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Glasgow Guide

Glad to be in Glasgow: Take a sojourn in Scotland's "Sassy City"

Daniel Allen

Formerly renowned for its slums, drug dealers and large stretches of deserted industrial wasteland, Glasgow is now one of Britain's coolest and most vibrant travel destinations.

Glasgow Architecture, Scotland — Architecture, Glasgow, Scotland

Glasgow Science Centre, Scotland — Glasgow Science Centre

Glasgow Transformation

While it didn't even have a tourist office until the early 1980's, the "Glasgow's Miles Better" campaign in 1983 and European City of Culture status in 1990 propelled the city into the spotlight. Operating under slogans such as "Scotland with Style" and "People Make Glasgow", it is now emerging as one of Europe's hottest places for a city break.

Once home to some of the widest social inequalities in Europe, Glasgow has worked hard to transform its identity following the decline of the shipbuilding and port industries upon which it once built its fortunes.

While its history dates back to the Stone Age, today the city is as progressive as any in Britain. Its serried ranks of handsome Victorian buildings - the legacy of wealth generated from manufacturing and trade during the days of empire - may suggest a conservative sort of place, but they are now packed with trendy bars, high-end restaurants, thumping clubs and one of Britain's best live music scenes.

A hub of creativity, Glasgow is the birthplace of such diverse talents as Charles Rennie Mackintosh, Alex Ferguson and Billy Connolly. It is a dynamic and diverse metropolis, where towers of glass and steel reflect medieval cathedrals and nineteenth century merchant houses juxtapose cutting edge contemporary structures. This wealth of architecture is home to world class galleries and museums, chic cafes and stylish restaurants, as well as what Glaswegians claim is the finest choice of shops in the United Kingdom outside London.

Glasgow School of Architecture, Scotland — Glasgow School of Architecture, Glasgow, Scotland

Glasgow Museums & Art Galleries

Glasgow boasts over 20 museums and art galleries, including the award-winning Burrell Collection, the huge Kelvingrove Art Gallery & Museum, and the Riverside Museum by British-Iraqi architect Zaha Hadid.

A unique collection of over 8,000 objects gifted to Glasgow by Sir William Burrell in 1944, the former focuses on late medieval and early Renaissance Europe, while the Kelvingrove building houses one of Europe's great civic art collections.

The primary function of the latter is to display the collection of the Glasgow Museum of Transport which was previously located in Kelvin Hall.

Since moving to the new site the Glasgow Museum of Transport has increased its collection to over 3,000 items, from skateboards up to steam locomotives.

The Glasgow Science Center on the south bank of the River Clyde is a complex of several buildings dedicated to science and includes a planetarium and IMAX cinema.

The Glasgow City Chambers resembles a palace, and in fact film-makers would agree. The 1983 movie An Englishman Abroad featured scenes shot here that were meant to the interior of the Kremlin, and the 1986 movie Heavenly Pursuits similarly used the interiors to represent the Vatican.

The Riverside Museum is a futuristic space designed to showcase Glasgow's transport heritage. A transport museum forms the main part of the collection, featuring a fascinating series of cars made in Scotland, plus assorted railway locos, trams, bikes (including the world's first pedal-powered bicycle from 1847) and model Clyde-built ships.

An atmospheric recreation of a Glasgow shopping street from the early twentieth century puts the historic vehicles into a social context, while the impressive three-masted Glenlee, a Tall Ship launched in 1896, is also worth checking out. On board are family-friendly displays about the ship's history, restoration and shipboard life during its heyday.

The Scottish Event Campus (SEC), also on the Clyde, was formerly known as the Scottish Exhibition & Conference Centre (SECC). It is the largest exhibition centre in Scotland and hosts a wide variety of conferences, exhibitions, concerts, and sporting events etc. Two expansions in 1997 and 2013 created two structures that have become icons of Glasgow, the SEC Armadillo and the SSE Hydro.

The Glasgow Gallery of Modern Art (GoMA) is a world class art museum attracting millions of visitors. The Gallery stands behind what has become an icon of Glasgow, the traffic cone capped statue of the Duke of Wellington.

The Lighthouse in the former Glasgow Herald building is an events venue, exhibition space, and visitor centre dedicated to the design and architecture of Scotland's most famous architect, Charles Rennie Mackintosh.

Glasgow Entertainment

Glasgow's gentrification is epitomized by the central Merchant City, formerly an area of warehouses and food markets, which has now been reincarnated as a lively entertainment quarter. Head for the Old Fruitmarket for theatre, jazz, comedy, rock and world music gigs, and to the Blackfriars pub for real ales and live music. The Park Bar in Argyle Street is a home from home for highlanders and islanders who pack the place for weekend dancing to ceilidh bands, and the Ben Nevis across the road is a cosy haven for lovers of fine whiskies.

