Glasgow

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Kelvingrove is one of the most visited museums in Scotland, Glasgow, Scotland

The Necropolis rises behind Glasgow Cathedral, Scotland

The Riverside Museum was designed by Zaha Hadid, Glasgow, Scotland

Ashton Lane is a cobbled lane of bars and restaurants, Glasgow, Scotland

About Glasgow

Glasgow is Scotland's largest city, built on the River Clyde in the west of the country. It rose to wealth during the industrial era through shipbuilding and trade, and its grand Victorian architecture reflects that prosperity. After decades of change following industrial decline, the city reinvented itself as a center for culture, music and design, with a reputation for warmth and humor.

Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum is one of Scotland's most visited attractions, holding a wide-ranging collection that includes Salvador Dalí's Christ of Saint John of the Cross. Glasgow Cathedral, a rare medieval survivor, stands beside the Necropolis, a hillside Victorian cemetery with sweeping views. Along the river, the Riverside Museum showcases transport history in a building designed by Zaha Hadid. Fans of architect Charles Rennie Mackintosh can trace his work across the city, from tearooms to the Mackintosh House at the Hunterian.

The West End mixes leafy streets, cafés and the Gothic Revival buildings of the University of Glasgow, while the Merchant City offers restaurants and bars in restored warehouses. Glasgow Green and the People's Palace tell the story of everyday Glaswegians, and Pollok Country Park holds the Burrell Collection. The city suits culture lovers and music fans. Rain is common at any time of year.

Best seasonMay through September offers longer days and milder weather, though rain is possible year round.

Ideal stayThree days covers the major museums, the West End and the city center.

ArrivingGlasgow Airport serves the city, and trains reach Central and Queen Street stations from across Britain.

WiserMap travel guideGlasgow Scotland Kelvingrove Necropolis and West End FoodPlan a Glasgow trip: Kelvingrove, the Cathedral and Necropolis, the Riverside Museum, the West End, Merchant City, the Burrell Collection and Scottish food.Read the guide

12 Best Things to Do in Glasgow

Museums 4

Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum

Built of red sandstone for the 1901 Glasgow International Exhibition, Kelvingrove is Scotland's most visited free museum and one o...

Riverside Museum

Zaha Hadid's zigzag-roofed building on the Clyde houses Glasgow's Museum of Transport and Travel, and it was named European Museum...

The Burrell Collection

Shipping magnate Sir William Burrell gave Glasgow some 9,000 objects in 1944, and they now fill a light-filled gallery in Pollok C...

People's Palace and Winter Gardens

On Glasgow Green, the city's oldest park, this red sandstone museum opened in 1898 to give the people of the East End a place for...

History 2

Glasgow Cathedral

Unlike most of Scotland's medieval cathedrals, this one came through the Reformation with its roof on, and it remains one of the f...

Glasgow Necropolis

On the hill above the cathedral, Glasgow's merchant princes built themselves a Victorian city of the dead. Opened in 1833 and insp...

Arts 1

The Mackintosh House

Inside the University's Hunterian Art Gallery, the rooms of the terraced house where Charles Rennie Mackintosh and his wife, the a...

Landmarks 2

University of Glasgow

Founded in 1451, the university is one of the oldest in the English-speaking world, and its Gothic Revival main building by George...

George Square

Glasgow's main civic square is ringed by statues of figures such as Sir Walter Scott, high on his column, Robert Burns, James Watt...

Neighborhoods 2

Glasgow West End

Tenements of honey-colored sandstone, university buildings and leafy terraces give the West End its own village feel. Byres Road i...

Merchant City

East of George Square, the streets where 18th-century tobacco lords built their warehouses and mansions are now a district of rest...

Family 1

Glasgow Science Centre

Clad in titanium on the south bank of the Clyde at Pacific Quay, the Science Centre has three floors of hands-on exhibits about th...

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