Things for Adults to Do in Glasgow

Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and is famous for its superb collection of free attractions that include the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, the Riverside Museum of Transport, and The Tall Ship, all of which welcome hundreds of thousands of tourists each year.

But there’s more to this city than museums and art galleries and a visit can easily include expansive parks, bustling shopping centres and world-class theatres, all located within easy walking distance of each other.

Discover the best things to do in Glasgow for adults with this complete visitor guide which includes overviews of the top places, a map, and lots of good-to-know visiting advice.

Fun Things to Do in Glasgow for Adults

What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you think of Glasgow? The River Clyde perhaps, or maybe shipbuilding, Billy Connolly, and summer festivals.

Or how about Tennent’s lager, enormous city parks and world-class shopping?

Whatever you think of the city, it’s undeniable that Glasgow is home to a collection of amazing tourist attractions that easily rival those in Edinburgh and are arguably at the same level as many of the top attractions in London.

There’s certainly an exciting atmosphere in Glasgow compared to other British cities. It feels just as modern and has an edge to it that mirrors the southern capital, but it’s without a doubt a friendlier place than the Big Smoke.

The number of cultural venues in Glasgow is nothing short of gob-smacking and not only are there a fantastic selection of theatres, restaurants, museums, and art galleries, but it’s also a major hub for creative talent.

It’s also a family-friendly city thanks to the number of attractions spread across it, and unlike the tourist rip-off prices you’ll find in some cities (cough-Edinburgh-cough) many of Glasgow’s best attractions are completely free to enter.

In this article you’ll discover the best attractions for adults in Glasgow from museums and art galleries to public parks and botanic gardens.

In the following sections you’ll find a map of the main attractions along with descriptions of each one and lots of useful information to help you travel around the city and plan your visit.

The article is constantly being updated with new information so please bookmark it for future reference.

Discover Glasgow with a collection of virtual tours in this article: Best Places for Couples to Visit in Glasgow.

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The Best Tours in Glasgow

Glasgow is an amazing city to visit but it can also be a confusing place due to its large sprawling layout that sees many of its top attractions spread across the city centre and beyond.

Unlike Edinburgh which has virtually all of its attractions located within walking distance of each other, a sightseeing tour of Glasgow means you’ll have to combine foot power with bus, subway, and possibly taxis.

So what can busy visitors do to maximize their time?

The obvious answer has to be joining a professionally guided tour with an experienced guide who knows the city like the back of their hand.

They’ll be able to take you around all the top attractions as a small group in the most direct route, saving you time, and in many cases, money.

That being said, not everyone likes being part of a tour group which is why the other option for being shown where to go – the hop-on hop-off tour bus – is one of the most popular ways for visitors to see Glasgow.

The following list features a selection of the best-reviewed tours on the Get Your Guide website (one of the biggest tour booking services) held that are daily, along with options for tour buses.

Glasgow: City Centre Guided Walking Tour – Of all the tours you can choose from, this is the pick of the bunch for visitors that want a general overview of the city.

The tour starts outside the grand City Chamber in George Square and continues around all the main attractions including the cathedral, the Necropolis, Glasgow Green, and many more. BOOK NOW.

City Sightseeing Glasgow: Hop-On Hop-Off Bus Tour – Purchasing a ticket for a hop-on hop-off bus means you can visit all the top attractions on a partially-open bus that drives between all the main sites throughout the day.

The tour bus features audio guides of each attraction so you can decide which ones you’d like to hop off and view at your leisure. When you leave, simply wait for the bus to return and hop back on to visit the next destination. BOOK NOW.

Glasgow: Glengoyne Distillery Guided Tour & Whiskey Tasting – If you’ve never been on a whisky distillery tour, visiting Glengoyne will be the perfect introduction to the world of Scotland’s greatest export.

Glengoyne isn’t the biggest brand by any means but their tour is one of the best thanks to a fascinating walk around the whisky-making facilities and a tutored tasting of 3 generous samples from the vaults. BOOK NOW.

Glasgow: Street Art Guided Walking Tour – As mentioned in an earlier section, the Glasgow City Mural Trail is a great way to see the city, but some murals can be a little tricky to find.

