Museums and galleries in Edinburgh

137 museums and galleries in Edinburgh, from the big collections to small independent spaces.

Ranked with the travel guide's picks and well-known places first. Showing the top 40 of 137.

Photo: 瑞丽江的河水, CC BY-SA 4.0 (licence)

SeeArt museumNew Town
National Galleries of Scotland: National
This holds much of Scotland's fine artwork from Renaissance to 20th century, with changing exhibitions. These rotate seasonally, so an exhibition put on for the Festival typically stays to the end of the year, allowing quieter times to view. Enter from the plaza between gallery and Royal Scottish Academy, and a basement passage connects the two exhibition spaces. The Scottish Galleries on the lowest floor reopened in 2023 after several years of redevelopment, and show a good collection of local work and views which may inspire trips.
Daily 10AM-5PMFree, charges for major temporary exhibitions · Free entry
SeeHistoric siteOld Town
Edinburgh Castle
Iconic fortress perched magnificently on a volcanic rock above the city. The castle has been continuously used for 1100 years and is kept in excellent condition; it's still the ceremonial headquarters of the army in Scotland. Highlights include the Great Hall, the Honours of Scotland (the Scottish Crown Jewels), the War Museum and the 12th century St Margaret's Chapel. The One O'Clock Gun is fired each day from Mills Mount battery. Audio guides available. It's mobbed with tourists and in summer often sells out, book online well in advance.
Daily: Apr-Sep 9:30AM-6PM, Oct-Mar 9:30AM-5PMAdult £19.50, child (7-15) £11.40, conc £15.50, Historic Scotland / English Heritage / Cadw free · Limited wheelchair access
SeeHistoric siteNew Town
Calton Hill
This is the stubby crag just east of Princes Street: a short stroll up it commands great views. The "National Monument", a memorial to Scots killed in the Napoleonic Wars, was an attempt to out-do the Parthenon in Athens but the money ran out with only the west facade built. Nelson's Tower was built 1807-16 in the shape of an upturned telescope in honour of the naval hero. A Time Ball on the mast drops at 1PM every day just as the One O'Clock Gun is fired from the castle - this gives a time signal to ships in the Firth before the sound rolls out to them, or it would if not obscured by drizzle and the ships in possession of reliable watches. It was operated by the adjacent City Observatory, superseded in 1896 by the Royal Observatory in the south of the city. City Observatory remained active until 2009 then was refurbished as the Collective Gallery exhibition space for modern art.
103 m high
SeeMuseumOld Town
National Museum of Scotland
Superb museum of Scotland's heritage. You enter into the lofty Victorian Grand Gallery, where the millennium clock chimes on the hour. Exhibition halls cover Scottish and world history and culture, science, technology, art and design, and natural history. Dolly the sheep, the 12th-century Lewis chess pieces, and dinosaurs are some of the highlights. NMS also run the War Museum in the castle, the Museum of Flight near Gullane, and the Museum of Rural Life in East Kilbride.
Daily 10AM-5PMFree · Wi-Fi · Free entry · Wheelchair accessible
SeeLibraryOld Town
National Library of Scotland
A venerable reference library, which you need membership to access, but it has public exhibitions about literature. "Treasures" is its permanent exhibition. But don't stumble in here mistaking it for Central Library across the street.
Mon-Sat 9:30AM-5PMFree
DoOld Town
The Scotch Whisky Experience
Tour of the history and craft of whisky distilling, with expert guides - the basic or "silver" tour works well for beginners. They have a huge selection; the core of it is the 3384 bottles collected by Brazilian whisky enthusiast Claive Vidiz.
Daily 10AM-5PMBasic tour £23 adult, £21 conc, £10 child · Wheelchair accessible
SeePlanetariumOld Town
Dynamic Earth
Interactive natural history museum exhibiting the forces and features of our planet: volcanoes, polar ice, rainforests and so on. Opened in 1999, it's a tent-like structure on the former site of a gasworks and brewery.
