Although it’s not the capital, Glasgow is Scotland’s largest city and much more affordable to visit than Edinburgh. It’s a great place to spend a few days before onward travels to Loch Lomond on mainland Scotland or the Isle of Arran and the Isle of Islay because there are tons of fun things to do in Glasgow.
Glasgow is a port city on the River Clyde that rapidly grew in the late 1800s thanks to its success in the trade and shipbuilding industries. Its skyline is a blend of modern highrises, Victorian, Edwardian, and Art Deco buildings designed by local architect Charles Rennie Mackintosh.
While Edinburgh offers castles and cobblestone streets, the city of Glasgow is the perfect place to visit for galleries, live music venues, shopping, and street art.
This guide covers absolutely all the best things to do in Glasgow including museums, parks, and Scotch whisky distilleries. You can choose your favourite things and activities to do because there truly is something for everyone here.
TOP THINGS TO DO IN GLASGOW
GLASGOW CATHEDRAL
One of the top attractions in the city is Glasgow Cathedral with a history dating back to 1197. This dramatic Gothic building boasts post-war stained-glass windows and a fascinating underground crypt.
It has a distinctive copper roof which has turned as green as the Statue of Liberty with time. This restoration was necessary to decrease the weight of the 100 ft-tall vaulted ceiling, and it only helped the church stand out.
KELVINGROVE ART GALLERY
Kelvingrove Art Gallery really does have everything for a fun family day out. First, it’s housed in an impressive, purpose-built Edwardian building with a grand staircase in the middle of a beautiful part. Second, it features tons of themed galleries filled with works by Scottish and international artists. And third, it has free entry!
Its pièce de résistance is ‘Christ of Saint John of the Cross’ by Spanish surrealist Salvador Dalí which is one of the most treasured artworks in the city. The Kelvingrove Museum and Art Gallery also has natural history and technology exhibits that have a wider appeal as well as a gift shop.
GEORGE SQUARE
Visiting George is one of the top things to do in Glasgow as it sits at the very heart of the city. It’s Glasgow’s main city square and where you’ll find Glasgow City Chambers, the Glasgow City Council building. There are also statues dedicated to many famous Scots like Sir Walter Scott, Robert Burns, and James Watt as well as Queen Victoria.
Plan more fun in Scotland with our Scotland Travel Guide.
GALLERY OF MODERN ART
Kelvingrove is the place to go for works by Monet, Cézanne, and the Glasgow boys, but the Gallery of Modern Art is the best place for artists you’ve not heard of yet. While there’s a permanent collection featuring both local and international artists, the temporary exhibition space for up-and-coming artists changes frequently.
Family Photoshoot
Take home the best memories of your trip to Scotland with a few family photos with a local photographer. No kids? That’s OK, you can do couples photos and even solo shots.
Many of the photographers are weekend wedding photographers, so you are getting a professional photographer for an hour for a fraction of the price. Even better, all of the digital photos are included!
Book a session HERE and get a $10 discount with code: WALKINGONMEDIA
STATUE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON
What should be a run-of-the-mill statue of the Duke of Wellington sitting on a horse has become a symbol of the city of Glasgow. In the 1980s under the cover of darkness, the Glaswegian people started climbing up the statue to put an orange traffic cone on top of the Duke’s head.
Law enforcement would remove the cone but it would, without fail, be replaced the next night. After a while, police stopped removing the cone and it’s often replicated around the country.
You can find this statue in front of the Gallery of Modern Art (some would say this is also modern art!) in Royal Exchange Square. You really can’t say you’ve visited Glasgow without paying your respects to the Duke.
The Gin Spa
One of our favorite things to do in Glasgow is go to The Gin Spa. Not only can you get an incredible massage (or facial) infused with juniper and botanicals, but afternoon tea, and a gin and tonic to end your experience.
There are regular discounts and specials, so make sure you sign up for their emails HERE so you are in the loop and can grab a voucher before your trip.
BUCHANAN GALLERIES SHOPPING CENTRE
In the mood for some retail therapy? The best area for shopping in Glasgow is the Buchanan Galleries Mall and the stores on Buchanan Street. You’ll find over 100 clothing and homeware stores as well as lots of restaurants and cafes.
