National Museum of Scotland

The museum is two buildings joined: the Victorian Grand Gallery of 1866, a hall of cast iron and glass on the model of the Crystal Palace, filled with light and hung with objects on several tiers, and a 1998 sandstone extension for the Scottish collections that steps up in a tower with a roof terrace. The collections cover Scottish history, natural history, science and world cultures. Dolly the sheep, the first mammal cloned from an adult cell, born in 1996 near Edinburgh, is preserved and displayed here. Eleven of the Lewis chessmen, twelfth-century walrus ivory pieces found on Lewis in 1831, are in the Scottish galleries with the rest in London. The Millennium Clock, a mechanical sculpture of figures and gears, performs on the hour. Entry is free.

What you actually see

• Dolly the sheep - the first mammal cloned from an adult cell, preserved.
• The Lewis chessmen - eleven of the twelfth-century walrus ivory pieces.
• The Grand Gallery - an 1866 iron and glass hall of tiered displays.
• The roof terrace - a free view over the Old Town from the 1998 tower.

When to go

Year-round; free and open daily, busiest on wet days and during the August festivals. The roof terrace closes in high wind. Special exhibitions are ticketed and book ahead.

Honest expectations

It is very large and cannot be covered in one visit. The layout across two joined buildings is confusing and people lose their bearings. School holidays and festival season fill the Grand Gallery with noise.

Nearby

Greyfriars Kirkyard is across the street; the Royal Mile and the castle lie north.