Dundee
One of the finest industrial museums in Europe, the Verdant Works explores the history of Dundee's jute industry. Housed in a restored jute mill,…
Must-see attractions in Scotland
Glasgow
The grand seat of local government was built in the 1880s at the high point of Glasgow's wealth. The interior is even more extravagant than the exterior,…
Orkney
This eclectic museum is a great visit, combining some excellent 360-million-year-old Devonian fish fossils found locally with a well-designed exhibition…
Ullapool to Kyle of Lochalsh
Six miles north of Gairloch, this splendid place is a welcome splash of colour on this otherwise bleak coast. The climate here is warmed by the Gulf…
East Coast
This intriguing museum has some excellent carved Pictish stones. When ‘crop circles’ appeared in aerial photos some years ago, the foundations of an Iron…
Pitlochry
Opened in 2017, this architecturally stunning visitor centre is perched above the dam on the River Tummel, and houses an exhibition that details the…
Fife
Of the many new distilleries popping up all over Scotland, this one – opened in 2017 – has a unique historical claim. It's a stunning modern building …
Pitlochry
This is proudly Scotland’s smallest and most picturesque distillery and one of the best to visit: you can see the whole process, easily explained, in one…
Dumfries & Galloway
This is a place of pilgrimage for Burns enthusiasts. It's here that the poet spent the last years of his life, and there are various possessions of his in…
The Trossachs
The Hamilton Toy Collection is a powerhouse of 20th-century juvenile memorabilia, chock-full of dolls houses, puppets and toy soldiers. It's an amazing…
Inverness
The main attraction in Inverness is a leisurely stroll along the river to the Ness Islands. Planted with mature Scots pine, fir, beech and sycamore, and…
Scottish National Portrait Gallery
New Town
The Venetian Gothic palace of the Scottish National Portrait Gallery is one of the city's top attractions. Its galleries illustrate Scottish history…
New Town
These beautiful gardens lie in a valley that was once occupied by the Nor’ Loch (North Loch), a boggy depression that was drained in the early 19th…
Aberdeen
Overlooking the nautical bustle of Aberdeen harbour is the Maritime Museum, centred on a three-storey replica of a North Sea oil-production platform,…
Orkney
A half-mile west of Pierowall stands this sturdy ruined tower house, built in the 16th century by Gilbert Balfour, aide to Mary, Queen of Scots. The…
Moray
As well as housing a selection of distillery memorabilia (try saying that after a few drams), the Whisky Museum holds ‘nosing and tasting evenings’ in the…
Caithness
Tracking the rise and fall of the herring industry, this great town museum displays everything from fishing equipment to complete herring boats. It’s…
Aberdeen
This excellent museum records the history of one of the British Army's most famous fighting units, described by Winston Churchill as 'the finest regiment…
Stirling
This impressive Victorian prison building lay derelict from the 1960s until 2015, when it was reopened as a visitor attraction. Costumed guides lead tours…
Glasgow
One of Glasgow's top attractions, this outstanding museum 3 miles out of town houses everything from Chinese porcelain and medieval furniture to paintings…
Dundee & Angus
Looking every inch the Scottish Baronial castle, with its roofline sprouting a forest of pointed turrets and battlements, Glamis Castle claims to be the…
Fife
Falkland Palace, a 16th-century country residence of the Stuart monarchs, is prettier and in many ways more impressive and interesting than the Palace of…
Orkney
Hoy’s best-known sight is this 137m-high rock stack jutting from the ocean off the tip of an eroded headland. It's a tough ascent and for experienced…
Stirling Region
Magnificent Doune Castle is one of the best-preserved medieval fortresses in Scotland, having remained largely unchanged since it was built for the duke…
Outer Hebrides
One of Scotland’s most evocative historic buildings, the Arnol Blackhouse is not so much a museum as a perfectly preserved fragment of a lost world. Built…
North & West Coast
Photogenically sited at the entrance to Loch Duich, Eilean Donan is one of Scotland’s most evocative castles and must now be represented in millions of…
Dundee & Angus
The mysterious Aberlemno stones are among Scotland's finest Pictish carved stones. By the roadside there are three 7th- to 9th-century slabs with various…
Moray
Based in a historic icehouse that used to store ice for preserving local salmon catches, this wildlife centre is one of the best land-based dolphin…
Outer Hebrides
The Callanish Standing Stones, 15 miles west of Stornoway on the A858 road, form one of the most complete stone circles in Britain. It is one of the most…
Shetland
Old and new collide here, with Sumburgh airport right by this picturesque, instructive archaeological site. Various periods of occupation from 2500 BC to…
Aberdeenshire
A pleasant, 20-minute walk along the clifftops south of Stonehaven harbour leads to the spectacular ruins of Dunnottar Castle, spread out across a grassy…
Holyrood & Arthur’s Seat
Edinburgh’s quintessential secret garden, in the shadow of a 12th-century kirk, is one of the most peaceful green spaces in Scotland. Cultivated in the…
Edinburgh
Lauriston Castle has one of the most remarkable Edwardian interiors in Scotland, with elements dating back to the 16th century. Gifted to the nation in…
Shetland
A couple of miles beyond Bigton is the largest shell-and-sand tombolo (sand or gravel isthmus) in Britain. Walk across to beautiful, emerald-capped St…
St Andrews
All that's left of one of Britain's most magnificent medieval buildings are ruined fragments of wall and arch, and a single towering gable, but you can…
Glasgow
Opened in 2018, this reconstruction of the original Willow tearoom that Mackintosh designed and furnished in the early 20th century for restaurateur Kate…
Orkney
Here is a fine example of the drystone fortified towers that were both a status symbol for powerful farmers and useful protection from raiders some 2200…
Southern Scotland
Dundonald Castle commands impressive views and, in its main hall, has one of the finest barrel-vaulted ceilings preserved in Scotland. It was the first…
Fife
This fascinating – and chilling – monument to Cold War paranoia was built in the 1950s to serve as one of Britain’s regional command centres in the event…
Fife
More large house than palace, the 17th-century residence of local laird Sir George Bruce features an interior largely unchanged since his time. The…
