Official Language:
English
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Currency:
English Pound
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Population:
Approximately 620,000 people call Glasgow home.
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Weather:
Climate and current weather information for Glasgow Scotland: Climate and current weather information for Glasgow climate is temperate with summer highs in the 70°F/21°C.
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Scotland's two primary cities are only about 72km (45 miles) apart, but almost everyone who visits them will be struck by their differences. Indeed, given the contrasting reputations of both, the traveler who has not bothered to look closely at a map of Scotland might be forgiven for thinking that Edinburgh and Glasgow are more than a hundred miles apart.
And while there is a good deal of competition (and some envy, too) between the two cities, like McCartney and Lennon, they are strongest as a pair, each bringing value to the partnership.
To the east, the capital, Edinburgh, has an almost fairy-tale setting, with its imposing castle high on one hill. Built on ancient volcanoes and first established because of its secure and defensible position, it has become a crossroads. Practically everyone who comes to Scotland today spends some time in Edinburgh. And its mid-summer international Festival is one of the biggest in the world. Edinburgh is the second most popular tourist destination in Great Britain following London, and it's not hard to see why. Compact and tidy, it is more of a big town than a small city.
In the west, Glasgow, on the other hand, is not a place that anyone might call precious. In comparison to Edinburgh, Glasgow was settled much earlier because it was an ideal place to ford the River Clyde. Today it resembles nothing but a modern city. It has overcome a 20th-century reputation for grime, grit, and gangsters -- and now it is arguably more vibrant than Edinburgh, with a lively indigenous music and art scene. Without a picturesque castle or twee palace, it exemplifies urban Scotland: historic, dynamic, increasingly cosmopolitan, and attuned the world. In 1990 it was named European Culture Capital and in 1999, U.K. City of Architecture and Design. Edinburgh and Glasgow have a lot to offer individually, and taken as a duo, they are more impressive still. Both cities are among Europe's most dynamic centers. Edinburgh is the seat of Scottish royalty and government and the ancient Glasgow boasts Victorian splendor.
Glasgow is home to some of the finest architecture in Britain and hosting a variety of cultural events and attractions. Glasgow described as the finest surviving example of a great Victorian city. St George Square which is lined by several buildings with an Italian Renaissance style, including the City Chambers. The Glasgow Cathedral is situated on high ground to the east of the city and is an outstanding example of Gothic architecture. The city has many parks and open spaces, including the Botanic Gardens with it's collection of orchids and tropical plants.
Glasgow grew around a church that was built in the mid 6th century by St Kentigern. He converted the Scots to Christianity. The commercial growth of the community dates from the union of Scotland and England in 1707. The opening up of trade in the 18th century with the Americas, made Glasgow a major port and shipbuilder.
Glasgow has a variety of art, from ancient Chinese ceramics to contemporary pieces. Start your visit with a stop at the Charles Burrell Museum. Home to some of Glasgow's industrial identity, with exhibits of 19th century steam technology. The inventor of the steam engine, was a Glaswegian. Be sure to see Mr. Burrell's contribution, a private art collection, in a custom-built gallery in Pollok Country Park. Collections of more than 80 years and 8,000 or more pieces include works by Memling, Cézanne, Degas, Bellini, and Géricault.
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Attractions |
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Burrell Collection:
Glasgow's top attraction, the Burrell Collection, was amassed by wealthy industrialist Sir William Burrell before it was donated to the city. Now housed in a prize-winning museum in the Pollok Country Park, this idiosyncratic collection includes everything from Chinese porcelain and medieval furniture to paintings by Renoir and Cézanne.
Carpeted floors maintain the silence to contemplate the beautifully displayed treasures. Carved-stone Romanesque doorways are incorporated into the structure so one actually walks through them. Some galleries are reconstructions of rooms from Hutton Castle, the Burrell residence.
The building was the result of a design competition in 1971. If it had not been run during a postal strike, necessitating an extension of the closing deadline, Barry Gasson's winning entry would not have been completed. From the outside, the building seems something of a hybrid, but the truly spectacular interior provides a fitting setting for an exquisite collection of tapestries, oriental porcelain, paintings and European stained glass. Floor-to-ceiling windows admit a flood of natural light, and the trees and landscape outside only enhance the effect created by the exhibits.
