Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum -- World-Famous & 8,000 Exhibits

Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum

Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, opening in 1901, now one of Scotland's supremely popular tourist free attractions, provides 22 themed, ultramodern galleries exhibiting a shocking 8000 objects.

Kelvingrove Museum houses world-famous collections that are immense, broad-ranging and globally important. They include from arms and armor, natural history, art from several eras of history to art movements.

The most renowned painting shown at Kelvingrove happens to be the Salvador Dali crowning artwork ‘Christ of St John of the Cross’. Another major attraction is Sir Roger the Asian elephant. In addition, a Spitfire plane hangs from the west court's ceiling.

The refurbished museum itself is a worthy attraction and invites families, for its exhibits have been arranged with kids in mind. Besides all the displays, Kelvingrove makes it easy to spend the whole day there with a restaurant, a pleasant café, and even a gift shop. 

Regular hours of operation

Monday through Thursday and Saturday: 10am-5pm

Friday and Sunday: 11am-5pm 

Museum shops and the primary restaurant are still open.

Most Famous Must-See Tourist Attractions in Scotland

Palace of Holyroodhouse -- 11 Fascinating Facts -- Marriage, Murder to Construction

 The Palace of Holyroodhouse

The Palace of Holyroodhouse has been intriguing people all around the world for a very long time. Find out what's so different about this palace with my list of 11 fascinating facts.

1. It's located on the other end of the old town of Edinburgh, called Royal Mile, where Edinburgh Castle stands.

2. It once housed the British Monarch, functioning at this capacity until 16th century. Now, it serves state affairs as well as a reception for notable religious and political leaders such as once receiving Nelson Mandela and Vladimir Putin.

3. The general public can visit it throughout the year, except the time when the British monarch is staying, start of every summer for one week, to carry out a number of ceremonial duties.

4. King David l built the Holyrood Abbey which now is in ruins.

5. It was a significant place from 12th to 15th centuries, being used to fulfill administrative functions. Both kings James ll and David ll were buried at its abbey. Robert the Bruce hosted a parliament here in 1326. James lll and Margaret Tudor were married here in 1469. 

6. King James lV commissioned the palace's earliest version, which was completed either by 1501 or 1505, in the Gothic architectural style, featuring royal apartments, a gallery, chapel, and even a great hall. 

James V then expanded the palace between the years 1528 and 1536, adding more royal apartments like in the northwest tower.

7. Queen of Scots resided here for six years during 1560s. After Mary Stuart married in 1558 to Dauphin and assumed the role of France's Queen consort until the king's demise in 1560, she came back to Scotland and took up residence in the northwest tower's royal apartments during 1561 and 1567 before being abdicated forcibly. She married two times during her stay: Henry Stewart in 1565 and James Hepburn in 1567.

8. Mary personally witnessed an Italian man killed in her apartments. Lord Darnley grew insanely jealous of Mary's rather intimate but work-related relationship with her secretary, David Rizzio. 

But when tongues were wagging and rumors began circulating that Mary's personal secretary impregnated her, Darnley and many Protestant nobles designed a conspiracy to murder Rizzio.

On the evening of March 9 in the year 1566, Mary, Rizzio, and many female courtiers were dining together, when Darnley, after joining them, accused his wife of adultery. Then, the co-conspirators concealing themselves close by, bolted out stabbing Rizzio 57 times in the northwest tower's chambers.

9. The present palace was built between the years of 1671 and 1678. After plans were conceived to construct a stunning new palace in the 1660s, the first survey occurred in 1663. Sir William Bruce was one of the palace's architects, and later came master stonemason Robert Mylne.

10. The palace boasts a quadrangle design, proving to be larger than imagined. The construction which began in 1671, was finished by 1678. They used a quadrangle layout, achieving this by erecting a similar tower at the northwest tower's opposite end. It's much larger than it looks, for the square form measures 70 meters from south to north as well as the same length west to east.

11. The biggest room displays 110 portraits of Scottish monarchs. The Great Hall, located in the building's western range, is a vast space decorated lavishly with 110 paintings of Scottish Monarchs that date as far back as Fergus l, who ruled about 330 B.C. 

Most Famous Must-See Tourist Attractions in Scotland

Po Nagar Cham Towers -- 15 Most Fascinating Facts that Most Didn't Know

 Po Nagar Cham Towers

Po Nagar Cham Towers today is a source of fascination for many tourists. Learn about it with my list of 15 most fascinating facts.

1. Po Nagar Cham Temple was erected before 781 C.E.

2. The entire temple complex lies on Cu Lao Mountain. It comprises 3 levels and the highest encompasses 2 rows of towers. The central tower is around 25 meters tall.

3. These towers sit on a granite knoll three kilometers north of Nha Trang, on Cai River's northern bank.

4. Before the relic complex stand two rows of ten big pillars and two small pillars on the two sides.

5. The temple's main image consists of a 1.2-meter-high stone statue representing goddess Yan Po Nagar seated cross-legged, clothed in a skirt only, and ten hands grasping varying symbolic things. Vietnamese scholar, Ngo Van Doanh, claims such items suggest Yan Po Nagar was recognized in addition with Hindu goddess Durga or Mahishasuramardini.

6. The temples are constructed of many small red bricks that are arranged so close to one another that's impossible to slide something such as a cobweb-thin object between them.

7. The whole tower's architecture comprises three storeys, the first floor having a gate tower that was completely ruined.

8. During the 17th century, a takeover of the temple tower occurred by the Viet people, who named it Thien Y Thanh Mau Tower. Some Vietnamese legends about the tower and goddess emerged.

9. Pirates raided the temple several times, attempted to take it over. On many occasions the temple was nearly totally destroyed. but since the locals believed it was a sacred site, they stopped the attacks and restored it each time.

10. The complex is regarded as female. During the Cham kingdom the clans in command fell under two main headings such as female, or yang, and male, or yin.

11. Po Nagar Tower was built in dedication to Yan Po Nagar, the country's goddess, being identified with the following Hindu goddesses Mahishasuramardini and Bhagavati.

12. Once, the complex housed 7 or 8 towers in all, but today there are only four remaining towers.

13. The entire temple is in fact a Buddhist temple still functioning today, despite Vietnam being a secular nation and most of its people are atheists.

14. Visitors will be astonished by the superabundance of colorful flowers, Buddhist sculptures, small statues, little ponds, and fountains. The entire area is surrounded by beautiful stones, comfortable alleys among and automatic watering, and green plants.

15. Since the interior of the temple is rather "slender," large crowds of people touring might find this confining.

Most Famous Must-See Tourist Attractions in Vietnam