Cultural Quarter

Immediately west of the city centre, High Street becomes Nethergate and passes into what is now being dubbed, with a fair amount of justification, Dundee's "Cultural Quarter". As well as the university and the highly respected Rep theatre, the area is also home to the best concentration of pubs and cafés in the city. Principal among the area's many arts venues is the hip and exciting DCA, or Dundee Contemporary Arts, at 152 Nethergate (Mon-Sat 10.30am-midnight, Sun 10.30am-11pm; galleries Tues-Sun 11.30am-5.30pm; tel 01382/432000, www.dca.org.uk), a stunningly designed centre which incorporates galleries, a print studio and an airy café-bar. The centre, opened in 1999, was designed by Richard Murphy, who converted an old brick building which had been a garage and car showroom into an inspiring new space, given energy and confidence by its bright, sleek interior and distinctive ship-like exterior. It's worth visiting for its stimulating temporary and touring exhibitions of contemporary art and eclectic programme of art-house films and cult classics.

Tucked in behind DCA is another new building, Sensation (daily 10am-6pm; Nov-March closes 5pm; www.sensation.org.uk; £5), best approached from Greenmarket, off Marketgate. Aimed squarely at families and schoolchildren, it's a fun-packed exploration of science, using sixty different interactive exhibits and participatory experiments.

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