Glasgow Cathedral:
Glasgow Cathedral, a grand example of pre-Reformation Gothic architecture, is the only mainland Scottish cathedral to have survived the Reformation. Most of the current building dates from the 15th century, and only the western towers were destroyed in the turmoil. This has been hallowed ground for over 1500 years.
The site was blessed for Christian burial in 397 by St Ninian. In the following century Kentigern, also known as Saint Mungo, accompanied the body of a holy man from Stirlingshire to be buried here. He stayed to found a monastic community, and built a simple church. The first building was consecrated in 1136, in the presence of King David I, but it burned down in 1197 and was rebuilt as the lower church.
The entry is through a side door into the nave, which is hung with regimental colours. The wooden roof above has been restored many times since its original construction but some of the timber dates from the 14th century. The cathedral is divided by the late 15th-century stone choir screen, decorated with seven pairs of figures to represent the Seven Deadly Sins. The most interesting part of the cathedral, the lower church, is reached by a stairway. Its forest of pillars creates a powerful atmosphere around Saint Mungo's tomb, the focus of a famous medieval pilgrimage that was believed to be as meritorious as a visit to Rome. Edward I paid three visits to the shrine in 1301.
Glasgow School of Art:
Mackintosh's greatest building, the Glasgow School of Art, still houses the educational institution. It's hard not to be impressed by the precision of the design; the architect's pencil seems to have shaped everything inside and outside the building. The interior design is strikingly austere, and the library, designed as an addition in 1907, is a masterpiece.
Kelvingrove Art Gallery & Museum:
This museum is closed for refurbishment, and is due to re-open again in 2006. Opened in 1902, this grand Victorian cathedral of culture should not be missed, particularly for its excellent collection of Scottish and European art. The impressive central hall is dominated at one end by organ pipes; recitals are an integral part of the museum program. An authentic museum shell emanates from the natural history of Scotland section, popular with school tours. Also downstairs there's a rather dowdy presentation of some interesting artifacts, including archaeological finds of prehistoric Scotland, European arms and armour, and silver.
The art gallery upstairs houses the city's art collection of 19th and 20th century works. Scottish painters of luminous landscapes and still lifes are comprehensively represented - Arthur Melville, McTaggart, Cadell, Joseph Crawhill and, among the moderns, Eduardo Paolozzi, Bruce McLean, David Hockney and Jasper Johns. Other paintings include Rembrandt's wonderful Man in Armour, and works by Botticelli, Monet, Van Gogh and Picasso.
Tenement House:
For an extraordinary time-capsule experience, visit the small apartment in the Tenement House. It gives an insight into middle-class city life in the late 19th/early 20th century, with box-beds, the original kitchen range and all the fixtures and fittings of the family who lived here for over 50 years.
It's an interesting place (but surely the Toward family wouldn't have kept it quite so squeaky clean and orderly as the National Trust for Scotland manages to now...) Despite the additional exhibition area in the ground-floor flat, it can get overcrowded.
Dumbarton:
This town was the ancient capital of the Britons of Strathclyde, but time has passed it by. Dumbarton stands at the gateway to Loch Lomond and the Highlands, where the River Clyde becomes the Firth of Clyde, 23km (14mi) west of Glasgow.
On top of the spectacular Dumbarton Rock, there's Dumbarton Castle, now mostly a modern barracks. It's open daily for most of the year. The Scottish Maritime Museum has a working experimental ship-model tank and a tearoom. The ghosts of once great shipyards still line the banks of the Clyde west of Glasgow. 16km (10mi) downstream from the city, the impressive Erskine Bridge links the north and south banks.
Gourock:
Gourock is a rundown seaside resort about 5km (3mi) west of Greenrock. There is, however, a good walk up to Lyle Hill, where there's a Free French memorial and a great view over the Firth of Clyde. Cruises around the firth are run by CalMac from May to September.
Greenock:
James Watt, who perfected the steam engine, was born in 1736 in this large town 43km (27mi) from Glasgow. Following an old aqueduct, the Greenock Cut is a good walk over the hills above the town. The circular route from Overton is about 8km (5mi) long and takes about 2.5 hours. In the McLean Museum and Art Gallery, displays chart the history of steam power and Clyde shipping. The Custom House Museum on the quay was built in 1818 and traces the history of the Customs and Excise service, which is surprisingly interesting.
