The refurbished Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum in Glasgow has replaced Edinburgh Castle as the busiest tourist attraction in Scotland.
According to new figures produced by VisitScotland, the Glasgow attraction drew half a million more visitors in the six months since it reopened last year than Edinburgh Castle achieved in the whole of 2006. It is the first time the latter has been knocked off its perch as the most visited attraction in Scotland since VisitScotland started publishing the statistics 16 years ago.
Kelvingrove, where admission is free, received 1.9 million visitors after it opened its doors from July 11, 2006, after the three-year £27m refit.
About 1.2 million people visited Edinburgh Castle, which retained its crown as the top of the pay-to-see tourist spots.
More than 45 million people enjoyed Scottish attractions last year - a rise of 6% on 2005. VisitScotland said the reopening of Kelvingrove had a major impact on visitor numbers and accounted for most of the growth.
Chief executive Philip Riddle said: "Scotland's wide range of visitor attractions are a crucial part of our tourism industry.
"Last year was particularly exciting, with the reopening of Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum delighting visitors. It is also encouraging to see overall growth in the number of visitors across the board."
Among the busiest free attractions were the National Gallery of Scotland complex in Edinburgh and the city's National Museum of Scotland, followed by the World Famous Old Blacksmith's Shop Centre in Gretna Green
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