National Museum of Scotland

The National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh showcases Scotland’s history, culture, and natural world through diverse collections.

Planning your visit

The National Museum of Scotland occupies two joined buildings, and the older one is spectacular: a Victorian Grand Gallery of cast iron and glass, birdcage-like and flooded with daylight, opened in 1866 and restored in 2011. Attached is the modern sandstone wing housing Scottish history from the earliest settlement through the Picts, the Wars of Independence, the Reformation, the Enlightenment and industrialisation to the present.

The collections are deliberately encyclopaedic — Scottish history alongside natural history, world cultures, science and technology, art and design in one institution. Highlights include the Lewis Chessmen, carved from walrus ivory in twelfth-century Norway and found on a Hebridean beach; Dolly the sheep, the first cloned mammal, taxidermied and displayed; and the Millennium Clock, a dark kinetic sculpture that performs on the hour. The roof terrace gives one of the better free views over Edinburgh toward the castle.

Admission is free, which makes this exceptional value in a city where most attractions are not. It is large enough to fill a day and busy in summer and during the festival.

Bookable options are guides rather than tickets: guided tours of the museum, private tours allowing a tailored route through collections that otherwise sprawl, and combined formats pairing the museum with Edinburgh Castle, which is a ten-minute walk away and does require paid timed entry. Current availability is listed below.