Great place to orientate yourself in Edinburgh with a roving mirror that projects a 360º cityscape.  Other mirrored trickery here provides entertaining illusion and warped images. All sorts of mind-bending and interactive illusions stimulate and entertain kids and adults alike here. And the camera obscura itself is and intriguing contraption with a gloriously vintage feel. It’s also the great great...

The Grand Neo-Classical National Gallery at the centre of Princes Street stands out for being the only sizeable structure on the southern side of the road. It houses Scotland’s premier collection of pre-20th-century European art. It’s not as vast as national collections elsewhere in Europe, but thoroughly worthwhile nonetheless and much more manageable too. Pick up the free floor-plan leaflet...

The National Museum of Scotland combines two great collections and is the country’s most popular attraction for good reason. There’s plenty to keep both young and old entertained and recent refurbishment has created a really impressive venue. And, since it’s free, it would be rude not to drop in for an hour or two on a rainy day! The modern...

Our natural environment comes alive at Our Dynamic Earth, mostly to teach kids what’s going on out there. It’s all about simulations: volcanic eruptions; ice ages; floor-shaking earth quakes; and monsoon deluges. There’s also lots of things to investigate and buttons to push with whizz-bang results. So most kids will love it, and their parents give it 4/5 stars on...

The Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art lies a little trek out from Edinburgh’s centre (about 1.5 miles from Princes Street), but one that’s worth it for modern art lovers who can enjoy a selection of it’s 5,000 pieces collection. Big names include Picasso, Charles Rennie Mackintosh and Hockney, but often it’s the very good temporary exhibitions that capture the...