnadrochit or Fort Augustus. The atmospheric ruins of Urquhart Castle are open to the public all year and there are several other local attractions including the visitors centres about Loch Ness and its famous monster. For a scenic drive, don't forget the less-travelled southern shore of the loch or head west into the beautiful scenery of Glen Affric.

There's lots more to explore around Inverness including Culloden Battlefield, the Clava Cairns, Cawdor Castle, Brodie Castle, Fort George, Moniack Wineries, the Black Isle, Aviemore, the Cairngorm mountains and historic towns such as Nairn, Elgin, Beauly, Dingwall and Strathpeffer.

Inverness is an excellent base for touring if you wish to go further afield - Fort William, the Isle of Skye, Wester Ross and Orkney are all accessible on day trips. See our Transport & Travel Page for info on guided coach tours if you don't have a car.

Local Events in Inverness

In July and August, there are various events for tourists in Inverness city. These include Highland Dancing on a mini-stage in High Street on Thursday evenings at 6pm and Pipe Band performances on Tuesday evenings at 8pm.
You are also likely to see a piper or two busking in the streets of Inverness and sometimes other musical entertainment around the Eastgate shopping centre.

The Farmers' Market is usually held on the first Saturday of each month, with stalls of local produce (meat, fish, fruit, vegetables, cheese, homebaking) in the Eastgate pedestrian area of Inverness city centre.

Events Calendar 2010:

• 6 - 17 March: The Inverness Music Festival
• 13 February: Inverness Fiddlers' Rally at Eden Court
• 14 March: Inverness Half Marathon
• 1 - 2 May: Rock4Life with bands including Status Quo in aid of Highland Hospice. Two-day music festival near Inverness.
• June - September:
• Inverness Summer Festival
• 5 - 13 June: Nairn Book and Arts Festival
• 11 - 13 June: Rockness - music festival by Loch Ness
• Saturday 24 July: Armed Forced Day 2010 including parade
• 24 July: Inverness Highland Games at the Northern Meeting Park (by the cathedral). Tickets can be booked online. Web site includes video and photos from previous Games, as well as electronic postcards. A DVD is available.
  The games are preceded on Saturday morning by the March of the Highlanders (sponsored walk from Culloden Battlefield Visitor Centre to the Inverness Highland Games) in aid of the Highland Hospice.
• 26 - 31 July: Inverness Tattoo from 8pm - 10pm at the Northern Meeting Park (by the cathedral)
• early August: Nairn Jazz Festival
• 4 - 5 August: Black Isle Show at Mannsfield Showground, Muir of Ord (tel: 01463 870870). This is the largest agricultural show in the North of Scotland. It attracts over 2,000 cattle, horse and sheep entries, more than 300 trade stands and over 25,000 visitors to the show each year. There is plenty to see and do, craft fair, food fair, 'On the Farm' exhibition for the kids, agricultural stands, vintage rally and sheep shearing.
• 6 - 7 August: Highland Field Sports Fair at Moy Hall (between Aviemore and Inverness). Tel: 01463 232618.
• 6 - 8 August: Belladrum - Tartan Heart Festival on the Belladrum Estate, by Beauly. Family-orientated outdoor festival of rock, country, blues and world music.
• 28 August - Glenurquhart Highland Games at Drumnadrochit, Loch Ness
• Last weekend in August - Inverness Flower Show
• early September - The Great River Ness Raft Race. This popular event was first staged in Inverness in 1978 and has since become a firm favourite with both locals and visitors. Organised by CHILDREN 1ST - Tel: 01463 794477.
• 3 - 11 September: Blas Traditional Music Festival (various venues around the Highlands)
• 11 September: First Monster - 120k team duathlon race around the shores of Loch Ness to raise money for Save the Children
• 3 October: Loch Ness Marathon plus 5K and 10K River Ness fun runs.
• October: Blazin' in Beauly (music festival)
• 5 November: Bonfire & Fireworks display at Bught Park.
• late November: Inverness Film Festival.
• TBC: Inverness Book Festival
• TBC: Highland Archaeology Fortnight - events and seminars throughout the region.

Detailed local events listings can be viewed online via HI-ARTS and the The Inverness City Advertiser.