Burns Cottage in Alloway is the thatched cottage where Robert Burns was born on 25 January 1759, and where he spent the first seven years of his life. His father William built the cottage himself — it was a typical two-roomed Ayrshire cottage, housing the family at one end and their animals at the other. The cottage has been open to visitors since 1800, just four years after Burns died, making it one of the earliest heritage visitor attractions in Scotland.
The cottage is now part of the Robert Burns Birthplace Museum, a larger modern facility next door that provides context for Burns's life and work, with manuscripts, portraits, and personal possessions. The cottage itself is furnished as it would have been in the 1760s. The museum is well-produced and takes the Burns heritage seriously: the literary collections are substantial and the displays are informative without being hagiographic. Allow two hours for the museum and the nearby Auld Kirk, Brig o' Doon, and monument.