Museums in Edinburgh

Discover 18 unusual museums in Edinburgh.

Museum of Scottish Fire Heritage

Edinburgh, Scotland

Museum of Scottish Fire Heritage

A museum dedicated to firefighting in a city that was crucial to the modern history of the profession.

Edinburgh, Scotland

Phrenology Institute

Small sculpted heads of prominent phrenologists mark the outside of their former headquarters.

Monuments Garden

Edinburgh, Scotland

Monuments Garden

An ornate "graveyard" for some of the country's forlorn building relics.

William Burke Museum

Edinburgh, Scotland

William Burke Museum

Possibly the world's smallest museum is home to one exhibit that sheds light on the capital city's dark criminal history.

Exhibit by Samson Young at Talbot Rice Gallery.

Edinburgh, Scotland

Talbot Rice Gallery

Once designed as a natural history museum, this building is now home to a massive art gallery.

National Portrait Gallery

Edinburgh, Scotland

The Great Hall Ceiling at the Scottish National Portrait Gallery

Sprawled across the Great Hall ceiling are various constellations and images relating to the zodiac.

Cramond Lioness.

Edinburgh, Scotland

Cramond Lioness

This Roman relic was discovered in Scotland by a mudlarking ferryman.

Edinburgh, Scotland

St Cecilia's Hall

Scotland's oldest purpose-built concert hall houses an incredible collection of ornate, centuries-old keyboards.

The apron.

Edinburgh, Scotland

Robert Burns' Masonic Apron

The beloved bard's garb is proudly displayed within a Freemason's hall.

The Museum of Edinbugh, Huntly House.

Edinburgh, Scotland

Museum of Edinburgh

This 16th-century house tells the city's history through old artifacts and quirky tales.

Museum of Childhood, Edinburgh.

Edinburgh, Scotland

Museum of Childhood

The world’s first museum dedicated to the history of childhood opened in Edinburgh in 1955.

John Knox House.

Edinburgh, Scotland

John Knox House

This charming old building's loose connection with the Scottish Reformer is what saved it from demolition after it split apart.

The Writer's Museum.

Edinburgh, Scotland

The Writers' Museum

This small museum in a 17th-century building honors three iconic Scottish writers.

Lauriston Castle, Edinburgh. South façade.

Edinburgh, Scotland

Lauriston Castle

This allegedly haunted 16th-century tower house-turned-museum exhibits thousands of spectacular objects.

The Maiden.

Edinburgh, Scotland

The Edinburgh Maiden

This early version of the guillotine was used to execute the man responsible for its construction.

Dolly at the National Museum of Scotland.

Edinburgh, Scotland

Remains of Dolly the Sheep

The taxidermy remains of the first mammal ever cloned from an adult cell are on display in Edinburgh.