Scottish National Gallery

About the museum

The origins of Scotland's national art collection lie with the Royal Institution for the Encouragement of the Fine Arts in Scotland, founded in 1819, and with the Royal Scottish Academy, which also aimed to build a national collection. The gallery building on The Mound was designed by William Henry Playfair as a neoclassical temple with Ionic columns. Prince Albert laid its foundation stone in 1850 and the gallery opened to the public in 1859. For its first decades it shared the building with the Royal Scottish Academy, which moved to the neighbouring former Royal Institution building in 1912.

Since then the gallery has concentrated on building up its collection of Scottish and European art from the Renaissance to the early twentieth century. An upper floor was added in 1972, and in 2004 the Playfair Project opened a new entrance from Princes Street Gardens and an underground link, the Weston Link, between the gallery and the Royal Scottish Academy building. The Scottish galleries have been redisplayed with views over the gardens.

The collection includes works by Titian, Velázquez, Rembrandt, Vermeer and the Impressionists as well as celebrated Scottish pictures such as Landseer's Monarch of the Glen. The gallery is part of National Galleries Scotland, which rebranded its sites in 2023, and the building is now usually called simply the National.

Highlights

• Old masters by Titian, Velázquez, Rembrandt and Vermeer
• Impressionist and Post-Impressionist works, including Seurat and Van Gogh
• Landseer's The Monarch of the Glen and the Scottish galleries (1800–1945)
• Canova’s sculpture The Three Graces
• Views over East Princes Street Gardens from the Scottish galleries

Permanent exhibitions

• Scottish galleries (1800–1945) – Scottish art from 1800 to 1945, with works by McTaggart, Anne Redpath, Phoebe Anna Traquair and the Glasgow Boys.
• Impressionism and French Modernism – A free display of French Impressionist and early modern paintings from the national collection.
• The Glasgow Boys 1880–1900 – A free display of work by the Glasgow Boys, a group of painters who changed Scottish art in the late nineteenth century.

Founded

1859

Operated by

National Galleries of Scotland

Admission & discounts

Admission is free.

Admission to the permanent displays is free and does not need to be booked. Some special exhibitions, mostly in the neighbouring Royal Scottish Academy building, are charged and use timed tickets.

Accessibility

• Wheelchair accessible
• Elevator
• Accessible restroom
• Accessible parking
• Service dogs welcome
• Tactile models & exhibits: no information
• Sign language tours
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description

The main entrance in East Princes Street Gardens is reached by a step-free winding path of about 200 metres or by 29 steps; two smaller ramped entrances are on The Mound, and a lift in the Royal Scottish Academy building leads down to the information point. Lifts have audio announcements. There is a partial Changing Places toilet on level 3 (open 10:00–17:00, no key needed) that is slightly too narrow to count as a full Changing Places toilet. Wheelchairs can be borrowed free of charge. Two accessible parking spaces on site must be booked in advance; there is also on-street Blue Badge parking nearby and a drop-off point beside the gallery. Guide, hearing and assistance dogs are welcome. Large print labels, magnifying glasses, ear defenders, a sensory floor plan, a filmed BSL tour and BSL introduction, and an audio-described tour and introduction are available.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops
• Activity booklet, scavenger hunt or kids’ audio guide
• Hands-on stations
• Stroller-friendly
• Baby changing facilities

Free family trails (Art Stomps for under-5s, Art Chat for ages 5 and over), Family Fridays with play activities and artist-led making on term-time Fridays, and an art trolley with drawing materials, story books, ear defenders and sensory bags. There are baby changing facilities and a coin-operated buggy park, and baby carriers are welcome. The restaurant has a children’s menu.

Getting there & parking

The main entrance is in East Princes Street Gardens, off the Mound. There is a bike rack.

Amenities & dining

• Café
• Restaurant
• Museum shop
• Lockers
• Wi-Fi

Free visitor wifi is listed among the facilities. The Scottish Cafe & Restaurant at the main entrance (run by the Contini group, booking advised) and Cafe Espresso inside the Mound entrance. Coin-operated lockers cost £1 or £2; only a limited number of small lockers are available and there is no space for large luggage. Bags larger than 25 cm × 42 cm × 12 cm must be carried by hand or stored in a locker. Gallery shop with a small kiosk shop in room 5.

Events & venue rental

• Spaces for rent
• Private parties
• Corporate events

Up to 350 guests.

The International Galleries can host a reception for 350 or a dinner for 100; the Scottish galleries and The Scottish Cafe & Restaurant are also available for hire.

Plan your visit