The Scottish National Portrait Gallery is a wonderful place to spend an afternoon. It holds the most important collection of portraits of Scottish personalities in the UK. It is also the home of the Scottish National Photo Collection.

The gallery is housed in a Gothic Revival building, commissioned by the owner of “The Scotsman” newspaper, John Ritchie Findlay and built in 1890 from red sandstone. The building was renovated in 2009 and reopened in 2011. It is the first building in the world constructed especially for the purpose of being a portrait gallery.

You will find here over 3000 paintings and sculptures, 25000 drawings and prints and over 38000 photos. The collection begins in the Renaissance period and features the clergy, notable nobles and royalty. The oldest portrait is that of James IV of Scotland and was painted in 1507.

There are two portraits of Mary, Queen of Scots, but they were painted from memory after her death in 1587. Several other paintings representing scenes from her life were executed in the 19th century.

The collection continues to the present day and you can see portraits of Billy Connelly, the famous Scottish comedian and Robbie Coltrane, best known for his role of Hagrid in the Harry Potter films. Until the end of 2013, there is a fabulous exhibition called “Blazing with Crimson: Tartan Portraits”, which features paintings incorporating the most notable tartan colours, representing the most important Scottish clans.

No art lover should miss a chance to visit the National Gallery of Scotland, which you will find on the Mound, just next to the Royal Scottish Academy.

In 1859 when the building opened the gallery shared the place with the academy. It also housed the Portrait Gallery and the lack of space became a real problem until the Portrait Gallery moved to its new building. But by 1906 more space was needed and the academy moved into the building next door. The gallery was entirely renovated in 1912.

The gallery features both Scottish and European art and you will be delighted with the collection that counts over 30 000 paintings, prints, drawings and sculpture from the early Renaissance period to the end of the 19th century.

You will see works by Bassano, Bernini, Botticelli, Cézanne, Constable and Degas. You can admire “Vision of the Sermon” by Gauguin, paintings and drawings by El Greco, Titan, Tiepolo, Titan and da Vinci. Among the statues is the beautiful sculpture of “The Three Graces” by Canova.

The gallery also houses an amazing Research Library that contains over 50 000 books, journals, microfilms and slides from 1300 to 1900. This is one of the finest reference libraries in the world.

The Western Link is an underground interconnection between the gallery and the academy. In this area is a lecture theatre, a restaurant and the gallery shop. There is also an interactive IT Gallery where, using touch-screens, you can see the gallery’s entire collection.

The City Art Centre is a modern gallery with a fine art collection that hosts various exhibitions. Opened in 1980, with six floors containing galleries, visitors can enjoy fun workshops, shows and hands-on activities. Due to its rich programs it is one of the most visited exhibition centers in Edinburgh.

Talbot Rice Gallery is an historic art gallery that was built in 1975. It consists of two galleries. The White Gallery offers rotating exhibitions, while the Red Gallery preserves a magnificent collection of works, including Biblical scenes and oil portraits.

Carson Clark Gallery was founded in 1969 and houses a fine collection of beautiful works, including paintings, furniture and sculpture. Many tourists visit this gallery to admire its impressive exhibitions.

The Queen's Gallery was founded in 2002 and is located next to the Scottish Parliament and Holyrood Park. There is a café bar next to the gallery where visitors can rest. It hosts exhibitions of artwork, jewelery and furniture.