Top 30 Castles to Visit in Scotland

This page shows the locations of the top 30 must see castles for visitor and tourist to Scotland.  The list comprises castles owned or managed by the National Trust for Scotland, Historic environment Scotland and some are in private family ownership.

On the map you can click on each individual castle marker to obtain further information on the castle including links to the further details about the castle and visitor information.  Most are open to the public but look to the link provided for further details and many will have extensive parks and gardens which you can visit.

Note that Covid-19 regulations may restrict access to most places of interest for visitors.

Scotland is a land of castles with over 3,000 known locations. While some these exist as rubble ruins or previously fortified earth mounds there are still some 1400 castles or standing ruins to visit in Scotland.  Further pages will list ruins worthy of a photography trip and a complete list will also be published later.