Overview
In 1999, Glasgow won the title of UK City of Architecture
and Design, which attests to the great variety of quality
design within the city, with Victorian, Art Nouveau, Regency and
ultra-modern styles all represented. The most famous architect and
designer associated with the city – and the one who has left
his mark upon it – is Charles Rennie Mackintosh,
born in Glasgow in 1868. Another famed architect was Alexander
‘Greek’ Thomson. In addition to the architecture
on the streets, Glasgow is justifiably famous for the artistic collections
housed in its museums and galleries, most of which do not charge
an entrance fee.
Most of the city’s atracttions are situated on the north bank
of the River Clyde. Here, central Glasgow’s
street grid reaches eastward to encompass the Merchant City. Within
these two districts are the principal shopping precincts, theatres
and much of the nightlife, as well as The Lighthouse, Glasgow
School of Art and Gallery of Modern Art. To the east, Glasgow
Cathedral is overshadowed by the large Necropolis,
while to the north is Mackintosh’s Queen’s Cross
Church.
Beyond the M8 motorway is the green expanse of Kelvingrove
Park – within its precincts is the Art Gallery
and Museum, Kelvingrove. Overlooking the park are the grounds
of the University of Glasgow, home to the Hunterian
Art Gallery and Mackintosh House, with
the student popular West End and the Botanic
Gardens beyond. To the south of Kelvingrove, the ‘armadillo’
convention centre faces the Glasgow Science Centre
on the Clyde’s river bank, while the Burrell Collection
is located in the more distant Pollok Country Park.
Tourist Information
Glasgow Tourist Information Centre
11 George Square
Telephone: (0141) 204 4400. Fax: (0141) 221 3524.
Email: enquiries@seeglasgow.com
Web site: www.seeglasgow.com
Opening hours: Monday-Saturday 09:00 hrs-19:00
hrs, Sunday 10:00 hrs-18:00 hrs (May-June and September); Monday-Saturday
09:00 hrs-20:00 hrs, Sunday 10:00 hrs-18:00 hrs (July-August); Monday-Saturday
09:00 hrs-18:00 hrs (October-April).
There is a tourist information desk at the Glasgow International
Airport.
Passes
There are no tourist passes in Glasgow, as most of the attractions
are free.
Key Attractions
The Burrell Collection
The most famous of Glasgow’s art museums, The Burrell Collection
is a collection of 8000 works of art from shipping magnate Sir
William Burrell. Also situated within the park is Pollok
House, a fine house owned by the National Trust for Scotland.
A courtesy shuttle bus runs around the park, stopping at the Pollokshaws
West station and the Burrell buildings. A timetable is on display
at the entrance to the park.
The Burrell Collection
Pollok Country Park, 2060 Pollokshaws Road
Telephone: (0141) 287 2550. Fax: (0141) 287 2597.
Transport:
Train from Glasgow Central station to Pollokshaws West station;
bus 45, 47, 48 or 57.
Opening hours: Monday-Thursday
and Saturday 10:00 hrs-17:00 hrs, Friday and Sunday 11:00 hrs-17:00
hrs.
Admission: Free.
Pollok
House
Pollok Country Park, 2060 Pollokshaws Raod
Telephone: (0141) 616 6410. Fax: (0141) 616 6521.
Transport:
Train from Glasgow Central station to Pollokshaws West station;
bus 45, 47, 48 or 57.
Opening hours: Daily
10:00 hrs-17:00 hrs.
Admission: £5 (April-October);
free (November-March); concessions available.
The Lighthouse
Scotland’s Centre for Architecture, Design and the City opened
in 1999, as a key element of the 1999 City of Architecture and Design
programme. The
Lighthouse occupies the former Herald Building – designed
by Charles Rennie Mackintosh in 1895 – and
provides exhibition spaces for touring and special exhibits.
11 Mitchell Lane
Telephone: (0141) 221 6362. Fax: (0141) 221 6395.
Email: enquiries@thelighthouse.co.uk
Transport: Underground St Enoch.
Opening
hours: Monday and Wednesday-Saturday 10:30 hrs-17:00 hrs,
Tuesday 11:00 hrs-17:00 hrs, Sunday 12:00 hrs-17:00 hrs.
Admission:
£3 (concessions available).
Glasgow
Science Centre
The Glasgow Science
Centre’s titanium clad shell is home to the Science
Mall, with hundreds of hands-on exhibits covering natural
and applied sciences, from astronomy to bionics. The exhibitions
cover three floors and are divided by theme – ‘exploration
and discovery’, ‘science in action’ and ‘science
and you’. A tunnel leads to the base of the 127 metre -high
(417ft) Glasgow Tower, poised like a pencil standing
on its tip.
50 Pacific Quay
Telephone: (0141) 420 5000. Fax: (0141) 420 5011.
Email: admin@gsc.org.uk
Transport: Train to Exhibition Centre station
and a walk across Bells Bridge; Cessnock underground; bus 24, 89
or 90.
