B3 ⌂ The Mound # 10am–5pm daily (to 7pm Thu) ∑ nationalgalleries.org
Home to one of the best collections of fine art in the world, this flagship gallery in the heart of the capital inspires and entrances with an international collection that spans over 500 years. It is also a place to see a uniquely rich concentration of works by Scottish masters from Ramsay and Raeburn to Wilkie and McTaggart.
t Van Gogh’s Olive Trees, one of many works by 19th-century European masters
Experience Edinburgh
t Woman photographing the iconic painting The Monarch of the Glen by Sir Edwin Landseer
Scottish society portraits by Allan Ramsay and Sir Henry Raeburn, including Raeburn’s Reverend Robert Walker Skating on Duddingston Loch, and rural scenes and landscapes by David Wilkie and William McTaggart are among the highlights of the gallery’s collections.
However, treasures are not limited to Scottish talents; the gallery is well worth visiting for its 15th- to 19th-century British and European paintings alone, though plenty more can be found to delight art lovers. An entire room is devoted to Nicolas Poussin’s The Seven Sacraments, and Raphael’s The Bridgewater Madonna appears alongside works by Titian, Tintoretto and Velazquez. Flemish and Dutch artists such as Rembrandt, Van Dyck and Rubens are also well represented. Paintings by Northern European Artists include Degas’ A Group of Dancers and Van Gogh’s Olive Trees, though the gallery’s most treasured painting is Sir Edward Landseer’s iconic image of a red deer stag, The Monarch of the Glen. Recently acquired, it takes pride of place in the refurbished gallery.
Royal Scottish Academy of Art
This constantly growing treasury of almost 1,000 works by contemporary Scottish artists sits just next to the Scottish National Gallery, connected by an underground level. Don’t miss the RSA’s annual Open Exhibition in June and July each year. The event is a great opportunity for visitors to see and buy contemporary pieces by new Scottish talents at affordable prices.