On this tour, a Glasgow expert will take you around each one in the most direct route while telling you stories about each mural and how the modern city inspired them. BOOK NOW.

Glasgow: Celtic Park Stadium Tour – If you love football you’ll enjoy every second of this tour (one of the most popular Glasgow tours available) which takes visitors on a journey to feel the passion and history of Celtic Park Stadium.

The 1-hour tour explores the dressing room, dugout, training areas, tunnel, and much more with a knowledgeable guide who explains the history of the club along with a few amusing stories. BOOK NOW.

Hard Rock Cafe Glasgow Meal & Skip The Line Ticket – Finding a good place to enjoy a meal in Glasgow can be a little intimidating as there are so many options it’s impossible to know where to begin.

However, by pre-paying for a ticket to the Hard Rock Café you’ll have a superb meal in a fun setting – with the bonus being your entry ticket allows you to skip straight to the front of the queue. A great option for families and couples alike. BOOK NOW.

The Glasgow Gallery of Modern Art

• Address: Royal Exchange Square, Glasgow, G1 3AH
• Contact details: Telephone 0141 287 3050, email museums@glasgowlife.org.uk
• Out About Scotland complete guide: The Glasgow Gallery of Modern Art

The Glasgow Gallery of Modern Art – or the GOMA as it’s more commonly known – is the city’s primary gallery for modern art and has been entertaining locals and visiting tourists since 1996.

While the gallery in its current incarnation isn’t that old the building that contains the collection most certainly is, having been originally built in 1778 as the townhouse of the tobacco merchant William Cunninghame before being taken over by the Royal Bank of Scotland in 1817.

The building is in the city’s cultural heart, not far from George Square and between Buchanan and Queen Streets – both popular attractions in their own right thanks to the number of shops, malls, bars and restaurants in them.

The gallery hosts artworks by many of the world’s greatest contemporary artists and walking around each floor gives you access to pieces by Andy Warhol, David Hockney, Margaret Tait and many others in a range of media including paintings, sculptures, photos and video.

But the GOMA isn’t just about showcasing modern art because it’s also used as an educational venue where visitors are free to unleash their inner artist in regular classes and workshops held throughout the year.

Although the GOMA is free to visit there are frequent premium exhibitions that have an entrance fee, with tickets costing around £5-10.

There’s also a good on-site café and a great shop that has lots of art and culture-themed books that you’d struggle to find anywhere else.

Perhaps the best thing about visiting the GOMA is the fact that as it’s so centrally located in Glasgow it’s close to lots of other attractions – including George Square which is detailed next.

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George Square

• Address: Glasgow, G2 1DH
• Contact details: NA
• Out About Scotland complete guide: George Square

While it might not be the most show-stopping attraction in Glasgow, George Square is definitely a place that’s worth visiting.

To be honest, due to its location it’s actually difficult not to visit Glasgow’s main civic square as it’s situated directly outside Queen Street train station on the junction of Queen Street and George Street – two of the busiest roads in the city.

The focal point of the square is the Scott Monument in the centre, but visitors might like to spend more time looking at the statues surrounding it as they depict famous figures from Scotland’s history including poet Robert Burns and Prime Minister William Gladstone.

There are plaques set into each statue’s plinth that tell you the name and dates of each person that’s memorialized, but if you really want to know more about their history I recommend downloading the official heritage trail guide which explains the full story of each monument in detail.

On the eastern side of the square lies The Cenotaph memorial that’s dedicated to all the Scots that fell in the great wars, while behind it you’ll find the Victorian City Chamber which is the city’s main civic building.

The City Chamber is open for guided tours twice daily and I recommend popping your head inside and enquiring when the next tour is on as you’ll have a fascinating walk around a building that’s absolutely beautiful inside, with lavish amounts of marble and polished mahogany that rivals any other historic building in Glasgow.

Tours are free and last around 45 minutes, and you can get tickets by enquiring at the reception desk.