Wed-Fri 10AM-5PM, Sat Sun 10AM-6PMAdult £19.50 adults, conc £16.70, child £12 · Wi-Fi · Wheelchair accessible
SeeHistory museumOld Town
Museum on the Mound
Museum about money and coins, in the basement of the Palladian pile of the former Bank of Scotland headquarters. Scotland developed a banking sector in the 18th century to support long-distance trade, and still prints its own banknotes.
Tue-Fri 10AM-5PM, Sat 1-5PMFree · Free entry · Wheelchair accessible
SeeChildrens museumOld Town
Museum of Childhood
Concepts and imagery of childhood are ever-changing. See if you can find your (or your grandparents') old toys in the collection, and your place in history.
Daily 10AM-5PMFree · Free entry · Wheelchair accessible
SeeHistoric siteOld Town
Museum of Edinburgh
Museum of city history in a mustard-hued mansion built in 1570.
Daily 10AM-5PMFree
SeeArt galleryOld Town
Fruitmarket
Gallery of contemporary art, refurbished in 2018. From 1936 to the 1970s this was where soft fruit and veg were traded, handy for the trains and delivery vans.
Daily 11AM-6PMFree · Free entry · Wheelchair accessible
SeeArt galleryOld Town
Talbot Rice Gallery
David Talbot Rice (1903-72) was in the louche crowd at Oxford that inspired Brideshead Revisited and became a distinguished scholar of East Mediterranean and Russian art, with extensive contacts in those parts - how come this fellow was never implicated in a spy ring? His spell as University Vice Principal is commemorated in this gallery with changing exhibitions of contemporary art. It's housed within Old College of Edinburgh University, a fine building built between 1789 and 1827 by Robert Adam and Henry Playfair. The Georgian Gallery has a Playfair interior and a mixture of Old Masters and modern installations.
Tue-Sat 10AM-5PM during exhibitionsFree · Free entry · Wheelchair accessible
SeeHistoric siteOld Town
Gladstone's Land
Thomas Gladstone was a wealthy merchant, and in 1617 he had this house refashioned to accommodate his family and to partly rent out. A "Land" means a tall narrow townhouse from the period when Old Town was cramped and the only space for development was upwards. Typically along the Royal Mile the ground floor was shops and trade, genteel folk lived on the first and second floors, and lower-income residents had to lump up many steps to the upper floors. It's now a museum run by the National Trust for Scotland exhibiting 17th century elite city life, richly furnished and decorated but with no running water. In the 18th century prosperous folk relocated to New Town, where the NTS property at 7 Charlotte Square continues the story.
Daily 10AM-5PMAdult £10, conc £8.50, child £6, NTS / NT free
SeeMuseumOld Town
The Peoples' Story Museum
This is housed in Canongate Tolbooth, the medieval centre for governance and justice (preferably gruesome) as Canongate was a separate jurisdiction until 1856. The museum covers the story of working class life, and of organised labour, from the late 18th century to the present.
Daily 10AM-5PMFree · Free entry
SeeArt galleryNew Town
Royal Scottish Academy
An august neo-classical building on The Mound, fronting onto Princes St, and its main function is to be confused with the National Gallery behind. The RSA is a separate organisation promoting contemporary Scottish art. The building hosts temporary exhibitions but doesn't have a permanent display - the Academy's extensive collection is dispersed across many galleries. That might include your own home, as they run an art rental scheme.
Free entry
SeeMuseumLeith
Trinity House
Stately neo-classical building of 1818 which is now a maritime museum, but only open for special events. It's built over its predecessor of 1560, which in turn was built over a medieval monastic site. The organisation dates back to 1380, when Leith mariners gained the right to levy duty on goods landed at the port; the funds supported sick or aged mariners or their families. They went on to fund lighthouses and to develop training for mariners, which became Leith Nautical College. They invested in real estate and the neighbourhood of Trinity was originally theirs. Other medieval ports copied these arrangements, such as Trinity House in London Deptford from 1514 which became the governing body for English lighthouses, but the Leith version was senior and distinct. A separate body for Scottish lighthouses was established in 1786, now called the Northern Lighthouse Board.
Built 1818
SeeArt galleryNew Town
Modern Two
Opposite side of Belford Rd has a slightly smaller collection, but enough to infuriate about one-in-five reviewers, who rage that their kids' drawings stuck on the fridge door are better. A neon sign in the garden reassures all and sundry that "There will be no miracles".
