Perth’s new £27million museum had attracted almost 225,000 visitors by the end of 2024.
The museum – which also houses the Stone of Destiny exhibition – opened at the end of March.
It tells the story of Perth’s place in ancient and modern Scotland and is managed in partnership by Perth and Kinross Council and Culture Perth and Kinross.
Artefacts include the heaviest British rod-caught salmon (weighing 29kg) which was caught on the Tay in 1922, a pre-Reformation portrait of St Bartholomew from Perth’s 15th century St John’s Kirk, and the 3000-year-old Carpow Longboat found in the Tay estuary in 2001.
National tourism body VisitScotland has described the museum as “hard to fault” and praised staff for their friendliness and hospitality, as well as its cleanliness, catering, retail and overall visitor experience.
A Culture Perth and Kinross spokesperson said late December: “We’ve been thrilled to welcome nearly 225,000 visitors to Perth Museum since opening at the end of March, including more than 78,150 visitors to the Stone of Destiny alone.
“The outstanding support from the community, positive feedback, and awards have far exceeded everyone’s expectations.
“We look forward to building on this success in 2025 with new exhibitions and a warm welcome.”
In July a Perth grandmother and her family reached the 100,000th visitor milestone at the new museum.
Jill McEwan, her son Chris, and granddaughter Maja, had visited the museum on Wednesday, July 3.
The Stone of Destiny – used in the coronation of Scottish monarchs – had historically been kept in Scone Abbey until it was seized in 1296 by Edward I and taken to England.
It remained there for over 650 years before four Scottish students brought it back home following a daring raid on Westminster Abbey in 1950.
The Government responded by ordering a major search operation for the stone, and only officially returned it to Scotland in 1996, where it remained on display in Edinburgh Castle until it was used during King Charles III’s coronation in May 2023.
Following a high profile campaign it returned to its Perthshire home last year.
In July 2024 museum bosses issued a robust defence of the Stone of Destiny exhibit following an accusation of political propaganda made on social media.
Culture Perth and Kinross, which runs the popular attraction in Perth city centre – assembled in consultation with experts and academics – insisted the organisation and the exhibition are non-political.
A few months previously visitors to the Stone of Destiny exhibition were left baffled by requests to remove their coats.
The coat of one of the students who was part of the raid to remove the stone from Westminster Abbey had been used to drag it along the floor and lift it into a getaway car.
Culture Perth and Kinross said it could not comment on the provisions around the stone, pointing out the removal of coats is no longer required although visitors are advised to do so due to the “temperature of the exhibit”.
Visitors to the transformed former city hall view the ancient artefact in groups of 15 within a ten-minute time slot.
For tickets go to: www perthmuseum.co.uk/events