A market town with red sandstone buildings in N Aberdeenshire, 11 miles south-east of Banff, situated between the districts of Buchan and Banff on a hill top overlooking the Burn of Turriff or Idoch Water which meets the River Deveron nearby. Created a burgh of barony in 1511, Turriff is located on a major routeway linking the Moray Firth with the south. It has a library, museum, community centre, swimming pool and recreation and sporting facilities that include fishing, boating, bowling, tennis and an 18-hole golf course (Rosehall Golf Club). There is a livestock market and each August the town hosts the two-day Turriff Show, the largest agricultural show in NE Scotland.

Places of interest nearby include Delgatie Castle (1570), home of the Clan Hay; Craigston Castle, built between 1604 and 1607 by John Urquhart, the Tutor of Cromarty, so called because he tutored the father of Sir Thomas Urquhart, the translator of Rabelais; Kinedar Castle, the main 13th-century stronghold of the Comyn earls of Buchan; and Towie Barclay Castle (1593), home of the Barclay family, one of whose line was the Russian general Prince Michael Barclay de Tolly (1759-1818).

Within easy reach of Turriff is Glendronach Distillery which welcomes visitors and offers tours and tastings.