The National Gallery Edinburgh

The National Galleries of Scotland offer an extraordinary journey through European and Scottish art in the very heart of Edinburgh. Founded in the 19th century, the neoclassical gallery buildings house masterpieces ranging from Renaissance portraits to Impressionist landscapes and iconic works by Scottish painters. Walking through the calm, light-filled rooms creates a peaceful contrast to the busy Princes Street nearby, allowing visitors to fully appreciate the depth of artistic heritage preserved here. Carefully curated exhibitions and thoughtful presentation make the experience both educational and inspiring. With free entry and world-class collections, this gallery complex is an essential cultural stop for anyone seeking to understand Scotland’s artistic legacy. Recommended.

Lived in this area for decades. First visit to take overseas friends to National Gallery. How much we have missed!! Excellent venue, currently free of charge. You could spend hours here - best to make multiple visits, if you can. Uncrowded even on otherwise busy day in Ediunburgh - easy to move around. Personnel super-helpful and friendly. Utterly blown by the range, quality and exquisite value of these exhibits. Cannot recommend enough.

This is an amazing family day out and it's Free out of the rain and has something for everyone over 7+ floors. A lot of exhibitions are interactive, your children might have to wait their turn especially at the more popular ones so you need to manage expectations both for how long they they need to wait and the length of time they can spend on an activity to avoid meltdowns. We only managed 3 floors so I would say you need two days at least to see everything so good place to go if outdoor activities are out of the question due to weather. They also have an area that has tables and chairs so families can eat their own food on the ground floor. We didn't use it but I noted it just in case. I would highly recommend and would return in the future to see the other floors.

Wonderful visit. Lots of seating to sit and look at the artwork. Good location and easy access. This offers a good selection of 1600s artworks . Scottish section on the floor below.

Situated in the heart of Edinburgh, the Scottish National Gallery is a small but delightful museum. While Scottish artists are the main focus, the National Gallery also houses works of art from famous European artists. All of Edinburgh's publicly owned museums and galleries offer free entry to their permanent collections, and National Galleries Scotland manage five buildings which provide access to a fantastic array of artworks. In the very heart of Edinburgh, on the Mound, which connects both Old and New Town, is the original National Gallery of Scotland itself, alongside its sister gallery, the Royal Scottish Academy building. Inside the building is a sumptuous series of open spaces with works by some of the world's greatest classic artists on display, alongside iconic works by Scottish painters. Artists like Rembrandt and Van Dyck are represented alongside Monet, Reubens and Titian, as well as British painters like Constable and Turner. One iconic picture which is often considered a definitively Scottish work is Edwin Landseer's Monarch of the Glen, featuring a majestic stag in front of a Scottish Highland backdrop.