Things to do in Glasgow

Culture · West End

A red sandstone Victorian palace holding Dalí's Christ of St John of the Cross, a Spitfire hung from the ceiling, and a working pipe organ — free to enter.

Local tip: There is a free organ recital most days at 1pm. Almost no visitor plans around it and it transforms the main hall.

Landmark · East, behind the Cathedral

A Victorian garden cemetery on a hill above the Cathedral, with monumental tombs and the best free view over the city.

Local tip: Go up from the Bridge of Sighs behind the Cathedral rather than driving round. The light in the hour before sunset is the reason people keep coming back.

Nature · South of the Clyde

A country estate inside the city, with Highland cattle, ancient woodland and the Burrell Collection in a rebuilt modernist gallery.

Local tip: The Burrell reopened after a long refurbishment and is free. Pollok Park is large enough that most people never leave the first path — walk south-west toward the White Cart Water and you will have it to yourself.

Nightlife · Gallowgate, East End

A 1930s dance hall with a sprung floor and a neon sign, widely rated by touring musicians as one of the best rooms in Britain.

Local tip: The sprung floor is not a metaphor — it genuinely moves. The Barras market around it on a weekend morning is a separate and much older Glasgow institution.

Food · West of the centre

Argyle Street between the motorway and Kelvingrove, now the densest run of good restaurants and bars in the city.

Local tip: It gets described as the new West End but the good places are mostly small and do not take large bookings. Go early on a weeknight rather than trying to get eight people in on a Saturday.

Nature · North, running coast to coast

A continuous traffic-free path from Bowling on the Clyde to Falkirk and on to the Forth, passing the Maryhill locks and Speirs Wharf.

Local tip: You can walk or cycle from Maryhill to the Falkirk Wheel and get the train back — a full day, entirely off-road, that almost nobody who has not lived here knows is possible.