Scotland

South West

Edinburgh & Glasgow

Central Scotland

North East

Highlands

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Scotland Accommodation

Edinburgh Monuments on Carlton Hill

Scottish Parliament Building, Contemporary Design in Edinburgh

The striking Glasgow Cathedral, Glasgow

Kibble Palace, Glasgow Botanic Gardens

Aberdeen Harbour, from inside Aberdeen Maritime Museum

Dundee Contemporary Arts Centre (DCA), Film & Contemporary Art

Aberdeen's Distinctive Granite Architecture

Cities in Scotland, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Inverness, Stirling, Perth, Dundee

Scottish cities offer some of the best city breaks in Europe. In Scotland's capital Edinburgh visit the National Gallery of Scotland, widely acclaimed as one of the world's best collections of art. Also in Edinburgh the Museum of Scotland offers the definitive history of Scotland under one roof. Add to this a host of monuments, a historic castle and palace and a huge number of tourist attractions along Edinburgh's Royal Mile all tightly compact in the centre - you have the recipe for a top Scottish city break.

Top Scottish city Glasgow is an award winner in art and design. Glasgow's architecture is particularly impressive. The city has a number of centres offering a host of museums and attractions. Look to the East End for the superb People's Palace for the social and industrial history of Glasgow. Move west to Kelvingrove and the Hunterian for the best of Scottish and European art and push south to view more acclaimed art at the Burrell Gallery. Take a boat trip along the River Clyde to view some of Glasgow's unique architectural marvels around the Exhibition Centre. Glasgow and Edinburgh are the most obvious choices for city breaks in Scotland, but there's more. Inverness is picking up the pace as the central city base for the Scottish Highlands. In the North East Aberdeen is a centre for Scottish art and maritime history, whilst Dundee's superb Verdant Works explores the history of jute production in the town, whilst Discovery point on the waterfront takes a close look at the city's shipbuilding history. Dundee's Contemporary Arts Centre (DCA) has a selection of galleries exhibiting cutting edge Scottish and International Contemporary art, with cinema on-site. Finally, head to Perth for the largest collection of Scottish Colourist JD Fergusson's work or to Stirling for some of Scotland's most important historic sites at Stirling Castle and nearby Bannockburn.

Edinburgh City Centre, Scotland's Capital City

Edinburgh, Scotland's capital, is an inviting package of cultural, historical, architectural and contemporary attractions and is one of the UK's most visited cities. Boasting a host of monuments, museums (which include the Museum of Scotland), the historic Edinburgh Castle and Holyrood Palace, some of the best art galleries in the UK (including Scotland's National Gallery) and a character medieval Old Town and Georgian New Town, you could easily fill a week's holiday in Edinburgh with activities which lean to the cultural side.

Edinburgh's natural landscape, set as it is on a selection of old volcanic hills adds to its character. Most of the city's attracions are packed into the city centre so Edinburgh is easily explored on foot. This, combined with a choice of Edinburgh guesthouses and Edinburgh hotels in both the Old Town and New Town make Edinburgh one of the best city break locations in Europe, up there with the likes of Lisbon and Barcelona. Lothian Buses run and excellent and great value bus service around Edinburgh City centre and north to Leith. They also lay on open top bus sightseeing tours.

There's a museum for everyone in Edinburgh, from the acclaimed Museum of Scotland, to the Museum of Childhood and the fascinating Surgeons' Hall. Other Edinburgh Museum highlights include the People's Story on the Royal Mile which takes a close look at the social history of Scotland and The National War Museum within Edinburgh Castle homes in on the individual experience of war.

Edinburgh is an art lovers dream - five acclaimed art galleries are here in Scotland's capital, including the renowned National Gallery of Scotland which is acclaimed as one of the world's best collections of art and it's free to enter!

City of Glasgow - A European Centre for Art & Design

Not by chance has Glasgow come to be regarded as one of Europe's leading cities in art and design. Glasgow art has particularly come to the fore in recent years when, in 1990 it was voted European City of Culture and then later in 1999 UK City of Architecture and Design. There's no doubt it's set to win more awards in the future (watch out for the new Transport Museum Building - a cutting edge design soon to be at Glasgow harbour and bringing Glasgow's shipbuilding, maritime and transport history all under one roof).

At the core of Glasgow Style and Glasgow Art is Glasgow's own Charles Rennie Mackintosh, who graduated from the Glasgow School of Art and designed his famous School of Art building in 1896 which remains today at the centre of the Glasgow School of Art campus and is open to visitors.

Glasgow has a number of centres. Glasgow's transport hub and core city centre is around Argyle Street and George Square, with the Tourist information centre on George Square - buses and trains converge here.

You've other clusters of attractions which form more Glasgow centres to the West around Kelvingrove Park, another cluster around Glasgow Cathedral to the east of George Square and an ongoing developing centre along the Clyde River around the Glasgow Science Centre and Scottish Exhibition & Conference Centre (SECC). Outside the West End and East End clusters of attractions ranging from Glasgow art galleries to Glasgow Botanical Gardens, you've a scattering of of attracions all over including the renowned Burrell art collection south at Pollok Country Park and the exciting new Glasgow Science centre on the south side of the Clyde River. All of Glasgow's attraction clusters are easily reached via Glasgow's superb subway metro, rail links and bus service.

