Mansions and private mansions to visit Scotland

To visit Dunollie is to visit 3 sites. First, Dunollie Castle: its ruins, with a last renovation completed in 2019, offer a superb panoramic view on the Oban bay. Then the house-museum: a house from 1745 where each room has been renovated and fitted out to display old objects (^19th century) testifying to the daily life of its occupants. From the kitchen to the children's rooms, we discover everything about the life of a family in the 1800s. The museum also tells the story of the MacDougall clan and, through their epic story, traces the history of Scotland. Then, the park: its course invites to better understand the various invasions which marked the history of Scotland. It is also an opportunity to learn more about the civilization and mythology of the Vikings.

Regularly during the school vacations, the site offers practical and manual workshops of 1 hour for children (£5), which can be an excellent idea to familiarize them with English. There is also the possibility to follow a guided tour at no extra cost or to organize specific visits: adapted to children, focusing on the discovery of the gardens, taking a closer look at the old textiles..

You can have lunch, a picnic or a snack on the spot, thanks to The Kettle café and its menu, made of home-made products, very tasty and at mini prices.

If you like the Georgian style and the architecture of William Adam, then you can't miss this iconic site. The manor house is simply splendid, seen from the inside and outside, and offers a rich history, from its construction, to royal visits and its use as a prison camp in wartime. It is a place devoted to art, with regular exhibitions in collaboration with the National Galleries of Scotland, a landscaped park of ornamental follies and a superb neo-gothic mausoleum, among others.

Mount Stuart is a remarkable Victorian neo-Gothic palace built between 1879 and 1900. Intended for the Marquis de Bute, it succeeded a 1719 building that went up in smoke during a fire in 1877. It owes its great beauty to the architect Robert Rowand Anderson, who sought to reflect the good taste of its sponsor, a descendant of King Robert the Bruce. The interiors, as mysterious as they are refined, are in keeping with his passion for art, astrology, mythology and religion. However, he did not have time to settle there, his death having occurred just before the house was completed. With the guided tours (mid season) and the free visit (high season: July and August), visitors can enjoy its great architectural and stylistic value. It is difficult not to succumb to the elegance of the chapel, the marble staircase, the drawing room and the intriguing horoscope room. The palace is also an artistic place with contemporary art exhibitions renewed every year.

In addition to the palace, the gardens also have a high artistic value. Made to be explored, they offer many treasures in the form of arboreal and horticultural collections of world importance, with a surprising touch of tropical essences. It must be said that the Bute family was passionate about plants, and you can feel it: landscape art at its best, arboretum and pinetum (800 conifers!).

And if you fancy a snack, the Courtyard Cafe & shop will be perfect with its fresh local produce.

Built in 1905 for Baron de Palmer, Manderston House is a sumptuous example of Edwardian style. When John Kinross, the architect, asked what his budget was, he was told that it didn't matter.... The result is there to prove it: this luxurious residence is just as luxurious as its gardens are charming. Don't miss the ballroom, the marble floors, the very advanced kitchen fittings, and the world's only silver staircase. The formal gardens (56 ha) are also superb and worth a stroll.

A Palladian villa from the 1750s, Dumfries House was built by the famous John and Robert Adam, with interiors decorated by Thomas Chippendale. Some rooms have been estimated at £4 million! Originally commissioned for William Dalrymple, Earl of Dumfries, it passed into the hands of the Marquesses of Bute in 1814. When the 7th Marquis decided to sell the house in 2007, his fate and that of its remarkable furniture was more than uncertain. Prince Charles himself, Duke of Rothesay, mobilized for its preservation and its opening to the public. Some of his watercolours can be seen in one of the salons. Since 2008, four different visits (all in English) have been organised to this symbolic building of the Scottish Enlightenment, which also includes 200 hectares of the original park, with promenades and an enclosed garden.

Special Favourite: The Dumfries House café is a must for a snack, as it is served in the old stables, with tables set in the stables where the horses used to be. Their names can still be read.

Park side: You can spend a whole day here, between the house and the huge park. Families will enjoy the children's adventure park and the educational farm. Garden lovers will stroll through the Chinese-inspired garden (with its bridge), the arboretum, the Rothesay gardens and the Queen Elisabeth Walled Garden.

Staying at Dumfries House: 22 magnificent guest rooms are now available for overnight stays, (B&B from £170/night).