King Tut's Wah Wah Hut in St Vincent Street is a legendary showcase for emerging bands, while The Arches is a cavernous performance venue with bars and a restaurant beneath the central railway station. Take in some local culture over lunch at the Oran Mor pub in Glasgow's West End. A Play, a Pie and a Pint is a ground-breaking theatre programme showing lunchtime plays by some of the UK's best-known writers and new and exciting theatrical voices.

Architecture in Glasgow has not always been appreciated - mindless city planners were thankfully prevented from demolishing the city's glorious collection of Victorian buildings. The nineteenth century saw city spawn two singular stars of architecture - the now-famous Charles Rennie Mackintosh, as well as the lesser-known, but equally talented, Alexander "Greek" Thomson.

Charles Rennie Mackintosh's global reputation rests in large part on his magnificent Glasgow School of Art, which is still used by students and is open for guided tours. It's a highlight of a Mackintosh Heritage Trail, which draws legions of fans to Glasgow. Nearby is another landmark, the Willow Tea Rooms.

Glasgow Restaurants

Glasgow is crammed with restaurants to suit every taste and budget, but if you want to sample the very best, make a beeline for The Ubiquitous Chip - a multi award-winning restaurant with a menu inspired by Scotland's natural larder.

Glasgow curry aficionados continually debate the merits of the city's numerous excellent south Asian restaurants, yet Mother India invariably crops up in every discussion. It may lack the trendiness of some of the latest upstarts, but there's a good reason it's been a stalwart for years - the mouth-watering curries are consistently top notch.

Glasgow Shopping

Glasgow truly is second only to London as Britain's most important shopping city. With everything from popular high street shops and fancy designer outlets to independent boutiques selling lesser-known labels, Style Mile is generally the first port of call for those on a spree.

Nestled off a busy shopping street and city centre, with a small, blink-and-you'll-miss-it entrance, Princes Square is an elegant shopping centre set in a magnificent renovated atrium. A comparable oasis of calm, it boasts a range of beauty and fashion outlets, including Vivienne Westwood.

Moving toward the other end of the exclusivity scale, Barras legendary weekend flea market offers a smorgasbord of cheap tat. Still, it's still an intriguing stroll, as much for the assortment of local characters as the bric-a-brac on offer.

Barras, Glasgow, Scotland — Barras market, Glasgow, Scotland

Access - Getting to Glasgow

Glasgow International Airport is located 8 miles south west of the city centre. There are 24 hour Glasgow Shuttle bus services from the airport to the Buchanan Street bus terminal. The Citylink 915 bus connects with Skye (via Loch Lomond and Fort William).

Glasgow Prestwick Airport is 30 miles south of the city near Ayr. There are trains taking 45 minutes to Glasgow Central Station. Both airports have car rental offices.

Glasgow Central Station is Glasgow's main station with trains running south to England. Glasgow Queen Street, is the main station for trains east to Edinburgh. A bus connects the two stations.

There are trains from Glasgow Central to Birmingham New Street, London King's Cross (East Coast), Newcastle and Manchester Airport via Manchester Piccadilly with First TransPennine Express with connections to Liverpool.

Virgin Trains operates services to London Euston via Birmingham New Street.

ScotRail runs local trains to Ayr and Stranraer Harbour for the Stena Line ferry from Cairnryan to Belfast in Northern Ireland, East Kilbride, Gourock, Kilmarnock, Largs, Neilston, Stranraer, and Troon.

Long distance National Express buses run nationwide from the bus station in Buchanan Street.

The spectacular West Highland Railway runs from Glasgow's Queen Street Station to Mallaig via Fort William and is a great way to experience the wonderful scenery of the Scottish Highlands as the train passes the banks of Loch Lomond and crosses spectacular viaducts near Beinn Odhar.

Glasgow Subway

The Glasgow Subway is a circuit of 15 stations taking 24 minutes. There are two lines: an Outer Circle running clockwise and an Inner Circle running anti-clockwise. The Glasgow Subway runs from 6.30am to 11.45pm Monday to Saturday and 10am to 6.12pm on Sunday.

The 15 stations on the Glasgow subway are Bridge Street, Buchanan Street, Cessnock, Cowcaddens, Govan, Hillhead, Ibrox, Kelvinhall, Kelvinbridge, Kinning Park, Partick, Shields Road, St. Enoch, St. George's Cross and West Street. Some of the stations have free WiFi.

Accommodation in Glasgow

The city has many fine hotels to choose from. At the top end are the Kimpton Blythswood Square Hotel and the One Devonshire Gardens a Hotel Du Vin. Other recommended places to sat in Scotland's largest city are Dalziell House and the Tartan Lodge. See here for a complete accommodation list of available hotels in Glasgow.