Glasgow

There’s no tube/metro in Glasgow. You’ll be walking, taking the bus or taxi/Uber, probably. I would say 5 days is plenty. I spent a week there, and that included a day trip to Edinburgh and a day trip guided tour to Stirling castle, a lake and distillery. Where else are you going in Scotland? What draws you to Glasgow?

Just this year we completed our 26 trip to the UK. We have driven all but the last 3 times. The trip in 2023 will again be a train trip. So, I'ce been looking for places we have not been that have the things we like. We've never been to Glasgow. We've been to Edinburgh twice - love it! This time I want a base that will have museums, art and other historical things. I want to be able to take day train trips from there. (We have been to Stirling in a previous trip.) I have considered other places too but my latest thought has been Glasgow. I would like to take a day trip to Berwick Upon Tyne and perhaps a couple days in Edinburgh again. So, I'm trying to determine if this combination would make a good trip. Thanks for your comments on the transportation there.

Glasgow does have an underground (metro) affectinately known as the Clockwork Orange. though not as extensive as other cities there is one,
https://www.spt.co.uk/travel-with-spt/subway/maps-stations/

Glasgow does have a subway, but it is a circular route that encompasses centre of the city. I found it Useful for getting out from the city centre to the University and it’s museums. Look up subway in Glasgow for naps and tie in with local trains.

I personally think 5 days is too long on the city ….. I’d head out to the Firth of Clyde or somewhere like Inverary….or northwest to Skye, Mull etc.

I spent about as much time in Glasgow as I did in Edinburgh (6-ish days) back in 2019. I liked Glasgow a lot; it's much, much less touristy than Edinburgh. I loved the Charles Rennie Mackintosh buildings. Glasgow is a large city with attractive (to me) late 19th/early 20th century architecture. There are also good museums. I wasn't able to see the Burrell Collection because it was closed at the time of my visit, but it has just recently reopened after major renovation; I'm looking forward to seeing it on a future trip.

The one side trip I took while in Glasgow was to Helensburgh; it's an attractive town with an important house designed by Mackintosh. Helensburgh has rail service. You could also day trip to Inveraray, which has a nice castle with gardens. However, the latter trip would be by bus. It takes close to two hours each way, and service is infrequent.

We spent three nights (2.5 days) in Glasgow in June and loved it. Maybe one extra day would have been useful but we saw everything we wanted to see. The downtown area is very walkable and the subway as described by others is convenient to get to some of the other sites. Glasgow is also an easy train ride away from Stirling which is an excellent day trip. We enjoyed Stirling Castle much more than Edinburgh castle, but you'll probably get just as many that will say the opposite.

Sharon, I've posted a personal message to you.

Sharon, I recently came back from a trip to Scotland, 3 nights of which were spent in Glasgow. I used the HOHO bus to get around because it traveled to the major sites I was interested in. Otherwise, I walked or took a taxi. BTW because I didn’t start to use the HOHO bus until later in the day, I purchased the extension to the next day. Think it was an additional pound or maybe two to extend.

My Highlights Glasgow: Organ recital at Kelvingrove Art Gallery in honor of HMQ Elizabeth, transportation museum at the riverfront (fantastic find), MacKintosh house visit-wonderful, street art/mural guided tour

Enjoy your time in Glasgow.

I s'pose as the Glaswegian I should pop in to say hello. The city itself has a lot to offer, and is also a very handy base for the west of Scotland and indeed the central belt. There is a reasonable network of buses around the area and a good rail network, the Subway although one of the oldest in the world, only London's, Liverpool's, and Budapest's are older, is small and really only a commuter one around the west end.

If you want to ask me anything specific, feel free to drop a message.

There's loads and loads to do in Glasgow and plenty to keep you occupied for at least five days. Have a look at the map on the Undiscovered Scotland Page covering Glasgow. Follow the links to find out information about all the different places. You are spoilt for choice with art galleries, and museums. Top of the list is the Burrell Collection has recently reopened after a major refurbishment and is definitely worth visiting. Also the Cathedral and necropolis and the Tenement House. Others will also add to the list with their favourites too.

As well as the city, places like Helensburgh are easily done in a day - the Hill House is wonderful and one of the best examples of a house designed by Charles Rennie Macintosh. New Lanark, a World Heritage site is also woth visiting.

You can also do day trips by train and ferry to places like Isle of Arran, Isle of Bute, Isle of Cumbrae... Loch Lomond isn't far either. Stirling is doable by train for the day as is Edinburgh. Glasgow makes a great base.

I really enjoyed Glasgow. I stayed at the Ibis Styles St. George Square, which was well located to the train and the Hoho bus. I hadn't done one of those before but this one was a nice overview of the City and stopped near the places I wanted to see, like all the museums mentioned above. I did the two day ticket and hopped on one evening just for the ride when I wasn't ready to go back to the hotel. I also hit the Tenement House, which is a small (naturally) historic home, but I thought it was interesting. If you can't get out to Helensburgh, there is also the House for an Art Lover (Mackintosh reconstruction) that was a not too difficult-to-figure-out bus ride and a walk through a park. I did take the train up to Balloch and Loch Lomand and did the 2-hour boat tour with Sweeney's Cruise. With more time, I would have walked around this area more. (Try The Pier in Balloch for fish and chips). Baloch and Helenburgh could be combined with a bus between the two but you'd have to carefully check the schedules and make sure it works for you.

If you're interested in whisky, I highly recommend contacting The Pot Still for a tasting. You need to reserve something but the bartender took my info (like mezcal but never had whisky) and put together a great personal tasting for me! If you're already knowledgeable, it's an amazing (and a bit busy) bar that probably has what you like or can take that and recommend something new. And if you like art, check out the mural walk. Plus tea at one of the Mackintosh tea rooms. I was there 2 and a half days plus an evening and didn't get to everything I wouldn't liked to see. And if you're not so much into cities, it's well connected by train to other places nearby.

The Burrell is something to add back in for Glasgow, it was reopened by The King on 13/10.