The National Museum of Scotland

Date Visited : October 2025 | Opening Times: 10:00 - 17:00 | Cost: Free | Website

Located: Edinburgh, Scotland

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The National Museum of Scotland has over 12 million objects in its collection and is located near the city center of Edinburgh with views of the castle from the room top terrace (my tip, take the stairs instead of the elevator to avoid a line)

Officially formed in 2006 when the Museum of Scotland and the Royal Scottish Museum merged the original museum dates back to 1866. The former royal building features an unbelievable glass atrium modeled after the Crystal Palace built for the great exhibition of 1851 in Hyde Park.

The Adjacent Galleries have a similar tiered structure with a large atrium in the middle It lends itself to architecturally being one of my favorite museums interiors. Its so light and airy yet crammed full of content at the same time.

Opened in 1998 the Hawthornden Court complex features multiple floors of Scottish history and its probably the section I'm most interested to get back to.

The Museum free and open daily from 10 am to 5pm  closed December 25th and with modified hours on December 26th and January 1st.

During my visit I followed their highlights trail  which took me all over the museums to see some of their most exciting pieces.

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