Hotels in Perth

Perth is small enough that almost anywhere within the old town core puts you within ten minutes of the museum, the theatre and the river, so the choice of base comes down more to style and budget than to distance. The city centre streets around the High Street and South Street hold the historic coaching inns and townhouse hotels, several of them centuries old and adapted over time, with the advantage of putting you beside the shops, restaurants and Perth Concert Hall without needing a car once you arrive.

Just across the river, the streets below Kinnoull Hill and around Bridgend offer a quieter alternative with the same short walk into the centre over the Perth Bridge, and several of the city's best-regarded guest houses have set up here to make the most of the view back across the water to the old town. This side suits couples and anyone who prefers to end the day somewhere calmer than the main streets.

A short drive north, New Scone and the villages nearest Scone Palace put you closer to the golf courses and the palace grounds, and suit visitors touring by car who want easy parking and quick access out to the wider countryside rather than a strictly walkable city stay. Further out again, the country house hotels set in their own grounds along the Tay valley towards Dunkeld and Kinclaven give a different kind of stay altogether - grand rooms, extensive gardens and often a serious kitchen, built for a slower few days centred on walking, fishing or simply the surroundings rather than city sightseeing.

Whichever area you choose, book ahead for the Highland games season in July and August and for the autumn colour weekends in October, when Highland Perthshire's woodland draws visitors from across Scotland and rooms in and around Perth fill up quickly as a result.