Paisley:
This is the town that gave its name to the well-known fabric design of swirling stylised teardrops or pinecones called the Paisley Pattern. Now really a suburb west of Glasgow, Paisley grew up around the abbey. By the 19th century, the town was a major producer of printed cotton and woollen cloth.
The famous design was, in actual fact, copied from shawls brought back from India. At one time, Paisley was the largest producer of cotton thread in the world; the Coats family of threadmakers have enjoyed a long association with the town.
Activities:
There are several long-distance pedestrian/cycle routes that originate in Glasgow and follow off-road routes for most of the distance. The Tourist Information Centre has a range of maps and leaflets detailing these routes, most of which start from Bell's Bridge. The long-distance footpath known as the West Highland Way begins in Milngavie, 13km (8mi) north of Glasgow, and runs for 153km (95mi) to Fort William.
Shopping :
For visitors from abroad, prices in the U.K. are not going to be a major selling point. In recent years, the British currency, pound sterling, has been trading strongly against other major currencies, such as the U.S. dollar or the euro (which most of Britain's partners in the European Union now use). The good news is that prices for most products in Scotland have been stable since the mid-1990s and in some cases -- for example, clothes -- prices have come down in real terms. Nevertheless, many items carry the same numerical price in pounds as they would in American dollars. For example, a digital camera that costs $300 in New York might well be priced £300 in Glasgow, making it 50% to 100% more expensive.
Best Buys--Among the few retail goods that are high quality and priced competitively are fine wool knits, particularly cashmere scarves and sweaters -- or as the Scots prefer, "jumpers." Anything produced within the country (with the exception of whisky, which is taxed as heavily as all alcoholic products) should be less expensive than at home: from smoked salmon and shortbread to Caithness glass, those beguiling clear paper weights with swirling, colorful designs. Second-hand shops, often run by charities such as Oxfam, are also potential gold mines for bargain hunters. Finally, given the number of artists in the country, getting an original piece of art to bring home might represent the most value for money. Shopping Complexes--Princes Square (Buchanan St.; tel. 0141/204-1685; www.princessquare.co.uk) is the city's most stylish and upmarket shopping center. Within a modernized and renovated Victorian building, the mall has many specialty stores, men's and women's fashion outlets as well as restaurants, cafes, and bars.
Nearby, between Argyle Street and the River Clyde is the St. Enoch Shopping Centre (tel. 0141/204-3900; www.stenoch.com), whose merchandise is less expensive and a lot less posh than what you'll find at Princes Square. It resembles a fairly conventional mall with a couple major department stores and a food court at one end.
Hector Russell -- Founded in 1881, Hector Russell is Scotland's long-established kiltmaker. Crystal and gift items are sold on street level, but the real heart and soul of the place is below, where impeccably crafted and reasonably priced tweed jackets, tartan-patterned accessories, waistcoats, and sweaters of top-quality wool for men and women are displayed.
Getting Your VAT Refund You can get a VAT refund if you shop at stores that participate in the Retail Export Scheme. (Signs are posted in the window.) When you make a purchase, show your passport and request a Retail Export Scheme form (VAT 407) and a stamped, pre-addressed envelope. Show the VAT form and your sales receipt to British Customs when you leave the country -- they may also ask to see the merchandise. After Customs has stamped it, mail the form back to the shop in the envelope provided before you leave the country. Your VAT refund will be mailed to you.
Remember: Keep your VAT forms with your passport; pack your purchases in a carry-on bag so you'll have them handy; and allow yourself enough time at your departure point to find a mailbox.
Several readers have reported a VAT refund scam. You must get the refund forms from the retailer on the spot. (Don't leave the store without one.) Some merchants allegedly tell customers they can get a refund form at the airport on their way out of the country. This is not true. The form must be completed by the retailer on the spot, or you won't get a refund later.
For information, contact Global Refund, 707 Summer St., Stamford, CT 06901 (tel. 800/566-9828; fax 203/674-8709; www.globalrefund.com).
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More Information |
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Useful Links About Glasgow:
Glasgow Scotland Travel Information
http://www.seeglasgow.com
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