Scottish Parliament
Free: All time The Scottish Parliament is open to the general public for visits. Free one-hour building tour is also available, in which the guide will provide information on the history, work, and procedures of the Scottish Parliament and about the architecture of the award winning building. Advanced booking is recommended. Furthermore, visitors are also...
Museum of the Mound
Free: All time If you ever want to see what a million pounds look like, head over to the Museum of the Mound. This fairly new museum (opened in 2006) specializes in everything money-related: art & design, technology, crime, trade and security. Address: Museum on the Mound, The Mound, Edinburgh EH1 1YZ Opening hours: Tue-Fri...
Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art
Free: All time The Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art is comprised of three parts: the Modern One, the Modern Two and the Outdoor Sculpture. At the Modern One Gallery, the collection features French and Russian art from the beginning of the 20th century, cubist paintings, modern British art, as well as an intensive holdings...
Scottish National Portrait Gallery
Free: All time The Scottish National Portrait Gallery is housed in one of Edinburgh’s most remarkable building. This neo-gothic palace went through a dramatic three-year refurbishment and was completed in 2011. The Gallery now offers 17 new displays that explore different aspects of the history of Scotland. Through the gallery’s rich portraiture collection, visitors get...
Museum of Childhood
Free: All time At the Museum of Childhood, adults can indulge in a trip down memory lane while children will learn what “fun” is in a world before video games. It is a treasure house, crammed full of playthings. The Museum of Childhood in Edinburgh was the first museum of its kind to specialize in...
Portobello Beach
Free: All time Most probably won’t associate Edinburgh with a beach. However, there are several around town. The closest and most popular one is Portobello Beach. It is located a few miles from the city center but despite its urban location, the site still has the traditional seaside charm. Portobello’s sandy beach stretches about a...
Athur’s Seat
Free: All time Athur’s Seat is the highest point in Edinburgh. Located in Holyrood Park, it is a dormant volcano, sitting at about 251m above sea level. Athur’s Seat is also one of the four hill forts that dates back to around 2,000 years ago. So besides greeneries, wildlife, volcanic geology, it is a site...
Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh
Free: All time Located on one mile from city center, the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh offers 72 acres of greeneries. The garden was founded in 1670, originally as a physic garden to grow medicinal plants. Today, the collection grows to nearly 273,000 individual plants representing around 13,300 different species from all over the world. There’s...
Writers’ Museum
Free: All time The Writers’ Museum celebrates the lives of three great Scottish writers – Robert Burns, Sir Walter Scott and Robert Louis Stevenson. Visitors can see portraits, rate books and personal objects including Burns’ writing desk and the printing press on which Scott’s Waverley Novels were first produced. Free tours are offered on Thursdays...
Rosebank Rooftop Market
Free: All time For those interested in authentic African carvings, textiles, ceramics, clothing, beadwork, spices and local foods, head over to Rosebank Rooftop Market. The flea market is held every Sunday on a multilevel car park of Rosebank Mall. The variety of arts and crafts are by African artists from the Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Zimbabwe,...
The Goodman Gallery Johannesburg
Free: All time The Goodman Gallery focuses on contemporary art in South Africa. Its featured artists are either from South Africa and the greater African Continent or delve into art with African context. Established in 1966, the gallery has, from the outset, supported artists to exhibit despite strictures of apartheid. It was involved in the...
Melville Koppies Nature Reserve
Free: All time Melville Koppies Nature Reserve is the last remaining Johannesburg’s natural ridges, conserved as it was before the discovery of gold in 1886. It’s located 5km away from central Johannesburg, near the suburb of Melville. The Melville Koppies’ geology dates back to 3 billion years. It covers about 150 hectares across the wild,...
