Our guide to Glasgow: the best architecture, galleries and green spaces
It may not be the capital of Scotland, but Glasgow has a cultural offering to rival Edinburgh’s. Its history is deeply rooted in creativity, with the world-renowned architect Charles Rennie Mackintosh shaping its landscape, and bands rising up through its vibrant music scene (Oasis was discovered at the small music venue King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut, for instance). Today, Glasgow is an artistic hub with a backdrop of magnificent Victorian buildings, offering museums and galleries in abundance (most of which are free), and an exciting and ambitious food scene, which includes fine dining and lively neighbourhood cafes.
Despite being Scotland’s largest city, with a population of more than 1.6 million, it’s easy to travel around by foot and there are many desirable pit stops in every direction – from cosy traditional pubs to antique markets and specialist bookshops. With the River Clyde and more than 90 parks and gardens, Glasgow offers urban tranquillity, as well as the buzz of a city. It shouldn’t go unmentioned, either, that you’ll have a hard job finding locals as spirited or welcoming as those here. And, as if you needed further convincing, we’ve rounded up some of the places that make the city so special – from the world’s oldest members’ club to delightful second-hand furniture stores.
SEE
1. The Lighthouse
The Lighthouse, Scotland’s centre for design and architecture, is housed within the former offices of the Glasgow Herald newspaper, which was designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh in 1895. The most prominent part is the tower, originally built to contain an 8,000-gallon water tank installed to protect the office contents from the risk of fire. Now, however, it contains a hanging spiral staircase that leads to a rooftop balcony with uninterrupted views of the city centre. Today the Lighthouse is an exhibition and events space that acts as a beacon for the creative industries, with a vibrant programme of architecture and design-led workshops. Although it’s temporarily closed, it’s worth a visit if only to see the building itself.
2. The Burrell Collection
In what can only be described as one of the greatest gifts ever given to a city, esteemed art collector Sir William Burrell donated his collection of more than 8,000 artworks to Glasgow in 1944, which can now be enjoyed at The Burrell Collection. The Glaswegian was a respected collector of late Gothic and early Renaissance art, including stained glass and some of the finest tapestries in the world, as well as later paintings by Manet, Cézanne and Degas. The museum is located at the heart of Pollok Country Park – but more on that later.
3. The Hill House
If the Lighthouse has whet your appetite for more Charles Rennie Mackintosh, then a trip to the Hill House, which is considered to be his domestic masterpiece, is a must. In 1902, publisher Walter Blackie commissioned the up-and-coming architect to build him a “modern villa house”. Mackintosh worked on the project collaboratively with his wife, Margaret Macdonald, who was an established artist before the couple met. She subsequently helped to define the Mackintosh style and was responsible for some of Hill House’s most notable interior features. Now in the care of the National Trust for Scotland, the house is in Helensburgh, a town a short train journey from Glasgow.
4. Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum
A splendid sandstone building, the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum is the most popular free-to-enter attraction in Scotland – and the most visited museum in the UK outside of London. It unfolds over 22 galleries and is organised in two halves: ‘Life’ and ‘Expression’. You’ll find everything from stuffed animals and ancient Egyptian artefacts to works by Monet and Salvador Dalí’s Christ of St John of the Cross. But the real joy here is discovering all the great native art on display, including paintings by the Scottish Colourists and the Glasgow Boys.
EAT
5. Gloriosa
Gloriosa is a restaurant and bar serving vibrant Mediterranean-influenced food, with wine from independent European producers. The space is open and bright, with a wood-burning stove at one end and life drawings sketched directly on to the walls. The menu is designed for sharing ‘family-style’, changing often (sometimes daily) and with the seasons. Fill your table with small plates of freshly made pasta, delicious seafood, crisp flatbreads and refreshing fruit-based desserts – and top it all off with a jalapeño margarita.
6. Julie’s Kopitiam
After much success across the city as a south-east Asian street food pop-up, former Masterchef contestant Julie Lin MacLeod opened Julie’s Kopitiam (kopitiam being the word for a traditional coffee shop in Malaysia). The focus is firmly on the food at this small and unassuming restaurant with an open kitchen and simple decor. Experience vibrant, flavoursome dishes such as Hong Kong toast (eggy bread fried with condensed milk and peanuts) and pulut manga (sticky mango rice with toasted nuts and mint). Hot tip: make sure you pick up a bottle of Julie’s fiery chilli sauce to take home with you.
