Glasgow: A Cultural And Vibrant City

Glasgow is the major city in Scotland, the third largest in all of the United Kingdom and it’s a medieval city. These were the three main points that made me come here in order to check all its richness in architecture, music, arts, botanics, sports and, of course, commerce.

If you check Glasgow on any map you would think that it’s impossible to see it on a weekend, however I made that possible with an all day subway ticket and walking on the second time! The most important thing to bear in mind is that you don’t have time to get inside all of the museums so you should think and choose carefully before coming here. I decided to check three attractions per day in order to walk and check the other places from the outside.

Despite being the major city, this isn’t the capital of Scotland and there are still lots of things to check there like Edinburgh (which I’ll post later) and, of course, the highlands! To go to the highlands you can choose between starting in Glasgow or in Edinburgh because most of the tour has one of those two start points. Well, now you are wondering: yes, that’s incredible to know but…what about Glasgow? What can I see and where can I go there? Let’s help you now with all of that.

George Square and Glasgow City Chambers

The main civic square in the city of Glasgow, named after King George III. In this square in August 1888 it was inaugurated the Glasgow City Chambers by Queen Victoria, where the first council meeting was held within the chambers in October 1889. There are free tours twice a day however you can’t book them previously to it. You have to turn up around 30 minutes before the tour and collect a visitor pass to wear round your neck. This is a beautiful historic building that I strongly recommend during the day and the night since is one of the major attractions of the city. If you could I would also tell you to go in one of the two tours here (at 10h30 or 14h30) because I heard it is beautiful from the inside and not only from the outside. 

Gallery of Modern Art and Equestrian Statue of the Duke of Wellington

The main gallery of contemporary art in Glasgow built in 1778 as the townhouse of William Cunninghame, a wealthy Glasgow Tobacco Lord who made his fortune through the triangular slave trade. For those of you who wants to visit, just a heads up: it’s totally free and it’s open from 11h until 17h, for the exception of Thursday that it’s open until 20h.

In front of this gallery you can see the most iconic statue of Glasgow - the Equestrian Statue of the Duke of Wellington. This statue has a traffic cone which represents the humour of the local population and believed to date back to the first half of the 1980’s. However, this is not the only place in Scotland where you can see this, in Edinburgh there’s also a statue with a traffic cone on it’s head as you’ll have the chance to check when I’ll post about it later.

Glasgow Cathedral

Also called High Kirk of Glasgow it’s the only medieval cathedral on the Scottish mainland to have survived the Protestant Reformation of 1560 virtually intact.

I consider it is truly magnificent, full of beauty and wonder with more than one floor to visit and to be astonished. It’s incredible to know all about this cathedral history, I totally recommend it! Also, when I visited this place there was a Lego collection exhibition downstairs which was a really nice surprise for a Lego fan!

Glasgow Necropolis

A victorian cemetery which is on a low but very prominent hill right next to the Glasgow Cathedral. This burial ground was always intended to be interdenominational and the first burial in 1832 was that of a Jew, Joseph Levi, a jeweller. 50,000 burials have taken place at the Necropolis and most of 3,500 tombs have been constructed up to 4,30m deep, with stone walls and brickpartitions. On the top of the Necropolis tombs were blasted out of the rockface.

Despite being a cemetery it’s a really nice place to check all the city from the top of the mountain.

St. Mungo Museum of Religious and Art

Named after Glasgow's patron saint who brought the Christian faith to Scotland in the 6th century, it is built on the site of the medieval Bishops’ Castle and is designed in its style. This venue aims to promote understanding and respect between people of different faiths and those of none and offers something for everyone. It’s architecture is totally different from all of the others and is definitely a place to go, even if you aren’t religious or you just don’t want to spend some time at the museum.

The People’s Palace

It is home to a collection of objects, photographs, prints and film which give a unique view into how Glaswegians lived, worked and played in years gone by to the present day. There’s also a small exhibition about the second world war but despite that it’s a really small museum and the entrance is free!

There is also the Winter Gardens, where you can wander among the exotic palms and plants or enjoy a coffee or lunch at the café inside the Palace.

When I was in Glasgow I tried to walk in Glasgow Green Park but there was the 2018 World Pipe Band Championship so I couldn’t get in if I didn’t have a ticket. Another time I would return there but for all of you that are going to visit the city don’t waist the chance of going there on an amazing walk since this is a major park and it’s really beautiful and relaxing (without the singing pipes of course!).

Botanic Gardens and Kibble Palace A true gem in the middle of city! This gardens and greenhouses founded in 1817 are wonderful and you can chill there  for hours without even noticing! I was totally astonished and I really loved this utterly wonderful garden. The park around them is also really quiet and it has a beautiful view around and all of this is free. Definitely a must go!!

University of Glasgow

Founded in 1451, it’s located  on the top of the hill so you can enjoy a beautiful view over the city! Also, even though the Harry Potter movies weren’t actually filmed here, you can sense the magic over here! It’s a must see for it’s architecture, for sure.

Glasgow Science Centre and Glasgow Tower

Well, I’m going to be totally honest: the entrance fee for this museum is too high and that’s why I didn’t come in because it’s hard to justify when most of the museums are free. For you to understand a bit more and for those who really want to get in, I’ll share with you the prices: entrance £10,45 (student £8,60) plus planetarium add on £2,70 (student is the same price) plus IMAX documentary add on (£2,50 for everyone) and Glasgow Tower add on (£3,15).

So, if you want to go just for the science centre you only pay £10,45 (or £8,60 if you’re a student) but if you want to check them all you’ll have to pay £18,80 (£16,95 if you’re a student). However I was told that this museum is very hands on, specially for children to learn from.