Open now · closes 5 pm
SeeMuseumOld Town
St Cecilia's Hall
Scotland's oldest purpose-built concert hall, opened in 1763 and still in regular use. It hosts the University of Edinburgh collection of historic musical instruments, crafted 16th to 20th century, many of which (such as the Trompette Demilune) are no longer played.
Tue-Sat 10AM-6:30PMHistoric instruments free · Heritage listed
SeeMuseumNew Town
The Georgian House
This townhouse was designed by Robert Adam, completed in 1796 and has been furnished in the style of its first owner John Lamont. Its last private owner the Marquess of Bute also acquired adjacent townhouses and along with the other owners got the entire north facade of the square restored to Adams' imposing original design. Visit by self-guided tour, and in mid-summer you need to book as it sells out.
March Fri-Sun 10AM-4PM, April-Oct daily 10AM-5PMAdult £12, conc £7, NTS / NT free
SeeArt galleryOld Town
City Art Centre
Four-floor gallery run by the city council. They rotate artwork from their extensive Scottish collection and have changing exhibitions.
Daily 10AM-5PMDonation £3 · Free entry · Wheelchair accessible
SeeHistory museumStockbridge and Canonmills
Museum of Scottish Fire Heritage
Volunteer-run museum within McDonald Road fire station. History of Scottish firefighting from the era of rival commercial fire companies, through early wooden fire engines to more recent appliances.
Mar-Nov Tue-Sat 10AM-4PMDonation · Free entry
SeeArt galleryOld Town
Stills
Photography gallery with three exhibitions a year. They also support photographers through courses and hire of equipment, darkroom and digital lab.
Tue-Sat 11AM-5PMFree · Free entry
SeeHistory museumOld Town
Surgeons' Hall Museums
The permanent exhibitions are the Pathology Museum, the History of Surgery and the Dental Museum. Not suitable for children under 10 as the exhibits include human remains.
Daily 10AM-5PMAdult £9.50, conc £6 · Wheelchair accessible
SeeMuseumOld Town
Anatomical Museum
Large collection of anatomical specimens and life and death masks. Best known is the skeleton of William Burke, hanged in 1829 after he and William Hare killed at least 16 people to sell the bodies for dissection. Limited opening as the area is in continual use for teaching, booking essential.
Last Sat of Sept-Nov and Jan-MayFree
SeeArt galleryWest
Edinburgh Printmakers
Creative centre for printmaking & visual arts, Two free galleries & shop. Vegan Cafe.
Sun & Mon closed; Tue 10:00-17:30; Wed & Thu 10:00-21:00; Fri & Sat 10:17:30Free for galleries
SeeArt galleryNew Town
National Galleries of Scotland: Portrait
Completed in 1890, this is a striking red sandstone neo-Gothic building. It holds portraits of Scots from down the ages, with new faces being added all the time: Billy Connolly and Tilda Swinton mingle with Mary Queen of Scots. The entrance hall has a grand frieze of notable Scots in procession.
Daily 10AM-5PMFree
SeeArt galleryStockbridge and Canonmills
Patriothall Gallery
Small art gallery and artists studios in the former co-op bakery. The gallery has regular exhibitions of modern art. The studios are open.on one weekend in mid-August and another in late November.
Tue-Sun noon-6PM
SeeArt galleryNew Town
National Galleries of Scotland: Modern One
The original modern art gallery, established in 1960, was in the Botanic Gardens. In 1895 it moved into this neoclassical building, originally a refuge for fatherless children, and in 1999 it expanded across the road into the neoclassical orphanage now known as Modern Two. The gardens of Modern One have been sculpted. Both buildings have extensive contemporary collections and most visitors find that seeing one of them is plenty for an afternoon.
Daily 10AM-5PMFree · Free entry · Wheelchair accessible
SeeOld Town
Camera Obscura
World of Illusions
Over 150 years old, the Camera Obscura projects light from the top of the tower onto a large dish in a dark room below, displaying a panorama of the city. The effect still works on overcast days or at night but is best in sunlight, when you can use a sheet of paper to "pick up" people seen in the streets and have them scurry in your hand. The tower also houses a gallery of optical illusions that wouldn't be out of place in Blackpool.
