Welcome to Glasgow

Maybe it’s the city’s edgy, somewhat radical reputation, maybe it’s the friendly people we met, the history, or maybe all the free museums, but Glasgow was a very welcoming first stop in Scotland was Glasgow. While Edinburgh has a flashier reputation, we found once-notorious Glasgow to be just our style. Glasgow is a true, international city, with residents and visitors from all over the world there to study and work. A history of immigration from Italy, East Asia, India and other spots make the city feel more diverse than we expected. From our home base in nearby Paisley, we found plenty to see and do. The city is compact enough that it’s easy to walk between most destinations, though when you get tired of walking, there’s always a bus, subway or train nearby for a quick rescue.

In George Square, the Tourist Information office is filled with info and brochures on local sights, activities, and ideas on how to get out to explore the rest of the country.  The Georgian buildings and statues in the center are beautiful, and we really liked going into the ground floor of the City Chambers for a look around. The Italian Carrara  marble staircase, mosaic floors and ceiling, and ornate carvings are truly impressive. The Glasgow Eye, while a bit out of place in the stately square, looks like it must have great views from the top.

Glasgow Neighborhoods

The city is divided into different neighborhoods: the City Centre, the West End, Trongate and the East End, The Glasgow Cathedral area, Merchant City and the Southside. Glasgow’s Cathedral is a treasure. Free admission means you can take your time to wander and explore for yourself. The stained glass is incredible. Dedicated to Glasgow’s patron saint, St. Mungo, the ground was consecrated in the 1100s. The church wasn’t completed for another 300 years. The nave, chapel and general architecture are beautiful. Next door is the St Mungo Museum of Religious Life & Art, a great presentation of the major world religions in an inclusive and interesting way. The displays are very well put-together, and we enjoyed the personal stories you can read or listen to along the way.  There are some excellent interactive displays for kids, as well as some fine art pieces.  Also worth a visit is the Necropolis, up the hill behind the cathedral. Cross the Bridge of Sighs, and enter the world of the dead. There are many interesting historical gravestones and mausoleums, some crumbling and decayed, but all adding to the haunting romance of the place.

Glasgow Highlights

The Kelvingrove Museum is a lovely collection of everything from medieval arms and armour to fine oil paintings to fossils and stuffed animals (The massive Irish deer was crazy!) to Scottish history pieces. Even with such variety, things flow well, and you could easily kill hours and hours without realising it. The pipe organ is amazing, and there is a concert in the afternoon at 1 pm. The interactive sections look like great fun for the kiddies, and though we didn’t have any with us, we were entertained as well.  The building itself is also quite impressive, inside and out. Built in primarily Spanish Baroque style, the two towers were inspired by the famous Santiago de Compostela church. Cool! The carvings in blonde sandstone inside the building are as engaging as the exhibits themselves. Our only mistake was visiting the yummy Brewdog pub across the street FIRST rather than after the museum. The bar’s style reminded us of some of the small, independent craft breweries of the Pacific Northwest, which is a very good thing in our book.

Other highlights: walking along the River Clyde on the way to Glasgow Green. This greenspace is Glasgow’s oldest park. It has served as the site of the famous Glasgow Fair,  a place to wash clothes and bleach linens, amusements such as theatres and circuses, a place for public debate, and public executions (until 1865).  The People’s Palace and Winter Gardens are on the grounds, and provided a warm place for us to duck in from the cold.

As mentioned, we were staying in Paisley, a 20 minute ride outside the city. My second aunt once removed by marriage (just kidding, I don’t know the official ancestry term), Liz, graciously lent us her fun flat as our home base. In addition to being super convenient for our jaunts into Glasgow, Paisley had some interesting spots of its own. The beautiful Paisley Abbey features grand, ornate doorways and stunning stained glass windows. The wood carvings on the choir stalls are gorgeous, and we were lucky enough while we were there to hear someone practicing on the magnificent pipe organ (reputedly one of the finest in Scotland). St. Mirrin established a community on the site in the 7th Century! The abbey is the burial place of all six High Stewards of Scotland.

We left Glasgow with plenty more to experience: Film and Music Festivals, museums, live music and bars, and history. That’s fine, because we certainly want to visit again.

Here are some photos from Glasgow .

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