About the Glasgow Tower, it’s a free-standing tower where you can check the whole city from it’s top. However, either you pay £5,90 to get to the top or you’ll get the ticket for the Glasgow Science Centre and you pay the £3,15 add on to the ticket. For me, instead of spending money getting on it’s top, I went on a nice walk around.

Finnieston Crane

A disused giant cantilever crane retained as a symbol of the city's engineering heritage. Also it’s right next to the SEC Armadillo, SSE Hydro and the Clyde Arc, which gives the opportunity for a great photo in the middle of the river!

Riverside Museum of Transport and Technology

An award-winning transport museum with over 3000 objects on display and where’s so much thing to see, from skateboards to locomotives, paintings to prams and cars to a Stormtrooper. Also a free museum that you shouldn’t miss, even for a couple of minutes.

The Tall Ship at Riverside

The Glenlee was built at the Bay Yard in Port Glasgow. She is a three masted barque and first took to the water as a bulk cargo carrier in 1896. She circumnavigated the globe four times and survived (though not without incident) passing through the fearsome storms of Cape Horn fifteen times before being bought by the Spanish navy in 1922 and being turned into a sail training vessel. She was modified and served in that role until 1969, when she operated as a training school until 1981 when laid up in Seville Harbour and was largely forgotten. The entrance is free and you should check the below decks.

The Govan Stones

An unique collection of early medieval stones carved between the 9th and 11th centuries when the Vikings raided the Clyde region. There are 31 monuments monuments dating from this period and 5 magnificent hogback stones. I didn’t know about this exhibition so I decided to go there from one minute to the other and I felt like I was going back in time. Such a nice surprise!

Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum

The collections at Kelvingrove are extensive, wide-ranging and internationally significant. They include natural history, arms and armour, art from many art movements and periods of history and much more. The most famous painting on display at Kelvingrove is the Salvador Dali masterpiece “Christ of St John of the Cross”. This museum is free so you can enter freely.

If you’re so lucky as I was (or now that you know and if you don’f forget about the timings) you can enjoy a really incredible Organ Recital at the main hall of the museum. It plays every single day, Monday to Saturday at 13h and Sunday at 15h. For me it was such a pleasant hour and I would stay there for many more.

City Centre Mural Trail

When you walk a bit around the city, one of the first things you can notice just looking at the walls are the numerous graffitis on them. Actually, this stands for the concept of street art that The City Centre Regeneration team has created. In a whole, it is a part of the City Centre Mural Trail, all contained in one easy walking route. They’re all huge pieces of art adorning some of the city's brickwork and they look marvelous.

Where to shop and eat

• Barrowland and The Barras Market

A major indoor weekend market where you can find all types of things in one market: from an old coat until a new decoration set. Also you can find here lots of shops devoted to Celtic Football club. I recommend coming here at least for it’s history because the Barrowland was a ballroom that was rebuild after a fire in 1958 and it’s really nice to watch all this different stores that are still owned from old people. The stores open whenever the owner wants to open it and not at any specific time of the day, some of them don’t open at all.

If you want to eat there’s a snack-bar inside the Barras Market. I took a Roll and Cheese Burger with a coke for which I paid £1,40 for the burger and £0,80 for the coke. I can tell you that it tasted deliciously and I totally recommend it!

• Eating at Via Italia

An italian restaurant near the Central Station owned by a true italian. You can eat lots of food for more or less £6,35. First you need to order a piada, pasta bowl or a salad bowl. Then you choose your hot street filling and hot sauce and to finish you choose the street topping. If you’d like some sides you can have them separately. Basically, the price is different considering if you order a piada (£5,75-£6,95), pasta (£6,25-£6,95) or a salad (£5,75-£6,95). If you need some help choosing the best thing for you to have you can ask the staff because all of them are really nice for you and I recommend this to have either lunch or dinner.

• Shopping at the City Centre

If you’d like to go shopping, feel free to go to the Buchanan Street and all the surrounding ones and enjoy some nice shopping for good prices and in really good stores!

I went to the Tartan House of Scotland for souvenirs and I wasn’t disappointed, on the contrary! There were a huge variety of things for you to bring as a souvenir or for you to wear, your choice! There are also some shopping centres if you prefer going there.

Besides that, if you want to buy a really good coat, for cold weather and for rain or just for a special occasion, you should go to The Coat Company store. That's what I did and I would go there again if I could! Furthermore, the sales time was still on so think about that before coming to Glasgow because sales in the United Kingdom are really good.

Transports

We went on the city by two different ways. Firstly, to go from the  Riverside Museum or Tall Ship to the Govan Stones, we took a free ferry shuttle to the other side of Clyde River and it was such a nice decision! It’s a really small boat but you can get the beautiful view from the middle of the river so I totally recommend it!

Now, about the subway, we paid for the all day ticket (it cost £4,10, they don’t have concession prices for this one) and you have unlimited travel for the whole day so it’s a really nice chance to go from one side of the city to the other without walking that much and I consider it was a fair price. I recommend for those who want to go from the city centre until the botanic gardens, if you still want to visit other parts of the city, because the botanic gardens are a bit too far away from the centre.

I really enjoyed knowing a bit more about this city, getting to know it’s culture and seeing all of it’s beautiful architecture and I hope that all of this advice will help you organize your trip even better that I did since it’s a really huge city and it was difficult for me, at the beginning, to know and to decide where to go and what to see, which of the trails would consist on the best decision, where should I eat and how could I reach every single place in the shortest amount of time and money. I hope you’ll enjoy it as well.

Safe flights ❤

Written by: Kiawa