The other reason to visit George Square is for the festivals that are staged there throughout the year – the largest of which are the Piping Live and Glasgow Loves Christmas events – but there are dozens of smaller events held at various times. To find out which events are coming up, check out the eventbrite website.

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Glasgow Botanic Gardens

• Address: 730 Great Western Rd, Glasgow, G12 0UE
• Contact details: Telephone 0141 276 1614, email General Manager
• Out About Scotland complete guide: Glasgow Botanic Gardens

Glasgow Botanic Gardens easily rival those in Edinburgh (high praise as you’ll know if you’ve been there) and they’re a must-visit if you’re in Glasgow but don’t want to spend all day indoors.

The gardens are home to over 12,000 different specimens that are spread across lawns, flower beds, riverside woodland and a gigantic conservatory, all of which have been carefully managed since 1842 when they were first opened to the public.

The Victorian conservatory known as the Kibble Palace is particularly impressive because not only does it house a mini maze, a collection of beautiful statues and a pond, but it’s also the home of Scotland’s national collection of ferns – some of which are over 120 years old.

A second, modern steel-framed greenhouse sits nearby which isn’t anywhere near as attractive on the outside but more than makes up for it on the inside where you’ll find a tropical jungle, a copse of exotic trees, and lots of rare flowers collected from all over the world.

Another attractive part of the gardens is the walkway along the River Kelvin which is a lovely riverside setting that makes it all too easy to forget you’re in the middle of a bustling urban metropolis.

The Glasgow Botanic Gardens also has a restaurant in the former Curator’s house near the front entrance where you’ll be able to sample a delicious range of home baking.

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Glasgow Cathedral

• Address: Cathedral Precinct, Castle Street, Glasgow, G4 0QZ
• Contact details: Tel 0141 552 6891, website contact form
• Out About Scotland complete guide: Glasgow Cathedral

This medieval cathedral was built in dedication to Saint Kentigern (also known as Saint Mungo) who is believed to have been buried on the site in AD 612.

After his death, worshippers flocked to St. Mungo’s shrine and a small community grew around it. Over time, the community attracted tradespeople and shopkeepers and within a few hundred years the city of Glasgow was founded.

The cathedral as we see it today wasn’t finished till the mid-1200s but take a look at it and you can understand why it took so long to build.

It’s beautifully sculpted and mightily impressive – similar but smaller than York Minster – and thankfully it managed to survive the last 900-odd years pretty much intact through religious upheavals and world wars.

Step inside the nave and you’ll be amazed by the intricate carvings in the stonework and the awe-inspiring stained-glass windows. It’s a stunning building and It’s not really surprising that even today, Glasgow Cathedral remains one of the city’s most-visited attractions.

The cathedral is joint run with Historic Environment Scotland which offers a self-guided audio tour, but I personally recommend just wandering around the building at your own leisure to soak up the atmosphere.

That being said, the audio tour is genuinely interesting and is worth purchasing for first-time visitors, but be aware it’s downloaded onto your mobile phone so you’ll need to remember to take headphones with you.

Speaking of atmosphere, when you visit make sure you head downstairs into the crypt which is the final resting place of St. Kentigern.

The crypt is fascinating and there are lots of information panels so you can learn about the story of both the cathedral and the saint, but if you develop a thirst to know more there’s a decent shop near the entrance that has lots of history books to browse through.

If all that leaves you craving more I highly recommend you take a walk across the cathedral precinct and head inside St. Mungo’s Museum of Religious Life and Art which is one of the few museums in the world solely dedicated to religion.

Both sites are just a couple of minute’s walk from each other so they’re good options for indoor activities in Glasgow when it rains.

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Glasgow Green and the People’s Palace

• Address: Templeton Street, Glasgow, G40 1AT
• Contact details: Tel 0141 276 0788, email museums@glasgowlife.org.uk
• Out About Scotland complete guide: Glasgow Green and The People’s Palace

The People’s Palace – located within the grounds of Glasgow Green public park – is proof if it were ever needed that Glasgow is rightly proud of its history.

The ‘Palace’ was opened in 1898 as a cultural centre for Glasgow’s residents and it housed reading and recreation rooms until it was converted into a social history museum in the 1940s.

