Best Things to Do in Perth and Perthshire, Scotland: The Complete Guide

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Perth and Perthshire sit at the very heart of Scotland — and they’ve been sitting there, quietly magnificent, for centuries. Ancient castles, roofless cathedral ruins, thundering waterfalls, whisky distilleries, and forests so vast and beautiful they earned the region the nickname “Big Tree Country.” This is Scotland at its most rewarding, and it richly repays every visitor who gives it proper time.

Stretching from the fertile Carse of Gowrie in the south to the wild expanse of Rannoch Moor in the north, Perthshire is one of Scotland’s most varied regions. Drive north from Perth and within an hour you are in the Highlands, passing waterfalls, ancient battle sites and whisky distilleries. Here’s your complete guide to the best things to do in Perth and Perthshire.

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Explore Perth: Scotland’s Fair City

Perth deserves far more than a quick pass-through. Many visitors treat it as a gateway to the Highlands and miss what the Fair City itself has to offer.

Start at Perth Museum on St John’s Place, which opened on 30 March 2024 in the city’s Edwardian former City Hall. At its heart sits the Stone of Destiny, also known as the Stone of Scone, the ancient stone on which Scottish kings were inaugurated at Scone, just upriver.

The Stone is no museum curiosity. In the museum’s words, it is “still used to crown kings and queens of the United Kingdom today – most recently King Charles III in May 2023”, and it “has returned to its home in Perthshire for the first time in 700 years”. It is free to view, and standing in front of it is one of the most moving things you can do in Scotland.

From the museum, walk down to the North Inch, a wide park on the banks of the River Tay. For views over the whole city, head to Kinnoull Hill just east of Perth, where woodland trails climb through beech and pine to big views over the Tay, past a stone tower perched on the crags.

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Discover Scone Palace

Just north of Perth, Scone Palace calls itself “the Crowning Place of Scottish Kings, including Macbeth and Robert The Bruce”, who was crowned here in 1306. The Stone of Destiny, now in Perth Museum, once sat on Moot Hill in the palace grounds, and a replica marks the spot today in front of the little chapel.

Scone is still home to the Earls of Mansfield. A tour of the State Rooms takes in the palace’s collection of porcelain, rare artefacts and French furniture, and the room where Queen Victoria and Prince Albert dined in 1842. Outside, the grounds run down to the River Tay, with a pinetum, a maze and nature trails that are at their best in autumn colour.

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Visit Blair Castle in Blair Atholl

One of Scotland’s most striking white castles, Blair Castle stands by the village of Blair Atholl, north of Pitlochry, at the foot of the Grampian Mountains. Its oldest part, Comyn’s Tower, dates from 1269, and the castle has been the home of the Atholl family for more than seven centuries. Inside, its 30 rooms hold collections of furniture, arms, china, lace and portraits, including targes and muskets used at the Battle of Culloden.

Blair Castle is also home to the Atholl Highlanders, described by the estate as “the only remaining private army in Europe”. The regiment holds its annual parade at the castle, normally on the last weekend in May, so plan around it if you can. Outside, there is a nine-acre walled garden, a wooded grove and a deer park to explore.

Practical tip: Combine Blair Castle with the Pass of Killiecrankie, just a few miles down the road.

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Explore Pitlochry

Perthshire’s best-known town sits in the valley of the River Tummel, with hills rising on all sides. Pitlochry is elegant and unhurried, and it makes an easy base for the whole of Highland Perthshire. Our complete Pitlochry guide has more.

The Pitlochry Festival Theatre, “Scotland’s Theatre in the Hills”, has been staging plays here since 1951 and now runs a programme through much of the year. Book in advance if you can.

Then walk down to Pitlochry Dam. Its famous fish ladder, built in 1952, uses 34 tiered pools to help salmon bypass the dam on their way upriver, and the visitor centre tells their story. Loch Faskally, the reservoir above the dam, is ringed by woodland paths that are lovely in autumn colour.

Pitlochry also hosts its own Highland Games each September: tossing the caber, throwing the hammer, tug of war, piping and Highland dancing, all family-friendly and a real slice of Highland culture.

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Walk Through the Hermitage

Just outside Dunkeld, about 15 miles north of Perth, the Hermitage is one of Perthshire’s most popular walks. The star attraction is the Black Linn Falls on the River Braan, best seen from Ossian’s Hall, a folly built above the falls in 1757 and decorated with mirrors and painted panels to surprise its visitors.

