Glasgow is one of the world’s most exciting, friendly, and culturally vibrant cities.

 

Its beautiful architecture, fantastic venues and world-class museums and galleries offers visitors a vibrant arts scene for a city of its size. Indeed, some say the city’s size – big enough to be a city, small enough to be a village – is what makes it so unique.

 

Glasgow is Scotland’s cultural powerhouse. Its most famous son – the Art Nouveau architect Charles Rennie Mackintosh – has lent his inimitable style to the city in breathtaking buildings like The Glasgow School of Art and Queen’s Cross Church. Nightlife is a mix of fabulous cafés, bars, restaurants, and cultural offerings. The city is home to Scotland’s national opera, ballet and theatre companies, and is a UNESCO City of Music.

 

Glasgow is also home to one of the most collaborative and dynamic innovation economies in Europe, with outstanding partnerships between the public, private and academic sectors. In the UK, Glasgow has the largest academic community outside London while the city manufactures more satellites than anywhere else in Europe.

 

Located in the west of the country, Glasgow is Scotland’s largest city and is easily accessible from the rest of the UK and internationally by train, sea, road, and air.

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Getting around

 

Glasgow is a compact city and it is easy to find your way around, whether on foot, by bike or public transport.

 

On foot

Glasgow is a very walkable city, especially the city centre, so you can easily explore it on foot whilst taking in the beautiful buildings and architecture around you – don’t forget to 'look up' when you're in the city.

 

Get your bearings by visiting our neighbourhood guides.

 

Bicycle

Glasgow is home to a fantastic cycle hire scheme, operated by OVO Bikes. Visit OVO Bikes website to find out how it works.

 

For ideas of the best routes in the city and surrounding areas to follow by bike, check out the Sustrans website.

 

Subway

The subway is one of the easiest ways to get around the city centre, west end and southside of Glasgow. Running every 4 minutes at peak times, it takes just 24 minutes to complete a circuit of the 15 stations.

 

You can either buy a single ticket or, if you’re here for a few days, you might want to get a Subway Smartcard, which offers the best fares and you can top up as you go. Visit the Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT) website for more information.

 

Bus

First Bus Glasgow operates over 80 routes across the city and has a variety of tickets to choose from, including day tickets allowing unlimited travel in your selected area all day, or a weekly ticket if you’re staying here longer.

 

For the cheapest prices, download the First Bus App where you can buy and store tickets on your phone, plan your journey in advance and track the arrival of your next bus.

 

City Sightseeing Bus

The City Sightseeing Glasgow open-top bus tour is one of the most convenient ways to visit Glasgow’s top tourist attractions and iconic sights. Stopping at the People’s Palace, Glasgow Cathedral, Riverside Museum, Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum and The Clydeside Distillery, the hop-on-hop-off service is a fun way to enjoy the city.

 

The complete tour lasts approximately 1 hour and 25 minutes. Full accessibility for wheelchair users is available on all tours, with one dedicated wheelchair space available on the lower deck of each bus.

 

Tickets are available from the City Sightseeing Glasgow website, the driver or pavement staff and are valid for 1 or 2 days.

 

Taxi

Glasgow's taxi drivers are some of the friendliest in the world. Glasgow Taxis operate 5 and 6-seater cabs in and around the city. If their yellow light is on, they can be flagged down on the street, or alternatively, call +44 (0) 141 429 70 70 to book. Check out the Glasgow Taxis website for more information.

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