5 Must Visit Places In Scotland

Do you love filling your holiday itinerary with visits to castles, delving into conversations with the locals about the history and the mysteries of the place, and spending quality time amidst magnificent nature? Look no further than Scotland for your next vacation!

From the Loch Ness Monster, to tartan kilted Highlanders, blaring bagpipes, to magnificent scenery, shaggy Highland cattle, and ghostly castles, these are all the things which are part and parcel of the fabric that makes Scotland so unique. The country lends itself to travel and explore in many different ways.

With its remote stretches of purple, heather-laden moors, secluded expanses of beaches, and wildly romantic mountains with their lochs and deeply-set glens, Scotland offers a lot more than just a walk down the pages of its rich history.

Here is a list of 5 must visit places in Scotland:

* Edinburg Castle

Perched atop black basalt rock, the stone towers and walls of Edinburgh Castle have dominated the Edinburgh skyline since the 13th century.Bronze statues of legendary heroes William Wallace and Robert the Bruce seem to keep watch over the castle gates. As you enter, you cross over a drawbridge across an old moat from the broad Esplanade, where the famous Edinburgh Military Tattoo is held every August. The Royal Mile below is also filled with small shops, kilt makers, tearooms, museums, and cafés and stretches to the elegant Palace of Holy Roodhouse, another of Edinburgh's most famous landmarks. While at Edinburg, you can also include the National Museum of Scotland in your itinerary to enjoy a display of medieval artefacts and things related to art and science.

* Stirling Castle

The palace of James V and childhood home of Mary Queen of Scots, Stirling Castle is one of the best-preserved Renaissance buildings in the UK. The castle's grand halls and rooms are carefully restored and furnished to its 1500s appearance, even to painstaking reproductions of its tapestries.Ideally situated between Edinburgh and Glasgow, Stirling is famous for the Battle of Bannockburn, which saw Robert the Bruce defeat the English invaders in 1314, as well as the Battle of Stirling Bridge, a victory for Scottish independence secured by the legendary William Wallace. The splendid Bannockburn Heritage Centre offers excellent displays and exhibits regarding this important era. Costumed interpreters bring to life the castle and its history.

* Kelvin grove At Gallery and Museum, Glasgow

If you are an admirer of art and art history, Kelvin grove Art Gallery and Museum with its collection of the Glasgow Style (a distinctive part of the Arts & Crafts movement) and Art Nouveau styles of the early 20th century, is a must visit. The Charles Rennie Mackintosh and the Glasgow Style Gallery includes several entire Mackintosh rooms, as well as works by other prominent artists of the movement.Along with other notable treasures-a Van Gogh portrait, Bronze Age tools and jewellery from Arran and Kintyre, a 1944 Mark 21 Spitfire, and a magnificent 1901 organ used for daily free concerts-one of the museum's most popular exhibits is Salvador Dali's Christ of St. John of the Cross.

* The Northern Highlands

The Scottish Highlands are rugged and untamed landscapes which take you down the lanes of the violent yet romantic history of the country. Sparsely inhabited, these mountains and rocky shores are loved equally by hikers and bikers and by those who enjoy fishing, golf, sea kayaking, white-water rafting, gorge walking, and other outdoor adventures in Britain's largest area of outstanding natural beauty.Sprinkled through it are lovely little villages and towns with lodging and eating places.

* Isle of Arran

The lovely Isle of Arran is called "Scotland in Miniature" for good reason. This picture-perfect island off the country's west coast mirrors the landscapes of the entire country in an area of scarcely 166 square miles. Here, you can find rolling moors, rugged mountains, sandy beaches, fishing harbours, castles, and golf courses, all less than an hour's ferry ride from Glasgow, and all within an area you can easily explore in a day or two.