GLASGOW SCIENCE CENTRE
If you’re looking for things to do in Glasgow with kids, you couldn’t find a better attraction than the Glasgow Science Centre. It’s an enormous building, big enough to house an IMAX screen, a planetarium, a flight simulator, and ten other sections with fun, interactive exhibits.
Don’t leave without checking the Glasgow Science Museum Tower – the tallest rotating freestanding tower in the world!
GLASGOW NECROPOLIS
Glasgow Necropolis is within walking distance to Glasgow Cathedral so you should check out this totally free attraction at the same time. It’s a sprawling, Victorian-era cemetery based on the Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris on a hill overlooking the entire city.
It’s the final resting place of many notable Glasweigans including the Tennant Family (brewers of a popular Scottish lager), the poet William Miller, and magician David Prince Miller.
GLASGOW MURAL TRAIL
Glasgow is probably one of the only cities in the world where taking a guided tour of street art is more popular than taking a general historic walking tour. People just love Glasgow’s beautiful murals!
Every day at 2 pm, you can join a 90-minute walking tour starting at 81 Mitchell Street to see at least 12 of Glasgow’s most treasured murals. Some of the highlights are the St. Mungo mural near the cathedral and the Wind Turbines Mural.
Guided tours are the best way to see the murals so you can learn more about the artists and the stories that inspired them. Book ahead to avoid disappointment!
POLLOK HOUSE
Take a short bus ride south of the city center to Pollok Country Park and explore the elegant Edwardian stately home at the heart of the park. Pollok House is a quintessentially British country home with beautiful period furniture and original fixtures and fittings.
Fans of Outlander will definitely want to check out the manicured gardens of Pollok House. You might recognize this garden as Castle Leoch’s herb garden in season one.
BARRAS MARKET
Looking for things to do in Glasgow on a weekend? One of the best things to do in Glasgow is to visit Barras Market, a 100-year-old market open every Saturday and Sunday in the East End of the city.
You’ll find rows of garages transformed into vintage, antique, and novelty goods stores. If you have the time to sort the trash from the treasures, you could find your own piece of Glaswegian history to take home as a souvenir.
CELTIC PARK
Known as ‘Paradise’ to fans of Celtic Football Club (soccer to Americans!), Celtic Park is a sports stadium where you can watch Celtic F.C.’s home games. If you love sports, it’s a great cultural experience to watch local games. Be warned that there’s usually no alcohol on sale to control how unruly some Scottish sports fans can be.
UNIVERSITY OF GLASGOW CLOISTERS
Founded in 1451, the University of Glasgow is the fourth-oldest university in the UK (even before Edinburgh University!) and a very prestigious education institute. But that’s not as important when you’re just visiting, what’s important is that the main Glasgow University building is so pretty and fun to look around.
Head to the University of Glasgow Cloisters just north of Kelvingrove Park for the most beautiful part of the school. There’s a chapel, courtyard, and gift shop as well as the Hunterian Museum.
BARROWLAND BALLROOM
First opening in 1934, the Barrowland Ballroom was the heart of the Glasgow dance and music scene up until a huge fire in the late 1950s. When it reopened in the 1960s, it became a multi-functional entertainment space for comedy acts, plays, musicals, and a live music venue.
Barrowland Ballroom has an iconic neon sign with shooting stars so at least head down at night to check that out. If you love watching stand-up comedy or live bands, find their program to see if there’s anything fun scheduled during your trip.
CLYDESIDE DISTILLERY
If you’re a Scotch whisky drinker then it’s a no-brainer that you have to visit a distillery (or two) during your Scotland trip! Clydeside Distillery only opened in 2017, but its facility is located in Glasgow’s old docks in a renovated former warehouse.
Clydeside Distillery welcomes visitors and hosts guided tours and tastings. They even have a cafe with whisky pairings of the traditional Scottish dishes they serve.