Although it fell into near-ruin in the 80s and 90s, it has now reopened and has been renovated to include photography exhibitions, museum exhibits about the city’s history, a café, and the Winter Gardens.

The Winter Gardens are similar to a miniature version of Kibble Palace in the Glasgow Botanic Gardens (see later in this article), and they offer a lovely green oasis whatever the weather is doing outside.

Outside the People’s Palace you’ll find the Doulton Fountain which was created in 1888 to celebrate the reign of Queen Victoria, while landmarks like Nelson’s Monument – built 30 years before Nelson’s Column in London – can be found in the centre of Glasgow Green.

Other points of interest in the park are the McLennan Arch that sits at the Saltmarket entrance, and various statues that commemorate leading figures from the city’s history.

Glasgow Green is yet another example of Glasgow’s fondness for green spaces and certainly contributes towards the fact that it is officially the second-greenest city in Britain after Edinburgh.

Glasgow Green is also the venue for some of Scotland’s biggest annual events with TRNSMT (which you can read about in The Complete Guide to the TRNSMT Music Festival) being one of the highlights along with The World Pipe Band Championships.

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The Glasgow Mural Trail

• Address: See the City Centre Mural Trail website for current mural locations
• Contact details: NA
• Out About Scotland complete guide: The Glasgow Mural Trail

The City Centre Mural Trail isn’t really an attraction as such, but it’s very popular and attracts thousands of tourists each year who search the city streets in the hopes of finding a number of pop-up artworks.

The mural trail has gained something of a cult following among Glasgow’s visitors because it’s one of the few ways to see the more off-the-standard-tourist-route areas that are never mentioned in guidebooks.

The Glasgow Mural Trail also allows Scotland’s best young artistic talent to display their art in a collection of scenes that highlight the role that Glasgow has played in Britain’s history.

Many of these murals are absolutely enormous and most are off-the-wall (pardon the pun) – think along the lines of Banksy but bigger and more colourful and you won’t go far wrong.

While it’s possible to just wander around the city and stumble on the occasional mural here and there, if you want to see them all you need to head over to the official Glasgow Mural Trail website and check out their updated map.

Don’t be surprised if during your walk you find the occasional mural has suddenly gone missing though, as they are designed to be replaced by new murals whenever the walls they are painted on are demolished.

So while you might miss out on some artworks you can rest assured a different one will be going up somewhere else to replace it, which just means you get to explore even more parts of Glasgow the next time you visit.

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The Hunterian Museum

• Address: The Gilbert Scott Building, The University of Glasgow, Glasgow, G12 8QQ
• Contact details: Tel 0141 330 4221, email hunterian-enquiries@glasgow.ac.uk
• Out About Scotland complete guide: The Hunterian Museum

The 150-year-old Gilbert Scott Building is located in the centre of the University of Glasgow, officially the fourth-oldest university in the English-speaking world.

It’s there where you’ll be able to explore the Hunterian Museum which is widely regarded as one of the best hidden gems in the city.

To find it, head to the iconic cloisters and follow the staircase that leads towards Bute Hall where you’ll find the museum directly opposite.

This fascinating collection of exhibits opened in 1807 when private collector and anatomist William Hunter gifted his life’s work to the university.

Since then it has expanded into a museum that covers fields of study including Roman history, dinosaurs, evolution, metals, minerals, medicine and much more.

Turn right from the main entrance and you’ll enter the main hall – a huge area set over 2 floors that contain the bulk of the artefacts – while the space opposite the main entrance houses a collection of pieces from the Roman Antonine Wall.

They’ve managed to cram a huge number of artefacts inside each exhibition space and the displays never get boring, though I suppose they’ve had the time to get it just right seeing as The Hunterian is the oldest museum in Scotland.

Each display case is meticulously arranged and full of interesting objects from meteorites to dinosaur bones, and ancient human tools to the first medical instruments.

Admittedly it’s a far smaller collection than you’ll find at Kelvingrove, but it’s no less interesting for it.

