📌 New Town, City of Edinburgh
★★★
If looking at pictures of heads for an hour doesn’t sound like your idea of fun, perhaps the Scottish National Portrait Gallery will change your mind. The red sandstone, Gothic Revival building dates to the late 1800s and is worth a visit alone, with spectacular friezes on the walls of the airy entrance hall surrounded by busts of famous Scots. The ground and first floors showcase mainly contemporary portraits as well as a large library, but the clever part of the gallery is at the top; this floor tells the story of Scotland over the centuries, with each room decorated by the key figures from the relevant period. Throughout the building, all of the subjects of the portraits are Scottish (or have strong Scottish links), though there’s no such requirement for the artists.
🌍 Location
📌 1 Queen Street, Edinburgh (10-min walk north of Edinburgh Waverley station)
🧭 O.S. Grid Reference: NT 256742
🛰️ GPS coordinates: 55.955501,-3.193695
🚆 Edinburgh Waverley | 🚋 St Andrew Square | 🚌 Numerous local buses
🚗 Street parking nearby (charge)
📝 Key info
⌚ Daily
🎫 Free – charge for some temporary exhibitions
