Glasgow travel guide

Glasgow is Scotland’s largest city and also boasts the best-preserved Victorian city centre in the UK. It has always had amazing architecture, an extensive array of museums, art galleries, theatres and visitor attractions such as parks and river walkways and in recent years these have been made even more visitor-friendly. Now Glasgow has some of the best shopping outside of London, is well known for its art and music scene and offers a wealth of stylish places in which to stay, eat and have a drink.

Art and architecture

Glasgow’s international standing in the art world has never been higher, spawning contemporary home-grown artists such as Jim Lambie and David Shrigley. The Glasgow School of Art is also a world-renowned institution, as much for its prestigious alumni as for the Charles Rennie Mackintosh architecture – a powerful influence for Art Nouveau and for the Modernist movement. Other Macintosh attractions include The Hill House, The Willow Tearooms, the House for an Art Lover and Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum. This houses one of the greatest civic art collections in Europe, including works by Botticelli, Rembrandt and Dali as well as many Scottish artists.

Shopping

Glasgow is the second-largest shopping centre in the UK so if you love to shop until you drop you’re in the right place. The main shopping district lies in the heart of the city around the pedestrianised areas of Buchanan Street, Argyle Street and Sauchiehall Street. The Argyll Arcade is one of Britain’s oldest covered arcades and has more than 30 jewellery shops, while Buchanan Galleries is perfect if you want everything under one roof. Fashionistas should head to Exchange Square, Ingram Street and Princes Square. For vintage finds and antiques there’s also the Barras open-air street market in the East End and De Courcy’s Antique Craft Arcade in the West End.

Entertainment

Glasgow loves to entertain. Many musicians, bands, comedians and entertainers have come from Glasgow – Primal Scream, Franz Ferdinand and Billy Connolly, for example – and the city also has its fair share of festivals and places in which to revel. The Barrowlands, Arches, Barfly and Glasgow Academy put on numerous gigs and concerts, as do the never-ending supply of pubs and bars. Glasgow also attracts thousands of visitors to events such as the Glasgow Film Festival, Glasgow River Festival, West End Festival, Magners Glasgow International Comedy Festival and Aye Write Book Festival.

Long weekend?

Here’s just an idea of what you could do with only three days to spare…

Day 1
Go in mid-July and head down to join the crowds at the Glasgow River Festival. This is a celebration of the River Clyde and activities include boat trips, dingy rides and tall ship displays. But you can explore the riverside history of Glasgow on foot or by bicycle at any time, by following the Clyde from the centre of town to Glasgow Green, where you can visit the People’s Palace social history museum. Finish the maritime theme with a fish supper at Roganos – a fabulous Art Deco restaurant.

Day 2
Start your shopping early at Barras Market – it’s open every Saturday and Sunday and has been trading all sorts of bric-a-brac since the turn of the last century. Some of the stalls are located under the famous Barrowlands – one of the best music venues in Glasgow. You can then head into the city centre for chi-chi purchases from Ingram Street in the Merchant City and finish with a tour and tea in the Gallery of Modern Art. Your trip wouldn’t be complete without a trip to the Uisge Beatha (meaning ‘water of life’) whisky specialist and very well-stocked bar.

Day 3
Take yourself off to the many varied splendours of Kelvingrove. Designed by Sir Joseph Paxton, the park consists of 34 hectares of beautiful gardens and is one of the best-preserved Victorian landscapes in the UK. The recently refurbished Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum sits within the park and houses 8,000 works of art, including a Rennie Mackintosh gallery and a collection of Egyptian treasures.

Travelling to Glasgow

Road
Road links to Scotland are excellent, traffic permitting. Approximate driving times include Edinburgh (one hour), Manchester (three hours 50 minutes) and London (seven hours). You could also travel by coach. This is cheaper than rail travel but takes longer: from London to Glasgow is about 10 hours for example.

Train
Glasgow has two main train stations – Central and Queen Street – with good links to the Strathclyde, Ayrshire and Lanarkshire regions with First ScotRail, and to London and other major UK cities via west and east coast routes with National Express and Virgin.

Plane
If you live in the south then it can be quicker and cheaper to fly, although less scenic. There are daily direct flights to Glasgow from airports in London, as well as from provincial UK airports and Ireland. Glasgow International is 10 minutes from the city and Prestwick 30 minutes (but has its own dedicated train station), so both are convenient options. Look for flights with BA, easyJet, BMIbaby, FlyBe, Ryanair, Aer Lingus and Loganair. Find out more at www.flightmapping.com/UK/Glasgow/.

Find out more
Get more information and holiday ideas from www.visitscotland.com and www.glasgow.gov.uk/en/AboutGlasgow/Touristattractions/. Guidebooks like the Glasgow Footprint Pocket Guide, The Rough Guide to Scotland and Scotland Lonely Planet Country Guide can also help you find your way around.

Travel insured
Despite Glasgow’s reputation for high levels of crime, the city centre is as safe for tourists as any other major hub in Western Europe. Do be careful around markets, tourist sites and shopping areas, though, especially at night, as these can attract pickpockets and thieves. With Direct Line travel insurance you are covered for pre-arranged trips in the UK providing that they are more than 25 miles from home and you are away for two nights or more. See the policy documents online for more details on all these types of our travel cover.

With Direct Line it’s quick and easy to sort out travel insurance. Our single-trip policy is perfect for one-off day trips and weekend breaks, as well as longer holidays to cities in the UK including Glasgow. Simply apply for a travel insurance quote online today.

Related information:
Last minute travel – it’s tough trying to decide where to go on a quick break – we’ve got some advice on what you should look for in a last minute holiday
Stress-free driving tips – long car journeys can be stressful – read our guide on taking the stress out of motorway driving