Angus is the county north of the Tay and east of the Grampians — farming country mostly, with a straightforward, no-nonsense character and a coastline of red sandstone cliffs and sandy beaches that doesn't get the attention it probably deserves. Dundee at its southern edge is a different proposition: a city that has been changing significantly and is worth more attention than it used to get.
Dundee spent a long time being underestimated. The V&A Dundee, which opened on the waterfront in 2018, helped shift that. It's Scotland's first dedicated design museum and the building itself — designed by Japanese architect Kengo Kuma — is the most architecturally ambitious thing in the city. The waterfront regeneration around it includes the Discovery, Captain Scott's Antarctic research ship, which is permanently moored there as a museum and is worth going aboard. The city's connection to comic books through DC Thomson, publishers of The Beano and Dandy, gives it a cultural identity that's entirely its own. Broughty Ferry, a suburb to the east with its own waterfront and a castle on the headland, is more pleasant for a walk than the city centre.
Arbroath, along the coast, is where the Declaration of Arbroath was signed in 1320 — one of the most significant documents in Scottish history, asserting Scotland's independence. The abbey ruins where it was signed are substantial. The town is also the home of the Arbroath smokie — a hot-smoked haddock with protected status — and the harbour still lands fish that can be bought very fresh. Carnoustie has one of the more demanding Open Championship golf courses; it has broken the hearts of several players who came to it as favourites.
Montrose has a tidal basin behind the town that's an important wetland for waders and wildfowl, and the town itself is a handsome Georgian place on a sandbar between the basin and the sea. Forfar is the county town — unremarkable as a visitor destination but with a good local character. Kirriemuir was J.M. Barrie's birthplace and the small museum there is worth a look if you have any interest in Peter Pan. Brechin has a medieval cathedral and one of only two Irish-style round towers in Scotland, which is a niche distinction but a genuine one. Monifeith and Broughty Ferry give good beach access close to Dundee.