The city center of Dunfermline is a small, intimate place and the sights are easily explored on foot.

Abbot House is the oldest house in Dunfermline. It is ideally situated in the center of the attractions and a good place to start, as it outlines the history of Dunfermline and will point you in the directions you wish to take from there. Painted bright pink to indicate the importance of the building, Abbot House was once the administrative headquarters of the first Benedictine abbey in Scotland. Today a small group of volunteers act as guides and take visitors from room to room where hardly a moment in Scottish history is not touched upon, from the time of the Picts to spotting the Luftwaffe in world war II.

From Lady Anne Halkett's garden at the rear of Abbot House, a gate will take you directly into the grounds of the abbey, where Braveheart William Wallace's mother is buried beneath a thorn tree. Entrance to the abbey if free, although a donation is much appreciated and an entrance fee will need to be paid to gain access to the ruined palace situated alongside the abbey.

Once inside the abbey it is the final resting place of Robert the Bruce which beckons. Lying beneath the pulpit, Robert the Bruce's outline in Gold follows the exact measurements of his body when it was found. As visitors stand and view the place where he rests, it's worth remembering that his body was actually found beneath the magnificent stained glass window, where he had been for around 600 years, before he was preserved in tar and laid beneath the pulpit.

From the abbey you can walk to the Carnegie museum. The museum is inside the cottage where Andrew Carnegie was born. Carnegie was born to a relatively poor family, but through his determination and entrepreneurial skills he became the steel king of America, making his fortune in the steel furnaces of Pittsburgh. He went on to establish over 20 charities and has had more set up in his name since his death, including the Carnegie trust which supports many of the attractions seen in Dunfermline today.

Andrew Carnegie also gifted Pittencrieff Park, which he loved as a child, to the people of Dunfermline. The greenhouses here are open all year and there's a children's play area.

Dunfermline's only underground attraction is St Margaret's Cave. This was once the sanctuary of Scotland's unfortunate, royal saint, Margaret. An impressive replica of the silver bust and crown of St Margaret which was lost in Europe can be viewed in Abbot's House.

Dunfermline is a quiet place today with hardly any nightlife and just a few shops, but the sights and sounds of history are all around you. Little Dunfermline was once the capital of Scotland and the home of kings.