7. Two Eight Seven
This bakery is a treasure trove of sourdough bread, Argentinian croissants (they’re glazed in sweet orange syrup straight from the oven), macaroni hand pies, cheese-and-piccalilli scones, custard-butter buns, blood-orange polenta cake and cherry-sherry frangipane pie. You can also sign up to Bread Club, its weekly bread subscription. Coffee is supplied by The Good Coffee Cartel, producers with an environmental conscience and self-proclaimed “leaders of the refill-ution”. Two Eight Seven is only open at weekends and the demand is high, so expect a long queue – but it’s worth the wait.
8. The Gannet
Located in Finnieston, an area on the north bank of the River Clyde dubbed the Shoreditch of Glasgow, The Gannet serves a sophisticated seasonal menu of classic Scottish dishes. The restaurant was founded by three friends and has a strong focus on local produce. Past menus have included smoked-eel and girolle broth, and Cairngorm red deer with greenheart beetroots – always with the option of wine pairings. The surroundings are stripped back with exposed stone and industrial details – apt choices, as the area was once an industrial heartland before earning its new-found status as Glasgow’s most fashionable neighbourhood.
SHOP
9. Barras Market
Bargain hunters, take note: Barras Market is one of Glasgow’s most famous institutions, located in the East End quarter of the city centre, tipped as the place to go to find a good deal. The term ‘barras’ is Glaswegian for ‘barrow’, a nod to the market’s origins in the early part of the 20th century, when hawkers sold their wares from handcarts. Today, it has a mixture of street stalls, indoor markets and shops, where you’ll find everything from antiques and racks full of one-of-a-kind clothing to kilts and fresh fruit and veg.
10. Habiib
Habiib is an interiors and lifestyle store for those in the know, offering a collection of mid-century furniture, as well as wonderful homewares and gifts from Scotland’s best independent designers. Founder Laura Hewitt personally sources every piece in her small but perfectly formed offering and also provides a furniture-sourcing service – ideal if you have something really specific in mind, or you tend to find shopping for vintage furniture a little daunting. The showroom is open by appointment only.
11. Category Is Books
Category Is Books is an independent LGBTQIA+ bookshop in Glasgow’s Southside. It was founded by genderqueer couple Charlotte and Fionn Duffy-Scott as a space to learn about and be inspired by queer history, art, activism, writing and storytelling, via new and second-hand books, magazines, graphic novels, comics and zines created by the LGBTQIA+ community. The pair also run a pay-it-forward system, where people can pre-pay for gift vouchers to be used by others at the bookshop, so that anyone can take a book home, even if they are low on cash.
DO
12. Glasgow Botanic Gardens
Further proving Glasgow has a lavish offering of beautiful green spaces, Glasgow Botanic Gardens is located in the heart of the city’s West End, by the River Kelvin, and contains a variety of plants from all seven continents. The famous Kibble Palace, a 19th-century wrought-iron-framed glasshouse designed by John Kibble, is also open to visitors, and houses a collection of tree ferns. The Botanic Gardens Tearoom provides a cake stop before you join in on the family-focused ‘Minibeasts, Birds and Trees of the Botanics’ waymarked trail.
13. The Victorian Pools
Proportionally, Scotland has more historic public baths than anywhere else in the UK, with a majority of them being in Glasgow. The first to open was Arlington Baths Club, in 1871, now a Grade A-listed building containing a 21m seven-lane pool fitted with a trapeze and rings overhead. There are also Turkish baths decorated with classic tiling and stained glass, as well as a state-of-the-art gym set in a contrasting Victorian space and a fully-licensed members’ lounge. It’s the oldest club of its kind in the world, and membership is open to all. Two more favourite pools in the city include the Western Baths Club and the North Woodside Baths, both of which opened in 1882.
14. Civic House
Civic House, an exquisite 1920s building originally used as a printworks in the city’s Spiers Locks, is a workspace and venue that supports a community of people working across social and cultural enterprises. Set over two levels, the building includes a public cafe, a large open-plan co-working space and a dedicated events section that has hosted everything from the Glasgow Short Film Festival to bike-maintenance workshops and Afro-Celtic music and dance nights. The industrial setting has made it a stylish option for Glaswegian weddings, too.
15. Pollok Country Park
When you’re visiting the aforementioned Burrell Collection, make sure you leave at least half a day to explore the surrounding Pollok Country Park. At 146 hectares, it’s Glasgow’s largest green space, providing a quiet sanctuary for both visitors and wildlife, and containing play areas, a wildlife garden, riverside and woodland walks, cycle routes and picnic areas. See how many Highland cattle (defined by their long horns and shaggy coat) you can spot on your way round. A walk around Pollok House is a must too – once the ancestral home of the aristorcratic Maxwell family and now managed by the National Trust for Scotland, it’s a grand country house with an impressive collection of Spanish art.
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