This luxurious stately home was designed by the famous Scottish architect William Adam, in a Palladian style at the height of elegance and refinement. The house, which is over 400 years old, has many stories to tell and each room is filled with historical anecdotes. For example, the Queen's Bedroomis named after Queen Victoria who stayed here in 1857. Works of art are omnipresent here, thanks to an invaluable collection of paintings by Victorian painter James Giles. Don't leave without admiring the beautiful formal gardens.

Sometimes a retreat for kings in peacetime, sometimes a refuge for Catholics in wartime, the Stuart de Traquair family has always been faithful to the cause of Mary Queen of Scots and the Jacobites. At Traquair House, we discover nearly a thousand years of history. The wooded park is ideal for strolling or adventures in its maze of more than 2,000 m². The plus: the brewery that existed until the 18th century restarted production in 1965 and the products can be tasted. And, uh... The establishment also does B&B, for a night in an extraordinary setting!

William Adam is at the origin of this seductive witness of 18th century Scottish architecture. Begun in 1725, the construction of Mellerstain House was completed by his son, Robert Adams. The interiors are elegant and harmonious, thanks to a very accomplished Georgian décor and several works by great painters, such as Aikman, Gainsborough, Ramsay and Van Dyck. The beautifully landscaped gardens offer pleasant views of the lake and the Cheviot Hills. A contemporary sculpture park offers another dimension to the ensemble. Superb!

Newhailes is a pleasant villa of the 17th century on a vast wooded park. If its front may seem a little austere, it has been finely decorated, in particular thanks to the Dalrymple family who was influential in the Enlightenment movement. The decorative elements are original, like Chinese wallpaper. The guided tour lasts 75 min. There is a 45 min version available at a reduced price (bookings possible). The Weehailes Park is fun for children.

Owned by the Dalyell family since 1612, this interesting house reflects the architectural trend of the time, which sought to combine defensive fortifications with space and comfort. Its large white façade is enhanced by turrets and behind the windows are rooms of great aesthetic quality. Among other things, you can see refined paintings, porcelain and rich furniture from the end of the ^19th and beginning of the ^20th century. Specific times for guided tours to be checked. The estate is more accessible.

Redeveloped by the National Trust and open to the public, this townhouse bears witness to life in a Victorian building in the early 20th century. Miss Agnes Toward lived here for half a century and many of her possessions are still there. Gas lighting is still in use and is a far cry from the installations we know in today's society. Among the curiosities and unusual objects: a jar of plum jam made in 1929, coal-fired stoves, gas lamps still functional...

Right next to the cathedral, Provand's Lordship is Glasgow's oldest house, built in 1471. It was the residence of the chaplain of the Saint Nicholas Hospital and it gives a very interesting insight into what daily life was like in the Middle Ages. Completely refurbished as it was then, the furniture was donated by William Burrell, the philanthropist of the Burrell Collection. The carved wooden chairs, chests and cupboards, as well as the quantity of domestic objects give a very authentic dimension to this attraction.

Mackintosh would almost make us forget the other great Scottish architects, such as William Adam, to whom we owe this charming 1752 villa. In addition to its lush green gardens with 1,000 rhododendrons, it contains a good number of master paintings. The Italians are well represented, with Francisco Goya, El Greco and Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, but there is also the British William Blake, whose work is so inspired. This was the home of the Maxwell family, whose Edwardian lifestyle still lives on in every room.

Dalmeny House was built in 1817 in a Gothic style and belongs to the Primrose de Rosebery family. It houses beautiful interiors decorated with portraits and porcelain, as well as an interesting collection of Napoleonic objects, one of the largest of its kind in Britain. The beautiful backdrop is a large park and the Firth of Forth. Entry to the house is by small groups only, on a guided tour (in English). In high season and to be sure to see the inside of the house, consider booking.

Welcome to this house from the 1600s. First go upstairs to discover what life in Edinburgh was like in the 17th century through an exhibition. Take a pose in a period costume, then, now that you are in the spirit of the place, go to the first floor and its fully furnished apartment. It's as if you've traveled back in time! Admire the sumptuous canopy bed, the upright dining room, the study cabinet.... Voluntary guides or descriptive sheets reveal the secrets of this beautiful residence.

Designed by William Adam in 1750, the House of Dun is an elegant Georgian-style country house set in the middle of a beautiful park of gardens and woods. This house is the architectural embodiment of the ideal of an 18th century laird. Nothing is left to chance. Everything is aesthetics, geometry, symmetry and classical art, down to the smallest detail, from the floors to the ceilings and all the ornamental and decorative elements. The kitchen was, for its time, ultra modern, which is what makes it so attractive today.