This is an archive of the NMS website

Tours

Don't know where to start? Our tour guides can help.

Our knowledgeable guides will take you on a fascinating tour of our collection highlights. There are also themed tours on offer, which change on a daily basis, and short tours for families.

Scottish collections tours

Date: Daily
Time: 11:30 / 13:30
Duration: 1 hr
Cost: Free
Venue: Meet in Hawthornden Court

Themed tours

Date: Daily
Time: 14:30
Duration: 1 hr
Cost: Free
Venue: Meet in Hawthornden Court

Theme tours in October

26  Jacobites

27  Scottish Snuff Boxes

28  Kingdom of the Gaels

29  Scottish Country Life Through the Ages

30  Scots, Ships and the Sea

31  Bagpipes and Other Musical Instruments

 

Theme tours in November

1    Romans in Scotland

2    Scottish Identity - Myths and Realities

3    Royalty and the Scots

4    Keep Right on to the End of the Road

5    Telecommunications

6    Scottish Pewter

7    French Connections

8    Printing in Scotland

9    Scottish Country Life Through the Ages

10  Scots, Ships and the Sea

11  Architecture of the Museum

12  Sotland Transformed

13  Treasures from the Past

14  Saints and Sinners

15  The Industrial Revolution

16  Scottish Silver

17  Victorian Life

18  Deadly Weapons

19  Early Peoples Gallery

20  Scots, Ships and the Sea

21  Scottish Snuff Boxes

22  Lighthouses

23  Eat, Drink and be Merry

24  Saints and Sinners

25  Symbols of Power

26  Scotland's Ultimate Mystery - The Kilt

27  The Craftsmen of Scotland

28  Scottish Gold

29  Bagpipes and Other Musical Instruments

30  Phoebe Traquair and her contemporaries

 

Family tours

Date: Every Sat
Time: 14:00
Date: Daily
Duration: 15 mins
Cost: Free
Venue: Meet in Hawthornden Court

Family tours in October

30  Buried Treasure

 

Family Tours in November

Sat 6    Hoof and Horn

Sat 13  How to Dress a Samurai

Sat 20  Buried Treasure

Sat 27  Let’s Go to a Victorian School

Please note that these titles may change at short notice.

Access: touch or signed (BSL) tours

Visitors with special access needs are very welcome at National Museums Scotland. To arrange special tours and handling sessions for visually impaired visitors at the National Museum of Scotland, or to book a BSL interpreter, telephone 0131 247 4041 or email f.caines@nms.ac.uk.

Please give at least two weeks' notice of your visit.

Booked tours

In addition to the regular programme of guided tours, you may book tours for individuals and groups at £2 per person by contacting Fiona Caines on f.caines@nms.ac.uk or calling 0131 247 4041. You can download a list of tours here.