Mon-Thu 9:30AM-7:30PM, Fri-Sun 9AM-9PMAdult £24.95, conc £21.95, child (5-15 years) £17.95
SeeOld Town
Dovecot Studios
Tapestry studio and gallery housed in the former public baths. There is a cafe, shop, and viewing gallery where you can look down on weavers at work.
Mon-Sat 10AM-5PMFree
SeeOld Town
Holyrood Palace
The Palace is a royal residence, closed when the king is here for a week in July and for similar state occasions. It's been repeatedly smashed up and rebuilt, and the present building is mostly from the 1670s. Highlights are the grand stair, state apartments, throne room, Mary Queen of Scots Chambers (where bloodstains from the murder of Rizzio are still visible), King's Gallery a sample of the royal art collection, the ruin of Holyrood Abbey, and the palace gardens.
Nov-Mar Thu-Mon 9:30AM - 4:30PM, Apr-Oct Thu-Mon (& daily Jul-Sep) 9:30AM - 6PMAdult £19.50, child or conc £10.50
SeeOld Town
Scottish Parliament
A unique building, designed by Spanish Catalan architect Enric Miralles, completed in 2004. It's either a daring showpiece of postmodern architecture or a national embarrassment or a bit of both, time will tell. Parliament meets Tu-Th and you can watch debates from the Public Gallery, ask for tickets at reception. First Minister's Question Time is normally Th noon-12:45PM, and you need to reserve this up to 7 days in advance. Waiting list places may be available from 10AM on the day, otherwise watch from the Overspill Room. On non-business days (M F Sa) you can view the debating chamber from the Public Gallery without tickets. In the lobby area there are often exhibitions.
Mon Fri Sat and public holidays 10AM-5PM, Tue-Thu 9AM-6:30PMFree
SeeArt gallery
Scottish National Portrait Gallery
National Galleries Scotland: Portrait is an art museum on Queen Street, Edinburgh. Portrait holds the national collections of portraits, all of which are of, but not necessarily by, Scots. It also holds the Scottish National Photography Collection.
Open now · closes 5 pmFree entry · Wheelchair accessible · Wi-Fi
SeeNew Town
Palestine Museum
A branch of their main museum in Woodbridge Connecticut, this is mostly artwork with exhibitions on the Nakhba and other events.
Wed-Sun 11AM-6PM
DoWest
Royal Highland Showground
An exhibition ground with several halls and large grounds. The premier event is the Royal Highland Show for 4 days in late June. Other events are held throughout the year, some of these are public, others are trade only.
SeeSouth
Royal Observatory
This opened in 1896 to replace the observatory on Calton Hill in New Town (which remained active to 2009 but is now an art exhibition space). The ROE is owned by the Science and Technology Facilities Council and houses the University of Edinburgh's Institute for Astronomy. Public evenings in winter are on Tuesday (booking essential) with talks and tours of the site.
Talks £5
SeeOld Town Not mapped
Writers' Museum
This museum, in a tall house built in 1622, celebrates three Scottish literary giants: Robert Burns, Sir Walter Scott and Robert Louis Stevenson. From 1719 the close was the residence of the widow of the 1st Earl of Stair, who ordered the Glencoe massacre.
Daily 10AM-5PMDonation £3
SeeArt gallerySouth
Upright Gallery
Small gallery of local artists' work.
Wed-Fri 11AM-4PM, Sat noon-4PM
BuyOld Town
Red Door Gallery
Arts and crafts and giftware.
Daily 10AM-6PM
SeeMuseum
The King's Gallery
The King's Gallery, previously known as the Queen's Gallery, is an art gallery in Edinburgh, Scotland. It forms part of the Palace of Holyroodhouse complex. It was opened in 2002 by Queen Elizabeth II, and exhibits works from the Royal Collection.

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Listings from the Wikivoyage guide to Edinburgh (CC BY-SA 4.0). Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL). Place data from Overture Maps. Some descriptions from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).