108 Museums to Explore in Scotland

Dumfries Museum tells the story of the land and people of the region. Look out for fossil footprints left by prehistoric animals, the wildlife of the Solway, tools and weapons of our earliest people, stone carvings by Scotland’s first Christians and the everyday things of the Victorian farm, workshop and home. The museum also has the world's oldest working Camera Obscura. Admission is free, however a small fee applies for the Camera Obscura.

Dunblane Museum was established in 1943 in barrel-vaulted rooms in what was once the Dean's House. The museum has grown to include eight downstairs rooms in a Grade-A listed building which dates from 1624. It houses a collection of artefacts, paintings, prints and photographs about the Cathedral and Dunblane, and it has one of the largest collections of Communion tokens.

V&A Dundee is a design museum in Dundee, Scotland, which opened on 15 September 2018.[3][4] The V&A Dundee is the first design museum in Scotland and the first Victoria and Albert museum outside London. The V&A Dundee is also the first building in the United Kingdom designed by Kengo Kuma.

The Dundee Museum of Transport, located in Dundee, Scotland is a self-sustaining Scottish Charitable Organisation. The museum has a collection of historical items covering transport in Dundee and across Scotland. The museum offers four halls of artefacts from buses and trams used on local routes, motorbikes, pushbikes and cars from throughout the centuries and models of different ships and trains. There is also a gift shop and a café.

Edinburgh Castle is a historic fortress dominating the skyline of Edinburgh. It is located on top of Castle Rock, a volcanic lava rock formed 350 million years ago. Edinburgh Castle is Scotland's most and the United Kingdom's second most-visited paid attraction. The castle has undergone 26 sieges in its 1,100 year history. It is beleived to be the most besieged place in Great Britain and one of the most attacked in the world.

Elgin Museum is Scotland's oldest independent museum, located in Elgin, Moray, Scotland. Its collections cover area fossils and geology, archaeology, ethnography, art and local history. Opened in 1843, it is one of the oldest independent museums in the country. The museum is run by The Moray Society. Its fossil collection is classed as a Recognised Collection by Museums Galleries Scotland.

The Falconer Museum is one of the oldest in the district. Situated in the heart of Forres High Street, the museum houses a wealth of treasures relating to Moray’s distant and more recent past. Permanent displays include social history, geology, natural history and archaeology. The Falconer Museum is named after two Forres born brothers, Hugh and Alexander Falconer.

This Interpretive Centre is located at the Beach of Houbie, and it is a community museum awarded a Visit Scotland four-star tourist attraction. The museum itself contains various displays on island history, including the award-winning section on Sir William Watson Cheyne and his contribution to antiseptic surgery. There is an Information Point for visitors with a comprehensive range of maps and brochures. There is options for walking , birdwatching and so more.

The Fife Folk Museum is housed in a group of listed buildings in the centre of Ceres. The core buildings include the original tolbooth of the burgh, and a row of weavers' cottages. Its collections include agricultural and craft tools, costume, toys and games, domestic equipment, pottery, paintings, and much more. Of the paintings, there are several fine examples of local landscapes, as well as a notable nineteenth-century interior, 'Old Scotch Kitchen'.

Fochabers Folk Museum and Heritage Centre houses a collection of gigs and carriages and an eclectic array of everyday objects showing the way of life and traditions of the north east of Scotland in the 18th and 19th centuries. Experience schooldays of the past in the Milne's schoolroom, set up to celebrate Alexander Milne, founder of Milne's Free School, a native of Fochabers who made his fortune in America and never forgot his home town.

The Meffan Museum and Art Gallery is the flagship venue for Angus Council's fine art collection. Here two galleries are devoted to art exhibitions, bringing the work of a range of contemporary Scottish artists to Angus. Two further galleries explore 'The Forfar Story' from the time of Pictish artistic endeavour. Here a stunning collection of Pictish Stones is displayed to best advantage so both front and rear of these enigmatic sculptured stones can be closely examined.

The Gem Rock Museum is home to many fine and rare examples of crystals found in Britain, as well as a brilliant set of exquisitely cut replicas of the world’s largest diamonds. The museum is more than just a static display - it is a fully interactive experience which the whole family will enjoy: see the AV 'Fire in the Stones' audio-visual display, explore the amazing Crystal Cave, relax in the Professor's Study or test your knowledge with a geology quiz.

Glasgow Science Centre displays interactive exhibits that demonstrate scientific principles. It also consists of a Science Show Theatre and a Planetarium. Glasgow Science Centre is one of the most popular paid visitor attractions in Scotland.

Govan Old Parish Church was the parish church of Govan district from 6th century untill 2007. The church is no longer used for regular sunday services but it still has daily morning services and open for visitors in the afternoon. The church has an internationally significant collection of early medieval sculpture known as Govan Stones.

Grampian Transport Museum is a transport museum and charitable-based trust located in Alford, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Its exhibits chart the history of transport in the north east of Scotland through dramatic displays, working and climb-aboard vehicle exhibits and video presentations. Major exhibits include the world's oldest Sentinel Steam Waggon from 1914, a giant Mack Snowplow and a working model of Robert Davidson's motor for electric traction.

The Highland Folk Museum is a museum and open-air visitor attraction. The museum is primarily made up of three areas that represent and interpret three separate eras of the Scottish highlands. While some of the buildings on the museum site were built there, many have been relocated from other places around the highlands and reconstructed onsite.

Hospitalfield House is a stunning early Arts & Crafts Scottish Baronial country house, left in trust in 1890 to support artists. Hospitalfield is a place to work, study, learn, visit and enjoy. Hospitalfield House, in its beautiful location overlooking the North Sea, is the house of artist and collector Patrick Allan-Fraser and his wife Elizabeth Fraser.

Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery is the oldest museum in Scotland. The museum is owned by the University of Glasgow, and is named after William Hunter, an anatomist and collector. The museum and the gallery currently houses Hunterian Museum, Zoology Museum, Hunterian Art Gallery, and the Mackintosh House- a modern concrete building, part of the gallery-library complex.

The John Paul Jones Cottage Museum is the historical birth place of “The Father” of the U.S. Navy. This cottage sits on the Arbigland Estate where John Paul Jones grew up. The cottage has been restored to how it would have been when he lived there and features unique artifacts and information from his past. It also features audio presentations about life in the cottage. There is a reconstructed cabin of John Paul Jones' ship Bonhomme Richard, and exhibits about his defeat of HMS Serapis at the B

Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum is one of the most popular attractions in Scotland. The museum has 22 galleries that showcases a range of exhibits including Renaissance art, taxidermy and artifacts from ancient Egypt. It has one of the most notable collection of arms and armour in the world.