Glasgow, the Best Sights in 24 Hours
Glasgow has always seemed like Edinburgh’s grittier, edgy sibling. It’s the most populous City in Scotland and 4th in the UK! It’s located in the midwest lowlands of Scotland along the banks of the river Clyde.
I’d wanted to visit for ages, drawn in by the art and food scene that thrives there due to a melting pot of cultures. I got a good deal at the Carlton George right in the middle of the City and thought right lets goooo!
I was staying right by the impressive George square with all it’s big merchant buildings surrounding it. Glasgow was the second city of the British Empire for much of the Victorian and Edwardian eras with vast wealth coming in due to it’s shipbuilding and innovation. It also grew rich during this time thanks to the slave economy.
One of my favourite things to do in a city is check out the street art, and there was one in particular I had wanted to see for a long time. St Mungo was a missionary in the 6th century and was the founder and patron saint of Glasgow. There’s a superb mural of him just off High St east of George Sq and that’s where I headed!
The walk there, past the university of Strathclyde was a street art lovers paradise. There were so many cool designs I was very happy, walking along with my Irn bru. From here I followed more street art that I could see down to Candleriggs St where I stopped for a nice afternoon cocktail at The Metropolitan bar.
I had a good little buzz on as I wandered through the streets. I stopped off at this fun policebox for a quick pic and then headed over to Tantrum doughnuts for the most unreal creme brulee donut! My plan was to head out to the dock area along the river. So a quick google told me to take the train to Exhibition centre.
The Glasgow underground is the smallest in the world, the trains look like cute little caterpillars. The dock area is pretty cool, with the Finnieston crane being one of the last vestiges of the industrial past here. The rest has been newly built with a couple of arenas and the BBC Scotland building here. It’s a nice walk along the river and I ended up walking all the way to Byres Rd, one of Glasgow’s coolest food and drink spots.
I had read about a great Vietnamese place called Hanoi Bike Shop and it definitely didn’t disappoint. The exterior looks so cool and the inside is just as good. The food was so tasty and fresh with really good vegetarian options. I was so stuffed!
I stumbled across the road and managed to find a space in the Ubiquitous Chip, a very cute little old fashioned pub. There is a restaurant attached that sounded nice too. I had a Laphroaig 12 yr old and settled in to plan my next steps.
I decided to head back into the City and check out the gay bars of Glasgow! I had such a fun night going to places like Delmonicas, Underground and Polo Lounge. The scene was really good, busy and everyone was super friendly. My favourite part was drinking vodka and irn bru, a true Scottish delicacy.
The next day I was up and ready despite a bit of a hangover, excited for today’s activities. I was off to check out some art, first on the list was the Gallery of Modern Art – there were a few interesting things to see but it didn’t blow me away. Glasgow is famous for art, and the Glasgow school of art has produced 8 turner prize winners!
Next up was something I was really looking forward to as it looked nuts, the Sharmanka Kinetic Gallery is a theatre of kinetic sculptures featuring mechanical figures which perform shows. It’s somewhere across between steam punk and folklore.
I absolutely loved it, you can wander around and check some of the still scupltures out, then you are seated and the show happens, there are so many parts to it that your eyes are looking everywhere and the music is eerie and melancholy. You do have to book a slot in advance so make sure you get it done early!
I needed a break after that so I picked up a Greggs and then headed for a nice cocktail, passing by a really cool spaceman mural. I stopped at the Corinthian, it had an amazing interior and the cocktail was delicious. I finished up and headed back to Byres Rd for some more Asian food at Kimchi Cult. Now this was next level, the place is tiny but the food was so good, I love anything kimchi related.
Next on my list was the nearby Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum and this was fantastic, I wish I’d had more time to wander because there was so much to see there. I love natural history stuff and this had it in spades, it also had some cool art history so it was interesting to learn about someone like Charles Mackintosh.
I was starving by this point and decided to treat myself to a nice meal for my last night. I booked into the Ubiquitous Chip restaurant and I’m glad I did. It was unreal, the actual decor was amazing inside and the staff were really attentive. I did the taster menu and it was so good, I would definitely recommend going there.
I finished off the night by trying out Tabac in the city centre. A cool bar with a bit of speakeasy vibes that was pretty nice, but I was tired so it was just a nightcap and then bed. The next day I checked out a few more bits of street art and some buildings I wanted to see and then it was back to reality. I really loved Glasgow and would definitely go back again! If you wanted to make it a bigger trip check out Edinburgh and Ben Nevis HERE.
