National Museum of Scotland
Dolly the sheep, one of Elton John's extravagant suits, and a Victorian cast-iron hall — all under one free roof on Chambers Street.
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Two architecturally distinct buildings merged into one free museum spanning Scottish antiquities, natural history, ancient Egypt, and world cultures. The 2011 reopening brought 8,000 objects into 16 new galleries, 80% of which had never been on public display before.
What to look for
- Dolly the sheep — the stuffed body of the first mammal cloned from an adult cell
- The grand central hall of the 1861 building: full-height cast iron construction designed by Francis Fowke and Robert Matheson
- The Millennium Clock, a large kinetic sculpture
Free entry; on Chambers Street at the junction with George IV Bridge, central Edinburgh.
National Museum of Scotland is one of 28 sights worth the detour in Edinburgh, all bundled offline in Voyage GO — download the Edinburgh pack and it sits on your map with no signal, filling your travel passport the moment you walk past.
More to see in Edinburgh
- Edinburgh CastleAttacked 26 times over 1,100 years — research calls it the most besieged place in Great Britain.
- Holyrood PalaceScotland's working royal residence since the 1500s — the actual rooms where Mary, Queen of Scots lived are open to walk through.
- The National (Scottish National Gallery)Since 1912, two near-identical neoclassical buildings have stood side by side on The Mound — visitors have been walking into the wrong one ever since.
- Murrayfield StadiumScotland's largest stadium opened in 1925 with a Grand Slam win — 70,000 people watched it happen.
- St Giles' CathedralA prayer book read here in 1637 caused a riot that sparked a rebellion pulling three kingdoms into war.
- Holyrood AbbeyA king nearly gored by a charging hart founded this abbey in thanksgiving — the ruin now stands beside the palace that grew from its own guesthouse.