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Once a thriving village with mines, iron workings and trade links with the Low Countries, Culross fell into decline in the 18th and 19th centuries and became a forgotten backwater. Its restoration began in the 1930s, and now the town is a striking resurrection of its 16th- and 17th-century heyday. Even the plants in the palace garden are in keeping with the 1600s!

Simply the best aquarium to be found. Dazzling shoals and lots of dangerous water inhabitants. A conveyor-belt tour takes you effortlessly through this beautifully presented environment. A mesmeric experience (see Deep Sea World) .

Innovative presentation has made this aquarium a phenomenal success. Not only does it seem to have every imaginable species of dangerous, beautiful and ugly fish, but it also houses them in a network of glass tunnels, so that great shoals of glittering fish surround you. The more adventurous can even swim with sharks!

The full chill and hazards of Antarctic exploration grip you in this superb hi-tech exhibition. Focusing on the heroic and tragic expeditions of Shackleton and Scott, this display uses original film footage as well as stunning modern images and interactive computer screens. The highlight is a tour of the Dundee-built boat RSS Discovery, the one that carried Scott and his companions on their ill-fated expedition. (While in Dundee check out the Contemporary Arts Centre on Nethergate for great exhibitions and its fine bistro-café.)

Founded in the 11th century by Queen (later St) Margaret (see St Margaret’s Chapel) , the abbey’s stunning feature is the 12th-century Romanesque nave. This was the burial place of Robert the Bruce – without his heart, which he requested be taken on a crusade to the Holy Land. A skeleton with the heart chamber cut open was discovered in a grave here in 1818; the site is now marked by a plaque to honour the hero of Bannockburn (see Battle of Bannockburn) .

Few castles can match Dunottar’s magnificent setting – it stands heroically isolated on a stupendous rock – and few castles have endured such intense bombardments. In 1651, while harbouring the Scottish regalia (which were secretly smuggled out by a brave woman), it withstood an eight-month siege by the English. It’s dungeons, too, have witnessed exceptional sufferings and deaths. 800 years of attack have taken their toll, but Dunottar remains an almost mythical sight, especially at sunrise.

This world famous castle wears the nation’s history. Here you’ll find the Scottish Crown, Sword and Sceptre, and the legendary Stone of Destiny. The Royal Mile treads a straightish but diverting path from the Castle to Holyrood-house (see Edinburgh Castle) .

You have to go to Antarctica to find a larger gathering of outdoor penguins. Here, in an underwater gallery, you can watch 150 cavort in the pool. The other highlights are the walkways over a re-creation of the African plains, where you can look down upon zebras, oryxes and ostriches (with a stunning, if rather mismatched, view of Edinburgh in the background), as well as marmosets and other miniature monkeys of the Magic Forest. But it’s the penguins that steal the show.