HAMPDEN PARK STADIUM
This stadium is home to Scotland’s National Football (soccer) team as well as the Scottish Women’s Premier League. Hampden Park is the best place to visit in Glasgow for sports fans. Even when there aren’t any soccer matches, you can take a tour of the stadium and visit the Scottish Football Museum.
TALL SHIP GLENLEE
Docked directly in front of the Riverside Museum on the waters of the River Clyde, The Tall Ship Glenlee is a former Victorian cargo vessel that is now a maritime museum. Explore this beautiful three-masted ship and see the old kitchens, bathrooms, dining room, and living quarters. It’s completely free to visit and a must-do for keen sailors and boat enthusiasts.
GLASGOW SCHOOL OF ART
There’s a reason why Glasgow is such an artistic city and has a plethora of art museums, street artists, and beautiful buildings. The Glasgow School of Art was founded in 1845 and has a fantastic reputation for cultivating talents.
Icons such as Charles Rennie Mackintosh and Norah Neilson Gray attended school here. In fact, Charles Rennie Mackintosh designed what would become the university’s main building at the turn of the 20th century.
Unfortunately, the Glasgow School of Art has suffered many fires and the last one was so devastating that the Mackintosh building is still undergoing repairs. But you can visit the ongoing renovations and the other buildings on campus.
WEST END NEIGHBORHOOD
Every European city seems to have a cool, hipster neighborhood with cobblestone streets, fairy lights, eclectic cocktail bars, and restaurants serving world-class international cuisine. For Glasgow, that’s the West End.
Head to Ashton Lane for the best beer gardens and elevated casual dining experiences. You’ll also find the best comedy clubs and bars here too. Plus, it’s a very green and beautiful part of the city.
SHARMANKA KINETIC THEATRE
Glasgow is a very diverse city and this is no less evident in its performing arts venues. Sharmanka Kinetic Theatre on Argyle Street is a such small, unusual, and unique experience that many Glasgow locals haven’t even heard about it.
This animatronic theater tells Russian stories via beautiful mechanical sculptures set to synchronized music and light. The venue opens around 20 minutes before each performance and they’re around 45 minutes long.
GLENGOYNE DISTILLERY
Glengoyne Distillery is around a 30-minute drive north of Glasgow on the border of Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park, but it’s worth the journey. This historic distillery dates back to 1833 and offers visitors tours, tastings, and a private dining room in a small village setting.
It’s the perfect contract to Clydeside Distillery which is a young Scotch whisky company in a more modern facility.
FORTH AND CLYDE CANAL WALK
Want to see more of the Forth and Clyde canal network? The Forth and Clyde Canal Walk is an official walking and cycling route along the banks of the River Clyde.
In its entirety, the path is 35 miles/56 km from Bowling to Falkirk. Since Glasgow is almost exactly in the middle of those two towns, you can walk as much or as little of the trail as you like for pretty canal views.
MERCHANT CITY NEIGHBORHOOD
Glasgow is known as a nightlife city with an endless selection of bars, restaurants, music venues, and clubs. One of the best parts of town for an upmarket nightlife scene is Merchant City. You’ll find lots of fancy European bistros and craft cocktail lounges here.
ANTONINE WALL
Scotland has six UNESCO World Heritage Sites and one, the Antonine Wall, is only a short drive from Glasgow. This wall was constructed by the Romans in 142 AD to mark the northeast corner of the Roman Empire.
Like Hadrian’s Wall, it was protected by a series of forts and ditches. Unlike Hadrian’s Wall, it was only 39 miles long and mostly consisted of a stone foundation with turf and wood for the structure.
Here are the places where you can still see parts of the Antonine Wall:
- Bearsden Bath House
- Bar Hill Fort
- Croy Hill Fort
Many more traces of the wall and evidence of ditches can be found closer to Glasgow.
DAY TRIP TO LOCH LOMOND
Visiting Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park is the perfect day trip from Glasgow. It’s only a 45-minute drive or an hour-long train journey.
Loch Lomond is one of the largest lochs (Scottish for ‘lake’) in the country. It’s surrounded by beautiful hills like Ben Lomond, bustling mountain towns like Callendar, and serene villages like Balmaha. You can try hiking, kayaking, and plenty of other outdoor activities.
