Close to the very center of Scotland beside the river Clyde, Glasgow is the largest city in the country and by far its most lively. Although it does not feature as much diverse heritage as nearby Edinburgh, Glasgow is still a very attractive city in places. It is best known for its Victorian-era architecture in pink sandstone, which lights up on sunny summer evenings.
Glasgow’s wealth of cultural attractions rivals any other city in Scotland. The Gallery of Modern Art is the UK’s second-most visited gallery of its kind, while the equally impressive Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum recently started to attract more visitors than Edinburgh Castle, sealing its official title as the most-visited tourist attraction in the whole of Scotland.
Glasgow’s main theater is a toss-up between Parkhead and Ibrox, both football grounds that host Celtic and Rangers respectively, one of the most intense rivalries in world sport. Both hold above 60,000 people. Glasgow is well known as a city of nightlife, and this reputation is well-deserved for all the bars dotted across the city, many featuring very large collections of Scottish malts. The West End is a popular area for cheap drinks and is the roaming ground of students, while Bath street is where you’ll find the new, trendy drinking holes.
Highlights
Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum: more than a century old, this is one of the premier museums in the UK. The beautiful Spanish Baroque-style building houses works by Salvador Dali and other greats.
Gallery of Modern Art: now more than 10 years old as an art gallery, this attraction is housed in a neoclassical building dating from 1778. The wonderful exhibition includes works from Andy Warhol and David Hockney, among many others.
The Barras: is a huge East End market offering all manner of goods and Glasgow’s quintessential shopping experience.
Glasgow Green: is the most famous city park. It features Nelson’s memorial, a fountain and a museum examining life in Glasgow.
Parkhead: join 60,000 others for one of Celtic’s home games for one of the best stadium atmospheres in Europe.
The West End: is a good place to go out in the evening with lots of students and cheap drinks.