The National Museum of Scotland maintained its place as the most popular attraction in Scotland, according to the latest figures from the Association of Leading Visitor Attractions (ALVA) released this week.
While 10 out of the top 11 attractions were in London, led by the British Museum with 5,820,860 visitors in 2023, Scotland performed well with six of the ten most popular places outwith the British capital.
The total number of visits to ALVA sites in 2023 was 146.6million - a 19 per cent increase on the previous year, although down from the pre-pandemic record of 163.9 million visits in 2019. Meanwhile, indoor attractions saw a 23 per cent increase in visitors compared to just a 2 per cent increase in outdoor attractions.
Here are Scotland's 13 most visited attractions.
1. National Museum of Scotland
Situated on Edinburgh's Chambers Street, the most-visited free attraction in Scotland continued to be the National Museum of Scotland. UK-wide it dropped down one place to 12th - despite an 11 per cent increase year-on-year to attract 2,186,841 visitors. | National World
2. Edinburgh Castle
Edinburgh Castle was the most visited paid for attraction in Scotland - coming 14th position in the UK with a 41 percent increase in visitors, welcoming 1,904,723 people to its ramparts in 2023. | Canva/Getty Images
3. National Galleries of Scotland
In third place - and up two places to 15th in the UK - is Edinburgh's National Gallery, located on the Capital's Mound. A total of 1,836,057 people visited in 2023 - up 44 per cent. The success was attributed to the blockbuster Grayson Perry exhibition and the opening of new Scottish galleries. | National World
4. Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum
The most popular attraction outside Scotland's capital city os Glasgow's Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, situated in the city's leafy West End. Fourth in Scotland and 25th in Britain, it had a 32 per cent increase in visitors to 1,283,882. | Canva/Getty Images