[6] Fort William is a major tourist centre with Glen Coe just to the south, Ben Nevis and Aonach Mòr to the east, and Glenfinnan to the west.

It is a huge centre for hillwalking and climbing due to its proximity to Ben Nevis, the largest mountain in Scotland and the United Kingdom, and many other Munros.

[8] The earliest recorded settlement on the site is a Cromwellian wooden fort, known as the Garrison of Inverlochy, built in 1654 as a base for the New Model Army to "pacify" Clan Cameron after the Wars of the Three Kingdoms.

[14][15] The town grew in size as a settlement when the fort was constructed to control the population after Oliver Cromwell's invasion during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, and then to suppress the Jacobite risings after the 1688 overthrow of the House of Stuart.

[18][19] In 1934, the Laggan Dam on the River Spean was completed as part of the Lochaber hydroelectric scheme by Balfour Beatty for the British Aluminium Company.

During the Second World War, Fort William was the home of HMS St Christopher, which was a training base for Royal Navy Coastal Forces.

Inverlochy, Claggan, An-Aird, Lochyside, Caol, Banavie and Corpach outwith (i.e. outside) the town are the other main residential areas.

Fort William has an oceanic climate (Cfb) with moderate, but generally cool, temperatures and abundant precipitation.

Fort William does not have an official Met Office weather station; as such, the values in the table below are simulated, and the record high and low temperatures are not available.

[30][31] Just outside the town is a large aluminium plant once operated by Alcan and powered by the Lochaber hydroelectric scheme,[35] in its day the biggest tunnelling project in the world.

Trains from Glasgow to Mallaig, the terminus of the line, have to reverse at Fort William railway station.

[38] An overnight train between Fort William and London is also ran by the Caledonian Sleeper, this service is known colloquially as "The Deerstalker".

[43] In 2023 exploratory work began to replace the hospital, with construction expected to begin in the Blar Mhor area near Caol in 2025, with an estimated completion date of 2028.

[44] In 2024 funding issues resulted in a potential delay to the construction of the new hospital with protests taking place in Fort William.

Just outside the town, parallel to the Nevis Range Gondola, there is a large downhill mountain bike track which attracts thousands of visitors every year, including international competitors and fans.

Fort William has hosted the World Endurance Mountain Bike Organisation (WEMBO) solo 24-hour championship in 2014 and again in 2018.

Fort William is the home of the Scottish Six Day Motorcycle Trial (SSDT), which is held annually in the first full week of May.

It also has a football team, Fort William F.C., that competes in the Scottish North Caledonian League and plays home games at Claggan Park.