Like all the best attractions in Glasgow, The Hunterian Museum is completely free to enter, and as it’s located close to Kelvingrove it’s easy to combine a visit to both in one day – perfect if you’re trying to entertain bored children when it’s raining.

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Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum

• Address: Argyle Street, Glasgow, G3 8AG
• Contact details: Tel 0141 276 9599, email museums@glasgowlife.org.uk
• Out About Scotland complete guide: Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum

This attraction – located in Kelvingrove Park – is one of the city’s highlights and absolutely has to be at the top of your list of places to visit in Glasgow.

Set inside an ornate red sandstone building, Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum has been wowing visitors since opening in 1852.

During a visit you’ll be taken on a journey through Ancient Egypt, the animal kingdom, modern art, Scotland’s cultural heritage and much more.

What I like most about Kelvingrove is that it’s basically two attractions in one, with art galleries featuring collections of fine art and exhibition halls that showcase artefacts from the fields of history and science.

The curators have arranged each gallery in a way that’s enjoyable for all ages and adults will be entertained just as much as children, which makes this free attraction a perfect venue for a day out.

Although there are lots of permanent fixtures (like the restored Spitfire hanging from the ceiling of the East Court) many exhibits in the Life (showcasing natural and human history) and Expression (featuring fine art) galleries are rotated, so going back for another visit later in the year always gives you something new to look at.

Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum currently displays an incredible 9,000 exhibits across 22 state-of-the-art galleries, with the fine art collections widely recognized as among the best in Europe.

These galleries house works by many of the world’s most famous artists including Leonardo da Vinci, Rembrandt, Renoir, and Glasgow’s favourite home-grown designer, Charles Rennie Mackintosh.

Although there’s no on-site parking, Kelvingrove features a superb café and gift shop and as it’s located in Kelvingrove Park it’s easy to let children run wild in the play park after your visit.

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Kelvingrove Park

• Address: Kelvingrove Park, Kelvin Way, Glasgow
• Contact details: Glasgow City Council website
• Out About Scotland complete guide: Kelvingrove Park

As mentioned above, Kelvingrove Park is home to Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum – one of Scotland’s most-visited free tourist attractions – and a walk around one wouldn’t be complete without a visit to the other afterwards.

This Victorian park covers an expansive 85 acres and it’s worth exploring whether you want to look at the monuments dotted around it or walk along the miles of footpaths that thread their way across open grass areas, the River Kelvin, play parks, and sports venues.

Walking north along Kelvin Way will take you to the Kelvingrove Lawn Bowls and Tennis Centre that was used for the 2014 Commonwealth Games, and the Kelvingrove skate park is nearby if you’ve got sports-loving kids with a penchant for skateboards.

There are also 3 children’s play parks if you’ve got younger offspring that need to be kept occupied and there are a couple of cafés if you fancy a caffeine fix away from the claustrophobic city centre.

Kelvingrove is a very accessible park and the majority of paths are comprised of well-maintained tarmac so it’s an accessible space for pushchairs as well as wheelchair users.

The path that runs alongside the River Kelvin as it meanders towards the River Clyde is arguably the highlight, but the path leading to the ornate Stewart Memorial Fountain comes a close second.

If you find yourself in the mood for a longer walk, The Kelvin Walkway is a wildlife oasis located in the heart of Glasgow that’s home to geese, kingfishers, foxes, and even otters.

The walkway starts at Kelvingrove Park tennis courts and follows the river for six miles to Dawsholm Park, situated to the northwest of Glasgow city centre.

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The Glasgow Necropolis

• Address: Castle St, Glasgow, G4 0UZ
• Contact details: email chair@glasgownecropolis.org
• Out About Scotland complete guide: The Glasgow Necropolis

The Glasgow Necropolis is the final resting place for over 50,000 Glasgow residents, many of whom were instrumental in forging Scotland into the country that it is today.

Across this vast 37-acre site you’ll find a dizzying number of Gothic tombs, monuments, and gravestones with a spiders-web of paths threading their way between them.

There are around 3,500 monuments at the Necropolis and most of them are very decorative, but possibly none more so than the very first monument that was installed there for the 16th-century preacher, John Knox.

