501 Best Sights in Scotland

At the center of the village of New Abbey are the impressive red-tinted, roofless remains of Sweetheart Abbey, founded in 1273 by the Lady of Galloway Devorgilla (1210-90), who, it is said, kept her dead husband's heart in a tiny casket she carried everywhere. After she died, she was laid to rest in the Abbey with the casket resting on her breast. The couple's son John Balliol (1249–1315) was the puppet king installed in Scotland by Edward of England when the latter claimed sovereignty over Scotland. After John's appointment the Scots gave him a scathing nickname that would stay with him for the rest of his life: Toom Tabard (Empty Shirt). Currently the abbey is closed for restoration, but you can still view it from afar.

Set right on the shore in Lochmaddy, the well-run Taigh Chearsabhagh is an informative museum and arts center, complete with two exhibition spaces, a working printshop, and a permanent exhibition that reveals what life is really like on North Uist. The café serves a selection of cakes and soup, as well as excellent French-press coffee.

No longer the only distillery on the Isle of Skye (since the opening of Torabhaig Distillery in 2017), Talisker still remains one of the best in Scotland. The distillery produces a sweet, light, single malt that has the distinctive peaty aroma of island whiskies, yet with less intensity—making it a great introductory dram for newcomers to Scotch. Robert Louis Stevenson called Talisker "the king of drinks," and the inhabitants of Skye are very proud of it. Classic tours here take about 45 minutes, while tasting tours (available weekdays) take between 90 and 120 minutes. Book ahead, as tours are very popular.

A name that appears throughout the Highlands and Hebridean islands, Tarbert is the Gaelic word for "place of portage" (it literally means "isthmus") and a glance at a map tells you why that name was given to this little town and its quaint waterfront. Tarbert sits on the narrow neck of land between east and west Loch Tarbert, where long ago boats were actually carried across the land to avoid looping all the way around the peninsula until the opening of the Crinan Canal. Today, it's a cozy place, an accommodation and transportation nexus for anyone planning to explore the Mull of Kintyre or as part of an itinerary that includes Arran, sailing on to Islay, or heading north up the coast to Oban. Compared with so much of this part of the world, it hasn't been completely overrun by tourism so it retains a healthy tang of authentic local life.

Poised above Tarbert's yacht-filled harbor, the evocative ruins of Tarbert Castle, a stronghold of Scottish kings from the reign of Robert the Bruce until the 16th century, stands on a hilltop surrounded by a well-tended community sculpture garden and grassy slopes where black Hebridean sheep roam. There are superb panoramic views, and it's the northern terminus of the Kintyre Way walking trail.

The 11th Earl of Buchan (1742–1829) bought this estate in Dryburgh and transformed it into a gorgeous classical landscape. At its center is a rotunda dedicated to the Muses who inspired the poets in Greek mythology, whose statues in bronze sustain the nine columns of the structure. On the roof is a bust of James Thomson, a local poet who wrote "Rule Britannia!" A nearby statue of William Wallace stands guard.

This large, turreted, and castellated house, part of which was built in the 13th century and part in the 16th century, looks for all the world like a French château, and it brims with history. The former home of the Duke of Lauderdale (1616–82), one of Charles II's advisers, Thirlestane is said to be haunted by the duke's ghost. Exquisite 17th-century plaster ceilings and rich collections of paintings, porcelain, and furniture fill the rooms. In the nursery, children are invited to play with Victorian-style toys and to dress up in masks and costumes. Visits are by guided tour only, available from 11 to 2.

The National Trust for Scotland cares for the gently sloping parkland and gardens around an 1867 mansion built by William Gordon, a Liverpool businessman. The house, fully restored in the 1930s, gives a glimpse into the daily life of a prosperous 19th-century family. The grounds demand an army of gardeners, and today many of them are students at the National Trust's School of Heritage Gardening, which has developed the variety of gardens here. Bats, ospreys, and other birds and animals share the space. Entry to the house is by timed guided tour, and it's wise to book ahead. There's an on-site restaurant.

These three identical cairns, 9 feet high and 6 feet around at the base, are the end point of a fairly strenuous 11-mile walk that begins 4 miles north of Selkirk on the A707. The view from the Three Brethren is spectacular and embraces the whole of the Borders. Park at the car park at Philipburn on the A707, 4 miles from Selkirk. The path is signposted from there.

This thought-provoking mix of displays, artifacts, and audiovisual materials portrays the history of the area, from the Stone Age to the brief 1869 gold rush in the Strath of Kildonan. There's a geology exhibit in the garden and a tour of the Kildonan gold-rush site. The complex also includes a café and an art gallery that often hosts visiting artists and changing exhibitions.

