Shopping in Aberdeen

Home to over 50 stores and more than 30 restaurants and cafés, Union Square is the beating retail heart of Aberdeen and just a five-minute walk from our City Centre hotel. Opened in 2009, big name brands include MAC, BOSS and Apple, while it’s also home to a 10-screen cinema complex that can seat over 2,300 people. The second largest shopping centre in Scotland at over 700,000 square feet, the centre is open until 8pm during the week, with many of the restaurants and bars open late into the night. It’s also home to the Union Square Bus Station, Aberdeen’s main bus terminal.

After merging in 1990, the Bon Accord and St. Nicholas Shopping Centres together provide the second largest retail space in Aberdeen. Spread over three floors, the centres are home to over 65 stores, including several brands not found elsewhere in Aberdeen, such as John Lewis and Primark as well as huge Topshop, Next and River Island stores. The centre is usually open from 9am-6pm and has 14 food and drink outlets, ranging from Yo! Sushi to Costa and Pret A Manger.

Literally over the road is the Trinity Centre, which connects to Union Square and the bus station via several underground tunnels. Smaller than its new shopping neighbour, Trinity was opened in 1981 and houses over 30 stores, including Debenhams, Schuh and Superdrug, alongside six cafés and restaurants.

The Academy, opposite the Trinity Centre on Schoolhill Road, takes a very different approach to the modern mall. A boutique shopping centre, it’s full of designer jewellery, independent stores and cooler brand names like Quicksilver and French Connection, plus some seriously good cafés and bars.

Bisecting the city from west to east, Union Street – or the Granite Mile as it’s locally known – is an arrow-straight parade of shops, designer outlets and independent stores. Home to the West End shopping area – a series of charming streets lined with designer stores and alternative outlets, including the visitor-friendly Aberdeen Whisky Shop – the Granite Mile culminates in the Trinity Centre and Union Square.

Running from Monday to Saturday from 9am-5.30pm, Market Village is a purpose-built market with over 500 square metres of stalls selling virtually everything under the sun.

An Aberdeen institution since launching in 2000, the Country Fair Market runs on the last Saturday of every month on Belmont Street in between The Academy and Trinity Centre. The market has grown year on year and now sells farm-fresh fruit and vegetables, local meat and fish, plus cheese and bread, as well as lots of arts and crafts. They also run Christmas markets in December that are worth checking out.