GREAT MUSEUMS IN GLASGOW
While all of Scotland’s national museums are in Edinburgh, Glasgow has some fantastic state-of-the-art and grassroots museums too. Here are all of the best ones that the city has to offer.
PEOPLE’S PALACE MUSEUM
‘People Make Glasgow’ is the city’s official slogan, so one of the best places to discover more about Glasgow’s history is the People’s Palace in Glasgow Green. It covers all aspects of everyday life in Glasgow from the last two centuries.
Exhibits include popular pastimes, fashions, the housing crisis of the 1970s, and people employed in shipbuilding. It’s completely free to visit so you’ve got nothing to lose!
RIVERSIDE MUSEUM
While the People’s Palace is a pretty modest space with makeshift exhibitions, the Riverside Museum is the complete opposite. It’s located in a purpose-built, modern facility on the banks of the River Clyde that only opened in 2011.
It mostly displays vintage cars and over 3,000 other local vehicles from the 20th century including trams, trains, and double-decker buses. Some are displayed in a huge warehouse while others are parked on period sets so you can imagine what streets would have looked like at the turn of the century.
HUNTERIAN MUSEUM AND ART GALLERY
Run by the University of Glasgow, the Hunterian Museum is so much more than an educational facility. It displays over 3,500 items relating to natural history, surgery, medicine, and the arts collected by 18th-century surgeon John Hunter.
In a separate facility around five minutes’ walk from the University of Glasgow library, the Hunterian Art Gallery features an exact replica of the main rooms in the Mackintosh House. Glasgow architect Charles Rennie Mackintosh and his wife were world-famous artists and they were key figures in the ‘Glasgow style’ artistic movement.
Entrance to the Hunterian Museum, Hunterian Art Gallery, and the Hunterian Zoology Museum are all free.
PROVAND’S LORDSHIP MUSEUM
Affectionately referred to as the ‘Auld Hoose’ (meaning old house) by locals, Provand’s Lordship Museum is located in one of Glasgow’s oldest buildings. It dates back to 1471 and is one of only four surviving medieval buildings in the city.
Rather than exhibiting lots of interesting and valuable items, the Provand’s Lordship Museum is the most interesting and valuable item! The 17th-century furniture came from art collector Sir William Burrell’s own property. Even better, the museum is free to visit.
BEST PARKS AND GARDENS IN GLASGOW
There are several popular parks in Glasgow city centre that attract hundreds of people every day during the summer months. Here are some of the best gardens and green spaces in the city where you can go for a short walk, enjoy a picnic, or play games.
KELVINGROVE PARK
If you’re already visiting Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, you have to walk through Kelvingrove Park to get there! You might as well take a look around while you’re there.
It’s one of Glasgow’s oldest parks with lots of statues, fountains, ponds, and memorials. Walk across the Princes of Wales bright with the River Kelvin flowing underneath and the Art Deco Kelvingrove Bandstand.
POLLOK COUNTRY PARK
Measuring 146 hectares, Pollok Country Park is more like a forest than a park but it’s still located in Glasgow’s Southside, just a short bus ride from the city center. Again, if you’re visiting Pollok House then you’re already in Pollok Country Park so you should explore the woodland and other attractions while you’re there.
You can take the walking paths through the woodland, check out the Burrell Collection museum, and visit the Highland Cattle Park.
GLASGOW BOTANIC GARDENS
Originally founded in 1817, Glasgow Botanic Gardens originally occupied a modest eight-acre site in the city’s West End. Today, it measures 27 acres and sits along the beautiful banks of the River Kelvin.
Glasgow Botanic Garden is split into several smaller areas including a Children’s Garden, Herb Garden, World Rose Garden, and lots of greenhouses. The Kibble Palace is a relic from its Victorian beginnings and it’s still standing as a huge glasshouse full of exotic plants from around the globe.