Inverness City Centre Scottish Highlands

Inverness is the only city in the Highlands of Scotland and was only awarded official city status in 2000. As such it is something of a centre for the Scottish Highlands and Islands with people regularly flying in or travelling huge distances for a day trip of shopping, stocking up and meeting friends. Inverness is a compact city often visited for the Eastgate Shopping Centre with its chain stores, but there are a good variety of contemporary independent shops, cafes, restaurants and bars springing up all over the town.

The city of Inverness is a compact city lining west and east of the River Ness at the top of the Great Glen. It is the main transport hub for the Highlands too with a main line rail station and airport at Dalcross east of the city centre.

Aberdeen Granite City, Scottish Art & Martime History, North East Scotland

Aberdeen is one of Scotland's great cities. With a youthful, buzzing vibe and its unique granite architecture, Aberdeen is a centre for Scottish Art and Maritime History. The main Union Street is Aberdeen's hub, with most shops here. Walk down Belmont Street off Union Bridge to discover some great cosy bars and specialist shops! There's no end to Aberdeen's architectural marvels, some of which like Provost Skene's House date from the medieval period.

Easy to get to, with its own local Aberdeen Airport (with flights from many other UK airports direct to here), Aberdeen has chic shops, historic granite architecture, a choice of trendy backstreet bars and clubs, a superb range of restaurants, and a host of city centre hotels of the highest standard and service. Two attractions not to be missed here in Aberdeen are the Aberdeen Maritime Museum and Aberdeen Art Gallery. Particularly well represented in Aberdeen's art gallery is art by Scottish artist John Phillip (1817-1867), an artist especially favoured by Queen Victoria.

Dundee - Juteopolis, Social/Industrial History & Contemporary Art

Like a mini Glasgow, Dundee on the Firth of Tay offers a superb selection of attractions relating to its industrial history around the production of Jute, developments along the Dundee Waterfront revolving around Scott's ship Discovery at Discovery Point and in contemporary arts with a focus at the Dundee Contemporary Arts Centre (DCA).

Dundee has a city feel but it's compact, friendly and easily got to grips with orientation wise. Dundee centre is excellent for shopping and mostly pedestrianised with a rep theatre, a choice of restaurants, pubs and historic architecture galore. Alongside contemporary art and cinema at the DCA, the McManus Museum & Galleries (currently undergoing extensive restoration 2007) are set to be another string to Dundee's fine attractions choice when it reopens shortly with galleries on local history, natural history, art, archeology and more.

The Verdant Works, once a bustling jute factory in Dundee is where to head to discover Dundee's important links with Jute. Verdant Works is one of the best industrial and social history museums you're likely to come across in the UK. The attraction has won European Industrial Museum of the Year and 5 stars from the Scottish Tourist Board. Both awards are more than deserved! Crammed with photography and oral history accounts, here is the history of Scotland that often gets forgotten behind the glamour of Robert Bruce, Wallace, Mary Queen of Scots and Royals spotting at Balmoral.

Perth - Scottish Art & the Black Watch Regiment, Central Scotland

Perth is a real centre for Scottish Art. Discover some real gems here at both the Fergusson Gallery housed now in Perth's historic waterworks and at the Perth Museum & Art Gallery.

Perth town feels half bustle, half rural and is beautifully set alongside the River Tay. The largely pedestrianised centre offers a host of superb shops, restaurants, pubs and accommodation and is framed by two large parks - North Inch and South Inch. Alongside the now two acclaimed art galleries, the Black Watch Regiment Museum to the north of the centre at Balhousie Castle traces the history of this regiment with fascinating oral history accounts from the soldiers themselves. Perth makes a superb base for exploring wider Perthshire, with easy access into the Angus Glens and the lower Highland gateways around Pitlochry and Aberfeldy. Scone Palace, Crowning Place of Scottish Kings sits just to the north of Perth.

Stirling - Stirling Castle & Bannockburn, Central Scotland

Stirling's central Scotland position, combined with its natural hills and rocks providing a strategic location for Stirling Castle have seen it at the centre of Scottish history for centuries. Two of Scotland's most famous battles took place in the area - the Battle of Stirling Bridge in 1297 when William Wallace defeated the English, and perhaps Scotland's most important battle on Scottish soil - the Battle of Bannockburn. Here at Bannockburn, with strategic Stirling Castle in view, Robert the Bruce led the Scots to victory in 1314 against the English force under Edward II. At Bannockburn the Scots were considerably outnumbered by the English, and the victory was testament to the skilled command of Bruce. The Declaration of Arbroath followed some years later, and the English were forced to accept Scottish Independence. The two key sites of particular historic interest are Stirling Castle high above Stirling town, and the Battle of Bannockburn Heritage Centre just outside Stirling. Superb views of the William Wallace Monument in Stirling dating from 1804 can be seen from Stirling Castle.

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