Tens of thousands of our secrets are out – and you’re invited to come and see them.

The Secret Collection is the first publicly-accessible museum store on a UK High Street – and it’s right here in Paisley.

The large basement unit houses tens of thousands of items from Renfrewshire’s museum collections, not on display in the main museum – many unseen by the general public for decades.

The £3.7m facility is open for public tours, meaning you can enjoy the treasure trove it contains.

The collection includes some of Paisley’s world-famous textiles, plus a mix of ceramics, world cultures, social history, art and sculpture, natural history and local archives.

Some of the items in the collection are a product of the town’s former textile wealth – with the mill-owning Clark and Coats families having been famed for their generosity.

The building is run by Renfrewshire Leisure, whose museum experts are on hand to give tours of the collection.

The good news is it’s free to see inside but you will have to book a tour in advance (tours last 45 minutes to one hour).

Accessibility

Fully accessible.

Getting there

A five-minute walk from Paisley Gilmour Street train station.

Cost

Free. Bookings only.

Tours

The free guided tours of The Secret Collection are very popular, please check availability and book in advance.

Tours last approximately 45 mins – 1 hour. Because of the secure nature of the facility, you will be taken in a group around the stores by a guide, who will show you some of the objects and art in our collections.

The tour requires you to provide the name of each person visiting. If you would like to book a group tour for a school or community group, please contact the booking team on 0141 618 5129, Tuesday – Saturday, 10am-4pm.