Glasgow, Scotland’s largest city, has changed rapidly in the past 20 years from a rough, tough, industrial city in decline to a vibrant destination. It’s one of the few places where a slogan – Glasgow Smiles Better – was more than just words.
Made firstly European City of Culture in 1990 and then, in 1999, UK City of Architecture and Design, art and design have driven the transformation. There is much high-quality design with Regency, Victorian, Art Nouveau and modern architecture all evident, most famously the work of Charles Rennie Mackintosh, a Glasgow native.
Glasgow takes pride from its history – world-famous engineers, inventors and writers hail from the city and it was a key driving force in the British Empire when every ship in the British mercantile marine seems to have had a Glaswegian chief engineer.
Glasgow was an important shipbuilding centre and that, and industrial wealth, led to the city's classical and art nouveau public buildings and mansions. The city is laid out on a grid pattern while areas like Merchant City and the West End, where the University is sited, are highly desirable commercial and residential areas.
The arts renaissance is clear with new galleries such as the Burrell Collection, which opened in 1983. These led to the tourist boom resulting in new restaurants, hotels and cultural events, with many attractions free to enter.
Most sights are easily reached and are on the north bank of the River Clyde. Sauchiehall Street has the shopping area while Merchant City is the focus of stylish smaller stores, and much of the nightlife. Kelvingrove Park – with its Art Gallery and Museum, is in the University area, home also to the Hunterian Art Gallery and Mackintosh House, with the Botanic Gardens further west.
Glasgow is ideal for touring the mountains and lochs of the west of Scotland with Loch Lomond only 20 miles away. Beyond that is the west coast and the islands reached by ferry, or by air from Glasgow airport.
Many budget and national carriers fly to Glasgow and there are regular train services from London, Manchester and Edinburgh. Summer days are long and light in to the late evening but the weather is extremely unpredictable and winters are cold and wet.