GLASGOW GREEN
Home to the popular TRNSMT music festival in the summer and the People’s Palace Museum year-round, Glasgow Green is in a picturesque location on the River Clyde. Some of the other cool things worth visiting in Glasgow Green are the McLennan Triumph Arch, Nelson’s Monument, and a statue of James Watt.
SPRINGBURN PARK
Springburn Park isn’t in central Glasgow so visiting this park instead of the others is a great way to avoid the crowds on one of the city’s rare sunny days. There are lots of sports fields here like cricket pitches and a basketball court, but there are also cool buildings like the abandoned Edwardian greenhouse named Springburn Winter Gardens.
ANNUAL EVENTS IN GLASGOW
As one of the biggest cities in the United Kingdom and a thriving cultural hub, there are plenty of things to do in Glasgow year-round. Here are some of the can’t-miss festivals and events that you should check out if you’re visiting Glasgow for the first time during these times of year.
- Burns’ Night (January 25th)
- Celtic Connections Festival (January – February)
- Glasgow Film Festival (February)
- Glasgow International Comedy Festival (March)
- Glasgow International Jazz Festival (June)
- Glasgow Science Festival (June)
- Glasgow Pride Festival (July)
- TRNSMT Music Festival (July)
- Clydebuilt Festival (September)
- Scottish Geology Festival (September – October)
- Celtic Samhain Festival (October 31st)
- Bonfire Night (November 5th)
- St Andrews Day (November 30th)
- Scottish Hogmanay (December 31st)
Glasgow Travel Guide
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Flying into Glasgow?
Looking for the best flights to Glasgow? We love to track flights via Expedia.com. Not only do we find great rates, but we earn points to use on future travel too.
You can also keep an eye on GOING deals, which is how we got to Ireland roundtrip from LAX for under $500 each. The free version is good, but the paid subscription will save you way more than the cost of the actual subscription.
Hotels in Glasgow
- Glasgow Grosvenor Hotel
- Hotel du Vin & Bistro Glasgow
- Kimpton Blythswood Square Hotel
- DoubleTree by Hilton Glasgow Central
- Native Glasgow
Find more Glasgow hotels HERE
Need a Rental Car?
We use DiscoverCars.com to get the best rates and availability on rental cars. Find your car HERE, along with all of the extras you may need (insurance, car seats, ski racks, etc.)
Travel Insurance
Do NOT forget to buy travel insurance for your trip, even if you booked through a travel agent.
Things do and will happen and it’s cheaper to buy travel insurance ahead of time instead of paying out of pocket later.
Check out Travelex for rates on a single trip or an annual plan that could be right for you if you take more than one or two trips a year.
Buy a SIM card?
We all love our smartphones, but we don’t love those international roaming charges. Even if you have a travel pass, you could max out your service, which is why we always grab an eSIM card to pop into our phones. It’s especially great for the kids, as it limits what they can do and how much data they can use, but still allows them to text friends back home.
Check out Airalo, our preferred eSIM card store for the best prices on eSIM cards and international data plans.
Don’t Forget about Your Vacation Photos!
Don’t forget to book your Flytographer session to capture awesome memories from your trip. We do it as often as we can, even though I’m a photographer. Sometimes, this mom just wants to be in a few photos with her kiddos.
How to get to Glasgow
By Air
Glasgow has an international airport, Glasgow Airport (GLA), which is well-connected to various international and domestic destinations. You can book a flight to Glasgow from major cities around the world.
By Train
If you’re already in the UK or nearby cities, you can take a train to Glasgow. The city is served by several train stations, including Glasgow Central Station and Glasgow Queen Street Station. These stations have frequent services to and from major cities like Edinburgh, London, and Manchester.
By Bus
National and regional bus services connect Glasgow to other cities in Scotland and the UK. The main bus terminal is Buchanan Bus Station in the city center.
By Car
If you prefer to drive, you can reach Glasgow by car. Major motorways like the M8 connect Glasgow to other cities in Scotland and England.
By Ferry
If you’re traveling from Northern Ireland, you can take a ferry to the nearby port of Cairnryan and then drive or take a bus to Glasgow.
By Coach
Long-distance coach services also operate to and from Glasgow, providing an affordable option for travelers.
