Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
ments (reminders of the Scottish Enlightenment), while the massive, pointed oak beams of the roof are suspended
by steel threads above the MSPs' heads like so many Damoclean swords.
NORTH OF THE ROYAL MILE
GALLERY
Fruitmarket Gallery
(
www.fruitmarket.co.uk
;
45 Market St; 11am-6pm Mon-Sat, noon-5pm Sun)
One of Ed-
inburgh's most innovative and popular galleries, the Fruitmarket showcases contemporary
Scottish and international artists, and has an excellent arts bookshop and cafe.
ART CENTRE
City Art Centre
(
www.edinburghmuseums.org.uk
; 2 Market St; fee for temporary exhibitions;
10am-5pm Mon-Sat, noon-5pm Sun)
Across the street from the Fruitmarket Gallery, this
art centre comprises six floors of exhibitions with a variety of themes, including an ex-
tensive collection of Scottish art.
SOUTH OF THE ROYAL MILE
MUSEUM
National Museum of Scotland
(
www.nms.ac.uk
;
Chambers St; fee for special exhibitions; 10am-5pm)
Broad, elegant
Chambers St is dominated by the long facade of the National Museum of Scotland. Its ex-
tensive collections are spread between two buildings, one modern, one Victorian. The mu-
seum reopened to the public in 2011 after two years of major renovation and reconstruc-
tion.
The golden stone and striking modern architecture of the museum's new building,
opened in 1998, is one of the city's most distinctive landmarks. The five floors of the mu-
seum trace the history of Scotland from geological beginnings to the 1990s, with many
imaginative and stimulating exhibits - audio guides are available in several languages.
The new building connects with the original Victorian museum, dating from 1861, the
stolid, grey exterior of which gives way to a bright and airy, glass-roofed hall. The mu-