Knox’s monument sits on top of a hill overlooking Glasgow Cathedral and it’s a great spot to get an elevated view of the city. If you haven’t already visited the cathedral, you’ll find it’s just a 5-minute walk from the Knox monument.

It’s just a shame that Knox isn’t actually buried there. Instead, you’ll find him tarmacked under the car park at St. Giles Cathedral in Edinburgh!

One thing I recommend you do before setting off to explore the Glasgow Necropolis is to download a map of the site and then go on a hunt for the graves of famous Scots such as John Knox and Charles Rennie Mackintosh because it makes the whole experience even more interesting.

Failing that, you might consider joining one of the free tours provided by The Friends of Glasgow Necropolis. These tours are extremely popular and are often filled months in advance, so I recommend taking a look at their website before visiting to see if there are any available spaces.

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The Riverside Museum of Transport

• Address: Pointhouse Place, Glasgow, G3 8RS
• Contact details: Tel 0141 287 2720, email museums@glasgowlife.org.uk
• Out About Scotland complete guide: The Riverside Museum of Transport

This really is a first-class tourist attraction because not only is it situated next to The Tall Ship – more on that later – but it’s full of the greatest achievements in motoring history.

Take a walk around this museum and you’ll find pristine examples from Porsche, Bentley and Rolls-Royce, as well as more down-to-earth cars like the Ford Anglia and VW Beetle.

You can dust your flares off and imagine being back in control of a 1970s Ford Cortina or strap on your deeley bobbers (if you’re under 40, Google it) and pretend you’re manning the helm of a Sinclair C5.

But it’s not just cars on show. Raleigh Choppers, Penny Farthings, steam and diesel trains, ambulances, trams, horse and carriages – you name it, if it’s been used for transport there’s a good chance an example of it is somewhere to be found in this museum.

By the way, that last example, the horse and carriages, are part of the best display at the attraction which is a recreation of an entire Glasgow street inside the main hall complete with shops, a café, a subway station, and even an old-fashioned spit-and-sawdust boozer (booze not included, unfortunately).

The entire display is very realistic and you can walk inside most of the shops for an authentic taste of what life would have been like in the last century.

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The Scottish Event Campus Centre

• Address: Glasgow, G3 8YW
• Contact details: Tel 0141 248 3000
• Out About Scotland complete guide: The SECC

The Scottish Event Campus Centre isn’t actually a tourist attraction, but it’s certainly somewhere that’s worth taking a look at if you’re wandering along the River Clyde walkway.

The SECC is located a mile east of the Riverside Museum where it’s divided into three main buildings – the Armadillo, the Hydro, and the SEC Centre. Each of these buildings serves as a stage for various events throughout the year, primarily music concerts but also a number of exhibitions.

The reason why I’ve included it in this list is that two of the buildings – the Armadillo and the Hydro – are completely unlike any other building in Scotland, and possibly the whole of Britain.

They’re stunning examples of British architecture and a selfie or two in front of them has become a bit of a must-do for tourists during their sightseeing walks around Glasgow.

It won’t take long to walk from the Riverside Museum or the Tall ship to the SECC (maybe 20 minutes) and it’s an enjoyable way to see the River Clyde, with a bonus being there are plenty of other things to see in the immediate area.

Directly opposite the Hydro is the Finnieston Crane which is one of Glasgow’s most famous landmarks.

The enormous crane is one of the few reminders that at one time Glasgow was one of the world’s largest shipbuilders which at its peak employed more than 70,000 workers in 19 shipyards.

Photos of the crane with the Clyde behind it almost have to be part of your photo gallery.

The Glasgow Science Centre and Festival Park lie on the opposite side of the river, and Clydeside Whisky Distillery is situated to the west of the SECC car park, but if you’d rather get back to the city centre you’ll find the exhibition subway station on the other side of the A814 (via an overpass).

