10 Best Sights in Scotland

There is nothing quite like August's Pittenweem Arts Festival. Exhibitions, which involve hundreds of local and international artists, take place in the town's public buildings and in private homes and gardens. Even outside this week of events, you are likely to encounter local art and artists by visiting the festival headquarters, gallery ART@47.

This handsome former school building displays paintings and sculptures by Pablo Picasso, Georges Braque, Henri Matisse, and André Derain, among others. The gallery also houses an excellent restaurant in the basement and a lavender-filled garden. Across the street in a former orphanage is the Gallery of Modern Art Two (formerly the Dean Gallery), which has Scot–Italian Sir Eduardo Paolozzi's intriguing recreated studio and towering sculpture Vulcan. Excellent temporary exhibitions (some of which are free) rotate several times a year. Both galleries have wonderful gardens where you can enjoy a serene picnic amid sculptures like "Landforms" by Charles Jencks and "There will be no Miracles Here" by Nathan Coley. A nearby path along the Water of Leith connects with Dean Village and Stockbridge.

Housed within the University of Edinburgh's magnificent Old College, the Talbot Rice puts on challenging contemporary art shows by international and emerging artists, intelligently incorporated into the gorgeous neoclassical and white cube spaces.

Built in 1855 using stones from the Kergord estate's "cleared" (forcibly evicted) crofts, Weisdale Mill is now the Bonhoga Gallery, a contemporary art space showing quirky exhibitions by local, national, and international artists. Downstairs is a small but cake-laden café that looks over the Weisdale burn. An excellent shop sells artist-made housewares.

The gallery is something of an institution, having opened in 1969 to provide space for young and unknown artists—a role it continues. It shares space with Cyril Gerber Fine Arts, which specializes in British paintings from 1880 to the present.

This contemporary gallery behind Waverley Station showcases cutting-edge art, mostly from Europe and the United States, including world-renowned artists like Louise Bourgeois, Eva Hesse, and Dieter Roth. Turner Prize–winning artist Martin Creed was also commissioned by the gallery to create a piece of public art nearby—walk up or down the Scotsman Steps to see his colorful marble creation.

With galleries hosting changing exhibits of Scottish art mostly from the 1840s to today, Gracefield Arts Centre also has a well-stocked crafts shop. A café serves lunch and snacks.

In a 17th-century tolbooth (a combination town hall–courthouse–prison), this exhibition space and gallery describes how the beauty of the town and its harbor attracted famous artists, among them E. A. Hornel, Jessie King, and Charles Oppenheimer. Some of their paintings are on display, as are works by contemporary artists. There is also a shop on the ground floor.

This odd garden of delights provokes a double-take from most drivers traveling along the A838, thanks to its incongruous ceramic-topped gates. Park opposite, and stroll down into Danish artist Lotte Glob's pottery wonderland, where ceramic and metal sculptures are scattered across the gardens. Several paths lead down to the coast, and there are hundreds of pieces, including a library of ceramic books, en route. Her work reflects and adds to the landscape, using natural shapes and forms and building patterns into the rocks themselves. End your visit with a trip to the studio and pottery shop.

Worth visiting for a look at the imposing, neoclassic architecture, this William Playfair–designed structure hosts contemporary art exhibitions with an emphasis on young artists. The underground Weston Link connects the museum to the National Gallery of Scotland.