103 Best Sights in Scotland

At the Scottish Deer Centre, many types of deer can be seen at close quarters or on ranger-guided tours. There are falconry displays every two hours, woodland walks, and a café. The zoolike center, west of Cupar, is one of the few places you can spot the red squirrel, as well as wolves, lynx, wildcat, and European brown bear.

An observation deck, exhibits, and films at this excellent family-friendly attraction provide a captivating introduction to the world of the gannets and puffins that nest on the Firth of Forth islands. Live interactive cameras let you take an even closer look at the bird colonies and marine mammals. Kids will enjoy the "Flyway Tunnel," a 3D multimedia exhibit that simulates walking through an underwater passage, learning all about local nesting birds and sea life along the way. There are plenty of family-focused activities, nature walks, and photography shows, as well as a great on-site café and gift shop.

Besides selling a vast range of woolen garments and knitwear, the Scottish Wool Centre has a small café and some activities. Three times a day from April to September it presents an interactive "gathering" during which dogs herd sheep and ducks in the large amphitheater, with a little help from the public.

Billed as "a museum without walls," this collection of 13 open-air, geological and social exhibits dots the landscape of the peninsula. Follow the map along the coastal route, and you will discover dinosaur footprints, a healing well, a deserted village, and more.

Discover the old crofting ways of the local population at this collection of traditional thatched cottages close to the tip of the Trotternish Peninsula. Informative displays and exhibits, from reconstructed interiors with traditional implements to historical photographs and documents, show life as it was on the island merely a century ago.

This small but intriguing museum in a neoclassical building, founded in 1874, houses The Stirling Story, a comprehensive social history of the town. It holds the oldest (reputedly) football in the world, as well as the charming 16th-century portraits of the Five Stirling Sybils. Closer to the present are banners and memorabilia from the great miners' strike of 1984–85. The chiming clocks remind us, on the hour, of the present. The museum also holds regular temporary art and historical exhibitions and has a pleasant café.

A vintage art deco gem that opened in 1934, the Olympic-sized Stonehaven Open-Air Swimming Pool is the only remaining outdoor heated pool in Scotland. Seawater is pumped in and warmed up to a balmy 29°C (82°F). Run by a local trust, this place is perfect for families. Wednesday's midnight swims (£9) let you float under the stars.

The oily scent of smoke and steam hangs faintly in the air near the authentically preserved train station in Boat of Garten. Travel in old-fashioned style and enjoy superb views of the high, often white domes of the Cairngorm Mountains. Lunches and afternoon teas are served on board from March to October. For the full experience, check the details carefully before you book, especially outside of the high season—less romantic diesel engines are used on certain days.

On the site of the old Summerlee Ironworks, this vast and exciting museum re-creates a mine and the miners' rows (the cottages where miners and their families lived). An electric tram transports you there from the huge hall where industrial machines vie with exhibits about ordinary life. You can take a short trip into a mine (helmets and lamps are provided), and later you can stroll along the canal and take the kids to a fine playground.

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.

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.

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.

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.