Located near Birkhill Castle is the thriving Scottish city of Dundee, which is been occupied continuously since Mesolithic times and became a major export center in the 19th century, earning it the epithet as the city of  “jam, jute and journalism”.

Promoted as the “City of Discovery,” the harbor contains the RRS Discovery, the last British wooden three-masted ship in which Robert Falcon Scott explored the Antarctic  and that was built in Dundee and launched from her port in 1901.

The city’s vibrant atmosphere has supported the development of many fascinating attractions — many which contain wonderful restaurants and cafes — where visitors and townsfolk alike can learn about the local culture and international concerns.

The Dundee Contemporary Art (DCA)

The DCA complex, which opened in 1999, has become a cultural center for the city. Within its environs are an art gallery, a print studio, a visual research center and a two-screen cinema which hosts film festivals that combine film and experimental music to create an avant Garde cinema and symposia experience.  The center is provides space for lectures, seminars and community events througout the year, and will host the “Discovery Film Festival: Scotland’s International Film Festival for Young Audiences” from October 16 through November 3, 2010.

Sensation Science Center

This nonprofit organization opened in July 2000 as part of the Millennium Commission project — therefore is funded by public and private donations — and cost around £5 million to build.  The extensive facility features interactive exhibits — mainly about Life Sciences — with a focus on robotics and practical science topics.  The Dundee Science Center is the only UK interactive museum that is based on the five senses and focuses on bringing science to life in imaginative demonstrations with friendly staff members on hand to make sure everyone gets the most out of their experience.

Caird Hall

Built in the early 1920s by the jute baron James Key Caird, this stately hall is used by the University of Dundee and the University of Abertay Dundee for the graduations, but during the rest of the year it plays host to many concerts and music festivals, ranging from opera to pop/rock.  The facility also serves as a conference center and meeting place for corporate events.  Once a year Caird Hall hosts the city Dundee’s traditional Remembrance Festival that features the Band of HM Royal Marines Scotland and The Pipes and Drums of Angus Dundee Battalion Army Cadet Force as well as Community Singing lead by local soloist Billy Naismith.  This year the festival be held on November 6 and 7:15 PM.

Verdant Works

Jute has played a very important role in the growth an economy of Dundee, and the Verdant Works is a former Jude mill which was restored in 1996 and opened as a public museum dedicated to the textile industry.  Located in the Blackness area of Dundee, this building has survived with little changes from the 19th century.  Listed as an official historic building of Scotland, the museum includes educational exhibits and host functions for both community events and corporate functions.

Dundee Mountain Film Festival

This unique event began as a one day fundraiser to build a new bridge and became such a success that it has continued to present day.  The festival celebrates mountaineering sports and is supported by the Scottish Mountaineering Trust.  Musicians, independent filmmakers and mountaineering enthusiast express their love of the mountains through music, videos, photographs and lectures.  This year the festival will run from November 26 through 27 and will feature South African mountaineer and explorer Cathy O’Dowd and composing team Robert and Anni Hogan, who play live sound tracks to the films they created with footage from their journeys into the Himalayan mountains.