☰Museum of Edinburgh

The Museum of Edinburgh occupies Huntly House, a 16th-century tenement on the Canongate that is itself part of the collection — the building's painted ceilings and timber-framed construction represent the kind of Old Town domestic architecture that has mostly vanished. The collection covers Edinburgh's history: the National Covenant of 1638 (signed in Greyfriars and then in various other locations), Greyfriars Bobby's original collar and licence, Roman and medieval artefacts, and reconstructions of historic Edinburgh interiors. Admission is free; it rewards a slow visit.