The Royal Yacht Britannia

It may not be the centerpiece of every itinerary, but passionate anglophiles and monarchy enthusiasts could spend the better part of a morning aboard HMY Britannia examining its five decks' worth of royal memorabilia. The yacht was commissioned by Queen Elizabeth II in 1954, and throughout its 43-year career it was a constant in her life, used for everything from receiving foreign dignitaries to cruising Scotland's Western Isles during annual summer vacations. After its decommissioning in 1997, Britannia was berthed at Leith and opened to the public as a kind of floating museum. Visitors are presented with a holistic portrait of life onboard, viewing everything from the bedrooms of the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh to the officers' bunks and even the engine and laundry rooms. The yacht is (rather oddly) accessed from the top floor of Ocean Terminal Shopping Centre, a shopping mall in Edinburgh's rehabilitated port district.