Opening hours: Daily 10:00-18:00 (Science
Mall); currently closed for maintenance (Glasgow Tower); daily 12:00
hrs-20:00 hrs (IMAX).
Admission: £6.50
(Science Mall), £5.50 (Glasgow Tower or IMAX), £9.50
(combination ticket for any two attractions), £14 (combination
ticket for all three attractions), concessions available.
People’s Palace
Built in 1898, as a ‘palace of pleasure’ for the working
classes, this museum tells the story of the people of Glasgow. Exhibits
cover everything from The Patter (the Glasgow dialect) to The Bevvy
(the use of alcohol).
Glasgow Green
Telephone: (0141) 554 0223. Fax: (0141) 550 0892.
Web site: www.glasgow.gov.uk
Transport: Belgrove or High Street station.
Opening hours: Monday-Thursday and Saturday 10:00
hrs-17:00 hrs, Friday and Sunday 11:00 hrs-17:00 hrs.
Admission:
Free.
Glasgow School of Art
Designed by Mackintosh, the Glasgow
School of Art was built in two phases, between 1897 and 1909,
and is well worth a visit. Because it is a working art school, admission
is by guided tour only, at specific times. During the peak
season, visitors should reserve a place in advance.
167 Renfrew Street
Telephone/fax: (0141) 353 4526.
Email: shop@gsa.ac.uk
Transport: Underground Cowcaddens.
Opening
hours: Monday-Friday 11:00 hrs and 14:00 hrs, Saturday
10:30 hrs and 11:30 hrs (guided tours only); Saturday 13:00 hrs,
Sunday 10:30 hrs, 11:30 hrs and 13:00 hrs (additional tours, July-August).
Admission: £5 (concessions available).
Hunterian Art Gallery and Mackintosh
House
This art gallery at the University of Glasgow houses a substantial
print collection – including works by Dürer and
Beardsley – and world paintings from the 17th century
to the present. A faithful reconstruction of the house, in which
Mackintosh and his wife lived from 1906 to 1914, with representative
interior decoration and original furniture, is also part of the
gallery.
82 Hillhead Street
Telephone: (0141) 330 5431. Fax: (0141) 330 3618.
Email: hunter@museum.gla.ac.uk
Web site: www.hunterian.gla.ac.uk
Transport: Underground Hillhead; bus 44 or
59.
Opening hours: Monday-Saturday 09:30 hrs-17:00
hrs (art gallery); Monday-Saturday 09:30 hrs-12:30 hrs and 13:30
hrs-17:00 hrs (Mackintosh House).
Admission:
Free.
Art Gallery and Museum,
Kelvingrove
This gallery and museum contains several displays, including a range
of European paintings covering the 15th to the 17th centuries and
from the 1890s to the 1960s, as well as arms, armour, archaeology
and natural history displays.
Kelvingrove, Argyle Street
Telephone: (0141) 287 2699. Fax: (0141) 287 2690.
Transport:
Underground Kelvin Hall; bus 6, 9, 16, 18, 42, 62 or 64; bus 45
and 57 go to and from the Burrell Collection.
Opening
hours: Monday-Thursday and Saturday 10:00 hrs-17:00 hrs,
Friday and Sunday 11:00 hrs-17:00 hrs.
Admission:
Free.
Gallery of Modern Art
The Gallery of Modern Art, located in the middle of Royal Exchange
Square, offers an up-to-date displays within its four floors of
gallery space.
Royal Exchange Square, Queen Street
Telephone: (0141) 229 1996. Fax: (0141) 204 5316.
Transport:
Underground St Enoch or Buchanan Street.
Opening hours:
Monday-Thursday and Saturday 10:00 hrs-17:00 hrs, Friday and Sunday
11:00 hrs-17:00 hrs.
Admission: Free.
St Mungo Museum of Religious Life and
Art
This unusual museum contains exhibitions that cover all the major
religions and includes a Zen garden and Salvador Dali’s Christ
of St.John of the Cross.
A short walk from the musuem is Glasgow
Cathedral, founded by the city’s patron saint, St
Kentigern, in the 6th century – the present building dates
from the 14th century. On the other side of the road is the Provands’
Lordship, the oldest home in Glasgow, built in 1471.
Castle Street, Cathedral Square
Telephone: (0141) 553 2557. Fax: (0141) 552 4744.
Transport: Bus 11, 37 or 42.
Opening hours:
Mon-Thurs and Saturday 10:00-17:00, Friday and Sunday 11:00-17:00.
Admission: Free.
Glasgow
Botanic Gardens
The 17-hectare or 42.5-acre gardens provide a park setting for the
glasshouses, the most notable of which is the Kibble Palace.
730 Great Western Road
Telephone: (0141) 334 2422. Fax: (0141) 339 6964.
Transport:
Underground Hillhead; bus 11, 20 or 59.
Opening hours:
Daily 07:00-sunset (gardens); all glasshouses are open daily 10:00-16:45
(summer) and 10:00-16:45 (winter).
Admission:
Free. |