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The St. Mungo Museum of Religious Life and Art

• Address: Castle Street, Glasgow, G4 0RH
• Contact details: Tel 0141 276 1625
• Out About Scotland complete guide: The St. Mungo Museum

This is another Glasgow Museum that’s well worth visiting, not just because it’s free and situated next to the cathedral, but because it’s genuinely interesting whether you’re religious or not.

I have to say I have absolutely no interest in religion but I really enjoyed my visit to the St. Mungo Museum and I think people will find it fascinating regardless of their background.

One thing worth mentioning is the fact that this is the only museum in the world that’s solely devoted to the subject of religion so you’re unlikely to find a collection of artefacts like this anywhere else.

What impressed me most about the St. Mungo Museum of Religious Life and Art is that its primary purpose is to inform and educate people about religions the world over, without suggesting any is superior to the other.

To achieve that aim each room contains a varied collection of religious paintings, statues, and objects collected from all over the globe along with lots of information panels next to each exhibit.

Take a walk around the floors and you’ll see a Nigerian tribal screen sitting next to a statue of the Indian god Shiva, and Buddha statues resting in front of Christian stained glass windows.

Of course, the biggest section is devoted to St. Mungo himself so you can’t fail to learn a little about the saint and his links to Glasgow during your visit.

While all this is great for adults I think youngsters are going to find it hard going but at least there’s a good café downstairs with outside seating if you want to give them a break, and of course, Glasgow Cathedral and the Necropolis are located within a few minutes walk of the museum.

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The Tall Ship

• Address: 150 Pointhouse Place, Glasgow, G3 8RS
• Contact details: Tel 0141 357 3699, website contact form
• Out About Scotland complete guide: The Tall Ship

If you step outside the Riverside Transport Museum as it faces the River Clyde, you can’t fail to miss the enormous sailing ship moored next to it.

This 19th-century three-mast ship is the Glenlee, and she offers a glimpse into what life on the seven seas would have been like over a hundred years ago.

The Glenlee is one of only five Clyde-built tall ships that are still afloat today and she’s open to visitors to explore every nook and cranny to discover why these ships were used so extensively back when Glasgow was a shipbuilding powerhouse.

It took six years to fully restore the vessel and the owners have done a superb job with everything looking new and ship-shape from the main deckhouse all the way down to the cargo hold.

There are information panels installed throughout the ship and you can get hands-on in most areas, though some of the displays like the galley and the kitchen are cordoned off at the door.

Speaking of the galley, food is very much alive and well on the Glenlee because they’ve managed to fit an entire cafeteria and gift shop into the 2nd-level deck. The fact that the café and shop only take up half of the floor space gives you some idea of just how big the vessel actually is.

The lower decks have a children’s play area and an education room complete with mini-cinema and there are even more information panels on the walls to tell you all about the ship, the crew that manned her, and Glasgow’s shipbuilding heritage.

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The University of Glasgow

• Address: The University of Glasgow, Glasgow, G12 8QQ
• Contact details: Telephone 0141 330 4221
• Out About Scotland complete guide: The University of Glasgow

Like the SECC, the University of Glasgow isn’t a tourist attraction in the truest sense, but it’s somewhere that has become part and parcel of every guided tour around the city.

The University of Glasgow is the 4th-oldest university in the world and features the most striking buildings in Glasgow – and possibly the whole of Scotland – which look more like a cathedral than a place of education.

These beautiful buildings are located close to Kelvingrove Park which you can walk to in just 10-minutes, so it’s well worth taking the time to visit the university if you’ve already been to Kelvingrove Museum

Much like Edinburgh’s Old Town, the university is an extraordinarily atmospheric place that’s full of Gothic towers and hidden archways and it absolutely oozes with history – as you’d expect having been founded all the way back in 1451.

When you visit you’ll notice a number of information boards that point you in the direction of the Hunterian Museum and the Hunterian Gallery, but there’s also a nice wee university gift shop and a couple of cheap cafés on the campus.

The public is free to explore the exterior of the oldest buildings at their leisure, but as it’s a working university it’s not possible to enter all the buildings as a tourist.

My advice to make the most of your visit is to check out the official university website which has a pre-made self-guided tour that you can follow as well as details on how to book a guided tour.

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