Glasgow Attractions and Tourist

Attractions in Glasgow

The Burrell Collection
museum the Burrell Collection is a collection of art that were donated by Sir William Burrell to Glasgow in 1944. He had collected art all my life and had one of the world’s largest privately owned art collections. The collection contains sculptures, statues and antiques of porcelain. The address is Pollok Country Park.

Botanical Gardens
The Glasgow Botanic Gardens is known for its tropical plants. There is free admission and you will also have access to The Kibble Palace, a glass house of more than 2,000 square meters with the finest trees and plants. The area is located west of town, at 730 Great Western Road.

The tall ship
Glenlee sailing ship is a major tourist attraction in Glasgow. It is only one of five remaining sailing vessels of its kind. There are many types of activities on the boat. Ticket costs approx. 50 kroner. Sailing ship is located at Glasgow Harbor. Read more about the location and attractions of the harbor here.

Hunterian Museum
This is Scotland’s oldest museum. In the Hunterian Museum you will find archaeological and geological finds in addition to the world attraction – a fossil of a 330 million year old whale. The museum also has fossils of dinosaurs. Click here for maps and travel options.

The Merchants House of Glasgow
At the corner of Georges Square you will find the Merchants House of Glasgow. The building is from 1874. On the walls of the house you can read: “Toties redeuntes eodem.” It means something like “Again we return to the same place”. The figures that decorate the house are similar to the gallion figures you find on old sailboats. The house is located on George Square.

The Glasgow City Chambers

The city’s most important and most beautiful building is the City Hall, The Glasgow City Chambers. The building was completed in 1888 and is located right in the center, at George Square.

St Mungo Cathedral
In St Mungo Cathedral you will find the Museum of Religious Arts and Life. It shows how important and influential religion has been to people all over the world. You will also see many wonderful paintings.

Kelvingrove Art Gallery
Kelvingrove Art Gallery [see image first in article] is itself a landmark in Glasgow and Scotland built in Spanish Baroque style. This museum has free entrance and is Glasgow’s most popular based on visitor figures. It is actually the most visited museum in the UK outside of London. Here you will find art from many countries, natural history objects and also a good collection of weapons and war equipment. It is surrounded by a great park (Kelvingrove Park). Kelvingrove Art Gallery in Glasgow is located in Argyle Street.

Stirling Castle
Stirling Castle is one of Scotland’s most famous and most stately castles. The castle is known for example from the movie “Braveheart” with Mel Gibson. It is located approx. one hour drive from Glasgow. Perhaps the bloodiest battle in Scottish history took place at Bannockburn just off the castle between William Wallace and the English King. At the castle, there are daily performances that recreate this battle.

The distance from Glasgow city center to Stirling Castle is just under 50 kilometers. See map below.

Glengoyne Distillery
In the Stirling area, near Loch Lomond, you will find Glasgow’s own whiskey distillery. Glengoyne Distellery is a specialist in malt whiskey. The distillery offers tasting and information tours Monday to Friday at. 1000 – 1600 and Saturday at. 1200-1600. The distance from central Glasgow is about 25 kilometers (see map below).

Tourist in Glasgow

Glasgow is a pretty big city and can be experienced in many ways. If this is your first visit, we recommend that you take a guided bus tour. Then you get to the various attractions quickly and easily and can get on and off the bus of your choice.

A good idea is to buy What’s on magazine which has information about concerts, live bands, exhibitions and other activities.

Day 1 in Glasgow

Glasgow Attractions 2

The best place to start your day is at George Square, which is the very heart of Glasgow. Take time to look at all the sights and buildings around the place. The most beautiful building is the City Hall [see photo first in the article] or City Chambers of Glasgow, as it is called. At George Square you will also see The Merchants House of Glasgow. From this place, all the buses that take you around the various sights of the city go, which we highly recommend.

When you finish the bus ride, it will taste with some good drinks and some food. Then you can take in one of the more than 800 pubs in Glasgow. Be sure to taste the local beer “Heavy”.

If you have the opportunity, visit one or more of the Glasgow museums. There are many to choose from, but you can start with The Kelvingrove Art Gallery, which is the museum in the UK outside London that has the most visitors. The museum is located in Argyle Street. Right in the center, on Royal Exchange Square, is The Gallery of Modern Art. As the name suggests, the gallery has exhibitions of modern art.

If you are interested in libraries, visit The Mitchell Library on North Street. This is one of Europe’s largest public libraries with over two million books.

Scotland is still cheap seen with Norwegian eyes, and Glasgow is a good city for shopping. The main shopping streets are Sauchiehall Street, Buchanan Street and Argyle Street. Here the shops are close to one another, and there are also huge shopping malls adjacent to these streets. Read more in the Shopping section in Glasgow.

Day 2 in Glasgow

Glasgow Attractions

We recommend that you experience something typical Scottish outside Glasgow, in other words, a visit to a whiskey distillery and to a Scottish castle. However, the first option is compulsory when in Scotland.

The Whiskey Distillery Glengoyne

We suggest you visit the Glengoyne Distillery. You get to Glengoyne by bus 10 from the bus station in Buchanan Street. The bus runs once an hour and the trip takes half an hour. Remember to tell the driver that you’re off at Glengoyne. It is also easy to find out on your own if you have a rental car.

Stirling Castle

Stirling Castle is definitely worth a visit. Feel free to combine your visit with a walk in Sterling. It takes less than one hour by bus to get there, and the trip can easily be combined with visits to Glengoyne.

When you are back in Glasgow, you should visit one of the tea houses. One suggestion is Willow Tea Rooms. You will find this teahouse in the center of Glasgow, at 217 Sauchiehall Street. In addition to many varieties of tea you can eat salads, fish or traditional Scottish haggis. Read more about Willow Tea Rooms here.

The Old Firm

You don’t have to be particularly interested in football to attend a football match in Glasgow. The atmosphere and atmosphere make the football game an attraction for everyone. The city has the two best teams in Scotland – Glasgow Rangers and Celtic. If you are lucky enough to get tickets to one of the local shows, called “The old firm”, you will have one of the greatest football experiences in the world.

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