A fertile, low-lying island with its own microclimate, Tiree is windswept, but has long hours of sunshine in summer. Long, rolling Atlantic swells make it a favorite with surfers, and in summer, when an influx of wealthy visitors arrives, the posh accents of southern England sometimes drown out native voices. Among Tiree's several low-key archaeological sites are a large boulder near Vaul covered with more than 50 Bronze Age cup marks, and an excavated broch (stone tower) at Dun Mor Vaul. Tiree has two hotels and an assortment of self-catering accommodations, including a hostel with shared dorm rooms. The island is served by CalMac ferry from Oban.

Crime and punishment in days gone by are the central themes at this community-run museum in a 16th-century building that was once Stonehaven's jail and courthouse. Exhibits include the wooden stocks, where up to seven miscreants at a time could be publicly humiliated, and the crank, an appalling torture machine. There's also an eclectic collection of old farming tools and household utensils.

South of the City Centre, this innovative arts center is well worth seeking out. It hosts regular exhibitions in its two galleries, and plays—often of a very experimental nature—in its flexible theater space. The city's famed Citizens Theatre Company also currently performs here while its permanent space undergoes a major renovation. Tramway has a café and a more formal restaurant on the first floor. Don't miss the Hidden Garden, which has transformed an empty lot behind the building into a sculpture park and green space that is free to all and a lovely place for a picnic on a sunny day. To get here, take the train from Glasgow Central station to Pollokshields East (one stop).

It is also home to the fantastic Scottish Ballet, who train upstairs. Often if you ask nicely you can even pop upstairs and watch their training sessions.

Films, photographs, and audiovisual displays tell the story of Ullapool and the local area, from the Ice Age to modern times. There's a particularly fascinating display on the the "klondyking" period between 1970 and 1990, when foreign boats, mainly from the former Eastern Bloc, filled the loch to fish the mackerel. The historic church building that houses the museum was designed by Thomas Telford and dates from the early 19th century.

Scotland's oldest university is the alma mater of John Knox (Protestant reformer), King James II of Scotland, the Prince and Princess of Wales (William and Kate), and Chris Hoy, Scotland's Olympic cyclist. Founded in 1411, the university's buildings pepper the town. For the quintessential University of St. Andrews experience, St. Salvator's Quadrangle reveals the magnificence of this historic institution. Looking out onto this impressive college green is the striking St. Salvator's Chapel, founded in 1450. It bears the marks of a turbulent past: the initials PH, carved into the paving stones under the bell tower, are those of Patrick Hamilton, who was burned alive outside the chapel for his Protestant beliefs.

The unique and colorful history of the people of Unst is told in this fascinating assemblage of artifacts, tools, photographs, and reconstructions, including a classroom and a ben or "good" end (sitting room) of a croft house. It will leave you with an enduring visual memory of the ways in which the locals learned, crofted, knitted, fished, and worshipped through the last two centuries.

This intriguing burial chamber lies within a 5,000-year-old grassy mound. Excavations here uncovered a collection of similarly designed pottery bowls, subsequently found in other Orcadian Neolithic tombs. Access to the tomb by trolley can be awkward for those with mobility problems. Unstan Chambered Cairn is located 2½ miles northeast of Stromness center; it's walkable in about an hour, or you can take the X1 bus.

In a former jute mill, Verdant Works houses a multifaceted exhibit on the story of jute and the town's involvement in the jute trade. Restored machinery, audiovisual displays, and tableaux all bring to life the hard, noisy life of the jute worker. A light and airy café serves Dundee cakes.

The locals who run this lovely town museum are real enthusiasts, and they will take you through Wick's history from its founding by the Vikings to its heyday in the 1860s as a leading herring port. The collection includes everything from ancient fossils and a 19th-century cooperage to the Johnston Photographic Collection, a set of 40,000 images that show more than a century of life in Wick through one local family's eyes. There's also an art gallery and lovely terraced gardens that overlook the town.

Birders love the Wood of Cree Nature Reserve, managed by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. In the reserve you can see such species as the redstart, pied flycatcher, and wood warbler. You might also spot otters and roe deer. To get there, take the minor road that travels north from Newton Stewart alongside the River Cree east of the A714. The entrance is next to a small parking area at the side of the road.

Situated down a narrow close off Lawnmarket is Lady Stair's House, a fine example of 17th-century urban architecture. Inside, the Writers' Museum evokes Scotland's literary past with such exhibits as the letters, possessions, and original manuscripts of Sir Walter Scott, Robert Burns, and Robert Louis Stevenson.