11 Museums to Explore in Edinburgh

Checkout places to visit in Edinburgh

Edinburgh

Capital city of Scotland. Edinburgh is Scotland's second-most populous city and the seventh-most populous city in the United Kingdom. It is the second-largest financial centre in the United Kingdom, and UK's second-most visited tourist destination.

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Museums to Explore in Edinburgh

Edinburgh Castle

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.

Museum of Childhood

The Museum of Childhood was the first museum in the world to be dedicated to the history of childhood and it attracts over 200,000 visitors a year. The collections include eighteenth-century teddy bears and beautiful dolls, all dressed in the period’s clothing. Visitors will also discover puppets, toy soldiers and small and rudimentary cars with pedals, among many other treasures.

Museum of Edinburgh

The Museum of Edinburgh, is a museum in Edinburgh, Scotland, housing a collection relating to the town's origins, history and legends. It comprises of a variety of items related to Edinburgh’s history and legends, including objects made of silver, ceramic and glass. Moreover, there are several remarkable articles, for example, the original drawings of the New Town or a miniature of the Old Town dating from the sixteenth century, from the time of Mary, Queen of Scots.

Museum on the Mound

The Museum on the Mound focuses on the history of the Bank of Scotland as well as the history of numismatics, which is the study of physical money. The permanent collection includes artefacts tracing the history of the Bank of Scotland since its foundation in 1695, paintings and architectural models of the Head Office building on the Mound, and the history of banking and building societies in Britain. It has more than 50,000 visitors per year.

National Mining Museum Scotland

The National Mining Museum Scotland was created in 1984, to preserve the physical surface remains of Lady Victoria Colliery at Newtongrange, Midlothian, Scotland. It tells the story of coal for Scotland through exhibitions and guided tours of the pithead. See hear and feel what life was like for the miners and their families with real insights from ex-miner tour guides.

National Museum of Scotland

The National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh, Scotland, was formed in 2006 with the merger of the new Museum of Scotland, with collections relating to Scottish antiquities, culture, and history, and the adjacent Royal Scottish Museum. It incorporates the collections of the former National Museum of Antiquities of Scotland. As well as the national collections of Scottish archaeological finds and medieval objects, the museum contains artifacts from around the world, encompassing geology, archaeol

National War Museum

The National War Museum, situated within Edinburgh Castle, is Scotland’s national war museum reflecting over 400 years of Scotland at war. It has collection features, as well as the typical military items, traditional Scottish clothing worn during the battles, personal items belonging to the soldiers, and letters sent home from the battlegrounds on distant lands.

Surgeons' Hall Museums

Surgeons' Hall Museums is an award winning Museum that is home to one of the largest and most historic pathology collections in the United Kingdom. It consists of the History of Surgery Museum, the Wohl Pathology Museum and the Dental Collection. The museum has been open to the public since 1832, making it one of Scotland’s oldest museums.

The People's Story Museum

The People's Story Museum is a museum housed in the historic Canongate Tolbooth, which houses collections telling the story of the working-class people of Edinburgh from the late 18th century to the present day. This is done through use of oral history, reminiscence and written sources. The museum houses Britain's largest collection of early reform flags and banners: 144 in all.

The Writers' Museum

The Writers’ Museum, housed in Lady Stair's House at the Lawnmarket, on the Royal Mile in Edinburgh, presents the lives of three of the foremost Scottish writers: Robert Burns, Walter Scott and Robert Louis Stevenson. Run by the City of Edinburgh Council, the collection includes portraits, works and personal objects. Beside the museum lies the Makars' Court, the country's emerging national literary monument.

Map of Museums to explore in Edinburgh