This stretch of forest was laid out in the 18th century as a pleasure ground for the Dukes of Atholl. Today the National Trust for Scotland looks after it, and its giant Douglas firs are among the tallest trees in Britain. Entry is free, though there is a charge for the car park. Our story of the Georgian folly built to frame a waterfall tells its history.

Don’t miss: come in autumn and watch for salmon leaping up the falls on their way to their spawning grounds, and look up for red squirrels in the treetops.

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See the Pass of Killiecrankie

The Pass of Killiecrankie is a wooded gorge on the River Garry, where the Highlands meet the Lowlands, and today it is a peaceful woodland walk. But on 27 July 1689 it was the scene of the Battle of Killiecrankie, a Jacobite victory and one of the goriest battles in Scottish history.

As the government army fled, one Redcoat soldier escaped the pursuing Highlanders by leaping 18 feet across the raging River Garry. The spot is now known as Soldier’s Leap, and paths lead to it from the National Trust for Scotland visitor centre, which tells the story of the battle and the gorge. Come in autumn, when the colours in the woods are spectacular.

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Visit Dunkeld and Birnam

Dunkeld is a small cathedral town on the Tay, 15 miles north of Perth, with one outstanding sight. Dunkeld Cathedral grew over about 250 years: its choir dates from the late 1200s and the nave was begun in 1406. Today the nave is a largely roofless ruin, while the old choir is still in use as a parish church. The grounds look out over the River Tay. When we checked in October 2026, Historic Environment Scotland said the ruined nave was closed to visitors during conservation works, while the grounds stay open, so check before you go.

Across the river lies the village of Birnam, whose wood Shakespeare wrote into Macbeth: Macbeth will never be beaten “until Great Birnam wood to high Dunsinane hill shall come against him”. Look out for the Birnam Oak, a huge old oak on the riverside path that still carries the play’s famous name.

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Tour a Perthshire Whisky Distillery

Whisky runs deep in Perthshire. In Pitlochry itself, Blair Athol Distillery has been making Scotch since 1798 and helped shape the character of Bell’s blended whisky. Its guided tours end with a tasting; booking ahead is recommended.

Aberfeldy Distillery, on the edge of Aberfeldy, is the only distillery built by the Dewar family, and it offers a range of tours and tastings in a lovely Highland setting.

You may also hear about Edradour, the tiny farm distillery in the hills above Pitlochry that dates back to 1825. Its own website has told visitors that it is closed to the public until further notice, with no tours, shop or tasting bar, so check before you make the trip (checked October 2026).

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Find the Fortingall Yew

Fortingall is a small village west of Aberfeldy, at the mouth of Glen Lyon, that would be easily overlooked were it not for one remarkable tree. The Fortingall Yew stands in the village kirkyard, and the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh calls it “potentially the oldest individual tree in Europe”. Some have suggested it could be as much as 5,000 years old, though that estimate is not universally accepted.

It doesn’t announce itself dramatically. The tree sits inside a small stone enclosure with iron railings, built long ago to keep souvenir hunters from breaking off pieces of it. But stand beside it and you feel the full weight of time. Access to the kirkyard is free. Our guide to the Fortingall Yew tells its story.

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Practical Information

How long to spend: Two to three days covers the main highlights — Blair Castle, Pitlochry, the Hermitage, Scone Palace and Perth itself. Add a fourth day for more remote areas like Fortingall, Rannoch Moor or Loch Tay.

Best time to visit: Late May to September offers the warmest temperatures and longest days. That said, Perthshire in autumn — mid-September through November — is extraordinary. The beech forests around the Hermitage and Killiecrankie turn gold, amber and deep red. “Big Tree Country” makes the most sense in October.

Getting around: A car gives you the freedom to reach Blair Castle, Killiecrankie, Fortingall and the more remote glens with ease. That said, Perth, Dunkeld, Pitlochry and Blair Atholl are all on the railway line north to Inverness, so with careful planning many of the highlights work by train and local bus.

Where to stay: Pitlochry is the most popular base, with the best range of accommodation and easy access to Blair Castle, Killiecrankie and the Hermitage. Perth city is a strong alternative if you want better transport links and city amenities alongside Highland day trips.

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Perthshire sits at the crossroads of Scotland: the Highlands meet the Lowlands here, with Inverness to the north, Stirling to the south and Loch Lomond and The Trossachs to the southwest. However you arrive and however long you stay, this is a region that gives generously to everyone who takes the time to explore it properly.

Have you visited Perth or Perthshire? Which part captured your heart? Tell us in the comments — we’d love to hear your Perthshire stories.

“Perthshire is where Scotland reveals its full hand — ancient history, Highland drama, cathedral ruins, and whisky, all within an hour’s drive of each other.”

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