National Museum of Scotland

One of my aims in starting a blog was to include a few guides to places I love.

The first place to make it on here is the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh. It's just great. I've raved before about the free entry policy to many of the UK's finest museums, and this one makes the list.

This humongous building is absolutely on a par with the finest London museums such as the V&A (although I still think the British Museum trumps them all).

I've now been in twice, and still feel I've barely scratched the surface. But I'll say it again - when these things are free then there is no limit to the number of visits you can make, even if you have 30 mins to spare. 

Firstly, it's beautifully placed in Edinburgh's Old town. This is the view looking out of the museum:

Secondly, on stepping into the museum, you walk into this fantastic atrium:

Very inspiring in itself.

There are many treasures (from the Lewis chessmen to Dolly the sheep, plus the ubiquitous Tyrannosaur), but the highlight is the guided tours.

In my opinion, it is these which put the NMS into the premier league. Three times a day, and again free.

My tour today was on Art and Architecture - something I know little about and when it comes to art something I don't even care much about. But the guides' enthusiasm rubs off on you.

Here's a few things I liked today:

We then ate at the Museum Brasserie - proper table service and pretty tasty too (I had fishcakes).

In short, a must if you visit Edinburgh, even if you only have time to stick your head around the door.