National Galleries of Scotland

The Scottish National Gallery is on The Mound, right in the heart of Edinburgh, on Princes Street.

Opening hours

Open daily, 10am-5pm (6pm for August only). Thursdays until 7pm.

Closed 25 and 26 December and open on 1 January from 12 noon.

Admission is free. A charge may be made for special exhibitions.

Free Gallery Bus

Our free Gallery Bus takes visitors from the Scottish National Gallery to the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art and back again.

Departure times

Access

There are no tram works on Princes Street at the moment, and all entrances and facilities at the Scottish National Gallery are open as normal.

We will update this page as more information becomes available, however for up-to-date details it is strongly recommended that visitors check the Edinburgh Trams website in advance of a visit.

In the Scottish National Gallery, there is wheelchair access to all areas of the Gallery. There is also a specially adapted toilet and lift.

In the Academy, disabled access is to the rear of the building. The Gardens Entrance is accessible by lift from both the Gallery and the rear of the Academy.

Artlink runs a service enabling people with disabilities resident in Edinburgh and the Lothians to visit arts venues in the city. To register, telephone 0131 229 3555. Please note that there is a waiting list for this service.

Getting here

By Bus

All City Centre/Princes Street buses normally pass the Scottish National Gallery.

By Train

The Scottish National Gallery is a few minutes’ walk from Waverley Station. Take the Waverley Bridge exit, and walk the short distance through Princes Street Gardens.

By Car

Follow routes for City Centre and City Centre attractions.

There is no car park at the Gallery, and very limited on-street parking near the venue. We recommend that you park your car in one of the many City Centre car parks instead.

Visitor Safety - Bag Searches

The safety of the National Galleries of Scotland’s visitors, volunteers, staff,  collections and buildings is of paramount importance and is integral to the mission of the National Galleries of Scotland which is to care for, develop, research and display the national collection of Scottish and international art.

From time to time, in order to maximise safety precautions, and in line with changing circumstances and/or government instructions, the National Galleries of Scotland may introduce additional security measures as appropriate, including the search of bags which are brought into the Galleries by visitors.  You may be greeted upon entry by one of our security personnel who will conduct a thorough but speedy hand-check of all bags, briefcases, purses, and containers. This search will be conducted in your presence and with your consent (although refusal to consent may result in exclusion of the bag concerned and/or refused entry to the Galleries). The purpose of this search is to ensure that nothing that could be harmful, noxious, dangerous or deleterious to people, collections or buildings is brought into the Galleries.

The methodology to be applied to bag searches will ensure that:

• the search is lawful
• the search is consensual
• the visitor is fully aware of the situation
• the search is appropriate and thorough
• staff are protected against allegations of wrongdoing

Download the full bag search policy.