6 Best Sights in Perth, Stirling and the Central Highlands

The current residence of the Earl of Mansfield, Scone Palace (pronounced skoon) is much more cheerful than the city's other castles. Although it incorporates various earlier works, the palace today has mainly a 19th-century theme, with mock castellations that were fashionable at the time. There's plenty to see if you're interested in the acquisitions of an aristocratic Scottish family: magnificent porcelain, some sumptuous furniture, a fine collection of ivory, clocks, and 16th-century needlework. Each room has a guide who will happily talk you through its contents and their associations. In one bedroom hangs a portrait of Dido Elizabeth Belle, a young Black woman who was born into slavery in the British West Indies, then taken to England by her white British father and raised by the Mansfield family; while her father only officially granted her freedom upon his death, she was raised as a free gentlewoman and became a well-known society beauty in the 1760s. (The 2013 film Belle is based on her life.) A coffee shop, restaurant, gift shop, maze, and play area are on-site. The palace has its own mausoleum nearby, on the site of a long-gone abbey on Moot Hill, the ancient coronation place of the Scottish kings. To be crowned, they sat on the Stone of Scone, which was seized in 1296 by Edward I of England, Scotland's greatest enemy, and placed in the coronation chair at Westminster Abbey, in London. The stone was returned to Scotland in November 1996 and is now on view in Edinburgh Castle. You can only see the palace on a timed guided tour, which you should book in advance.

This charming hillside garden, opened in 1922, has winding paths and a variety of colorful plants that make it feel larger than its two acres.The alpine flowers are part of this varied color scheme and in summer the Himalayan blue poppies are a particular source of pride. The tearoom and its tables on the lawn outside are a lovely place to stop and enjoy the surroundings.

Built around 1560 on the River Tay, the castle marks a transition period when these structures began to be built as grand houses rather than fortresses, and it's easy to see that Elcho was built for both comfort and defense. The well-preserved but uncluttered rooms let you imagine how life might have been here in the 17th century. The staircases still give access to all floors, and a flashlight is provided for the darker corners. From the battlements of the castle you can see the river stretching east and west. It's currently closed for renovation work, but you can still visit the outside.

This museum has a wide-ranging collection, including exhibits on natural history, local history, archaeology, and art, as well as an important glass collection. It also includes work by the great painter of animals Sir Edwin Landseer and some botanical studies of fungi by Beatrix Potter. It also now includes the 6,000 works—paintings, drawings, and prints—by the Scottish artist J. D. Fergusson (1874–1961) and his wife, Margaret Morris, an artist in her own right and a pioneer of modern dance. Fergusson was the longest-lived member of the group called the Scottish Colourists, who took their inspiration from the French impressionist painters in their use of color and light.

Some will tell you the Black Watch was a Scottish regiment whose name is a reference to the color of its tartan. An equally plausible explanation, however, is that the regiment was established to keep an undercover watch on rebellious Jacobites. The Gaelic word for black is dubh, meaning, in this case, "hidden" or "covert." A wide range of uniforms, weaponry, and marching banners are displayed in this museum in Balhousie Castle, and there's a very good café and shop. Be sure to book ahead if you would like a guided tour.

In this impressive cruciform-plan church dating from the 12th century, religious reformer John Knox preached a fiery sermon in May 1559 against idolatry. An enraged crowd stripped the church and poured into the street to attack the wealthy religious institutions; this helped start the Reformation in Scotland. The interior was divided into three parts at the Reformation, but in the 1920s Sir Robert Lorimer restored it to something closer to its medieval state.