Top Tourist Attractions In Glasgow

With Scotland’s largest city comes an appealing array of attractions. Glasgow, with its quintessential Scottish charm and magnificent architecture, is a cultural playground. Medieval buildings, raved about art collections, marble staircases and cracking music venues — the city ticks every box. Here, we round up the top tourist attractions in Glasgow worth exploring.

Top Tourist Attractions In Glasgow

1. Glasgow Cathedral

Glasgow Cathedral | Top Tourist Attractions In Glasgow

The city’s most significant historic building is the 12th-century Glasgow Cathedral, also known as St. Mungo Cathedral or the High Kirk of Glasgow. Seen from both inside and out, it looks as if it dropped out of a giant mold: the lines are clear, and there’s no superfluous ornamentation.

Projecting from the south transept is the Blacader Aisle, named after the first bishop of Glasgow. The grandest room in the cathedral, however, is the crypt, which houses the tomb of St. Mungo, founder of the bishopric, who was buried here in AD 603. Although a visit to the cathedral is regarded as one of the top free things to do in Glasgow, donations are always welcome. Guided tours are also available free of charge.

2. Glasgow School of Art

Glasgow School of Art | Top Tourist Attractions In Glasgow

Mackintosh’s Art Academy is essential viewing for lovers of fine architecture. Completed in 1909, this Art Nouveau building confirmed the reputation of 28-year-old designer Charles Mackintosh, not just as a master of the exterior-the grand west facade is dominated by three 65-foot-high oriel windows, and the smaller windows on the east front are reminiscent of Scottish castles-but also as a superb interior designer.

The most famous rooms include the Principal’s Room, one of the first of Mackintosh’s “White Rooms”; the Mackintosh Room, where meetings of the Academy of Art are held; and the unique Library and Gallery. Student-led tours explore Mackintosh’s work and influence and include galleries of his furniture and other works.

3. Glasgow Science Centre

A little pocket of nerdy fun situated on the south bank of the River Clyde, the Glasgow Science Centre is one of the top tourist attractions in Glasgow which boasts three buildings and is Scotland’s own Millennium Dome of sorts. Over 250 exhibits, most of which have a hefty interactive element, await exploration in the science hall alone.

4. People’s Palace And Winters Gardens

People’s Palace And Winters Gardens

When it opened in 1898, People’s Palace and Winter Gardens was declared ‘open to the people for ever and ever’. Built as a means to add a dose of charm to a supposed undesirable area, this museum and glasshouse is an enchanting vehicle to preserve imperative social narratives belonging to Glaswegians from the 1700s onwards. A true time capsule set in Glasgow Green, the oldest park in the city.

5. George Square and the Merchant District

At the heart of Glasgow’s historic Victorian city center stands the flower-bedecked George Square with its 12 statues of famous people associated with the city, including Robbie Burns, Walter Scott, and Queen Victoria. The east end of the square is dominated by the Town Hall and its 230-foot tower completed in 1890, while the Merchants’ House is the headquarters of Britain’s oldest Chamber of Commerce, founded in 1605.

South of George Square, a group of mid-19th-century warehouses are part of the city’s trendy Merchant City district that, along with The Italian Centre, offer unique cafés, restaurants, and designer boutiques. The area is particularly attractive in winter, when families and those here enjoying some Glasgow sightseeing are bedazzled with an impressive display of Christmas lights.

6. Burrell Collection

The Burrel Collection is a popular art collection in the city of Glasgow in Scotland. It is located in Pollok Country Park in the southern part of the city. The Burrell collection is one of the largest collection of artworks that have been amassed by a single person. It consists of more than 8000 objects. It is housed in an award winning building in Pollok Country Park, Glasgow. The collection is named after the donor of all the artworks, Sir William Burrell. The collection includes works of great artists like Rodin, Degas and Cezanne and covers all eras of arts like medieval art, Chinese art Islamic art and ancient civilisation artwork.

7. Glasgow Botanic Gardens

Glasgow Botanic Gardens

Created in 1817, the Glasgow Botanic Gardens are located in the West End of Glasgow. The garden features various glasshouse, the most notable among them is the Kibble Palace.

Glasgow Botanic Gardens is located on the banks of river Kelvin in the heart of the city’s West End. It contains a lot of plant collections, woodland copses along with the riverside walks. The famous Kibble palace is also a major attraction here. The kibble palace is a glasshouse that has been designed by John kibble and it houses the national collection of the tree ferns The plants from tropical rainforests are grown in the palm house. The tearoom is the latest addition in the garden.

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