Glasgow walking tour & city guide

The city centre

George Square, flanked by the grand City Chambers, is the heart of Glasgow. From here, the pedestrian shopping streets of Buchanan Street, Sauchiehall Street and Argyle Street form the 'Style Mile'. Look up to admire ornate Victorian facades, and for the statue of the Duke of Wellington outside the Gallery of Modern Art, which locals have crowned with a traffic cone for decades.

The Merchant City, the old trading district, is now full of restaurants and bars. To the east, Glasgow Cathedral is one of the few medieval churches in Scotland to survive the Reformation intact, and the Necropolis, a Victorian cemetery on the hill behind it, offers views over the city.

West End and Mackintosh

The West End is home to the University of Glasgow, whose Gothic Revival towers and cloisters look like a film set, and Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, one of the most visited free museums in the UK, with Salvador Dalí's 'Christ of Saint John of the Cross'. Ashton Lane, a cobbled lane of bars and restaurants, is lively at night.

The architect and designer Charles Rennie Mackintosh left his mark across Glasgow, from the Willow Tea Rooms to the Lighthouse, a design center with a rooftop view.

Visiting tips

Glasgow is under an hour from Edinburgh by train. It is a UNESCO City of Music, with legendary venues like the Barrowland Ballroom and King Tut's Wah Wah Hut. Loch Lomond and the Scottish Highlands are within easy reach.