City Travel Journal
My wife Liat got invited to a fascinating conference about Dark Tourism in Glasgow. It was our first visit to Scotland, and we were both very excited about it. As always in our trips, while Liat was locked up for most of the daytime, I explored the City as much as I could. And what a great city to explore! Beautiful buildings everywhere, friendly people, beautiful museums (in most of them the visit is for free), lots of street art, and the great River Clyde that split the City to two. All these provide an excellent and very satisfying cultural experience.
With 600K citizens, Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and the 4th largest city in the UK. The greatest celebrity of the City and a name you must know when visiting Glasgow is the architect and designer Charles Rennie Mackintosh (1868-1928). His works – Buildings and Furniture he designed, can be found in several places around the City. His masterwork - the Glasgow School of Art's Library, was burned in a fire in 2014, and now is in the middle of restoration. However, you can still visit some other significant buildings designed by Macintosh: The Lighthouse, Mackintosh House in the Hunterian Museum, Mackintosh Queen's Cross and more. You can check all Mackintosh buildings and exhibitions in www.glasgowmackintosh.com. However, unless you are are an actual architecture or Mackintosh fan, I would suggest skipping the Tours at the Glasgow School of Art - I found it a little annoying.
During my visit, the annual parade of the Orange Order took place - see video below.
We stayed in Holiday Inn Express Theatreland hotel in the city center, very close to Buchanan Street and The Buchanan Central station. The hotel is small and very functional. They serve nice breakfast, and the customer service was very satisfying.
Things you should do when visiting Glasgow:
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Walk. If you don't have to, skip cars and public transportation - just walk. Glasgow is very flat, vast and full of beautiful buildings. So even though there is a very efficient subway, it is most recommended to explore the city by foot. Bicycles are also a good choice. I must share that even though it was rainy, I enjoyed walking the City back and forth.
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Visit the museums. Particularly those who allowed free entrance. They are adorable and fits for all ages.
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Take an evening walk on the bank of River Clyde.
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Go to Buchanan Street & Sauchiehall Street, both a pedestrian only streets just in the middle of the City center, with lots of shops, malls, restaurants, pubs, and street performances all day long.
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Drink Whisky. The Scottish, like their Irish neighbors, are very proud for their Whisky. Try it.
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Eat Haggis. It is a traditional Scottish dish that contains the inner parts of lamb, mixed with onions, oatmeal flour, fat, and spices. Haggis traditionally served with "neeps and tatties" – mashed potatoes and a mash of Rutabaga, kind of a root vegetable. All dressed with Whisky Sauce. Just make sure you are eating eat in a decent place.
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And if it wasn't clear enough - visit at least one building and one exhibition of Mackintosh work.
Have a nice trip to Glasgow. I must admit that I already miss this beautiful city.
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Landmarks
George Square was founded in 1781 and named after King George III. The beautiful City Chambers located on the east side of the square. The square is full of many statues and monuments, dedicated to some of the most famous Scottish figures: Artists, Scientists and Politicians and surrounded by pubs and restaurants.
Special Places
Kelvin Walkway follows the River Kelvin from Milngavie to the Glasgow Heliport on the River Clyde. It is a 14 km Walk, through parks, museums galleries, and cultural landmarks. I took a short 50-min walk from The Botanic Gardens to Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum. Walking by the river is very pleasant, and if I were not in a hurry to the museum, I would walk on for a long time.
Useful Information
Buying sim card for an unlocked smartphone is a very cheap and simple solution for a person who wants to stay in contact with friends and family, and use great travel apps which facilitate many aspects of the trip.
The UK currency is the pound sterling, commonly named pound and marked £ or GBP (Great Britain Pound). The pound is subdivided to 100 pence (penny in singular).
Learn about power plugs and sockets in use in the UK, and find out about the proper power plug converter.
A beautiful museum, named after Glasgow's patron saint, who brought Christianity to Scotland 1,500 years ago.
The museum's galleries house stunning works of art, aside artifacts and beautiful displays, yet not too serious, of faith and religions around the world.
The museum located in front of Provand's Lordship and near the Glasgow Cathedral.
The Hunterian Art Gallery and The Mackintosh House are located just in front of The Hunterian Museum. The art gallery houses some important art collections, including works of Rembrandt, Chardin, Stubbs, Whistler, Mackintosh and Scottish Art, especially the Glasgow Boys and Scottish Colourists. The Mackintosh House displays a strict reconstruction of the inner space of the house of Charles Rennie Mackintosh and his artist-wife Margaret Macdonald, who lived in the next street from 1906 to 1914.
The Hunterian Museum houses a rich collection of rare objects with scientific, historical, and cultural importance: Dinosaurs, fossils, scientific instruments, mummies, Mineral treasures and a lot more. The exhibition based on the collections of William Hunter (1718-1783), a Scottish anatomist and physician who established the first Museum of Scotland, and few more donated collections.
A beautiful and exciting museum considered one of the most popular free attractions in Scotland. Among the thousands of objects exhibited in the galleries, you can find Christ of St John of the Cross by Salvador Dali, Mummies and Sarcophagus, Stuffed Animals and Dinosaurs bones, Scottish art, a dedicated gallery to Charles Rennie Mackintosh and the Glasgow Style, Scottish and more.
The Tallship is an excellent museum on the water. SV Glenelee is the only remaining Clyde-built sailing vessel afloat, so it is an icon of Glasgow's shipbuilding heritage. It is a great playground for kids, pirate lovers and all those who curious to look at the inside of a cargo ship from the end of 19th century.
The City Chambers is probably the most magnificent building in Glasgow, and one of the most impressive buildings I have ever seen. Mosaic floors, marble stairs and walls, sculptures, wood decorated rooms and salons, huge banquet hall, ceiling decorated with gold leaf, and stained glass dome - all merge in beautifully harmoniously and impart a sense of dignity and prestige.
A lovely Whisky Distillery located 20 Km far from Glasgow. It took us exactly one hour to go there by bus from Buchanan Bus Central Station. The bus stop is right in the doors of the distillery, what makes it very easy to visit, even for a rainy day. There are several versions for guided tours, mostly depending on how much whiskey you want to drink during your stay.
