46 Best Sights in Glasgow, Scotland

Bute's biggest draw is spectacular Mount Stuart, ancestral home of the marquesses of Bute. The massive Victorian Gothic palace, built in red sandstone, has ornate interiors, including the eccentric Horoscope Room and the Marble Hall, with stained glass, arcaded galleries, and magnificent tapestries woven in Edinburgh in the early 20th century. The paintings and furniture throughout the house are equally interesting. You can also appreciate the lovely gardens and grounds.

Paisley's 12th-century abbey dominates the town center. Founded as a Cluniac monastery and almost completely destroyed by the English in 1307, the abbey was not totally restored until the early 20th century. It's associated with Walter Fitzallan, the high steward of Scotland, who gave his name to the Stewart monarchs of Scotland (Stewart is a corruption of "steward"). Outstanding features include the vaulted stone roof and stained glass of the choir.

The excited conversations among local visitors are the evidence that this museum tells the story of everyday lives in Glasgow. There is always something that sparks a memory: a photo, an object, a sound. Inside you'll find the writing desk of John McLean (1879–1923), the famous "Red Clydeside" political activist, and the banana boots worn onstage by Glasgow-born comedian Billy Connolly. On the top floor a sequence of fine murals by Glasgow artist Ken Currie tells the story of the city's working-class citizens. In contrast, the Doulton Fountain opposite the entrance celebrates the British empire. The museum is housed in a Victorian red-sandstone building at the heart of Glasgow Green, and behind it are the restored Winter Gardens (a Victorian conservatory) and a popular café. To get here from the St. Enoch subway station, walk along Argyle Street past Glasgow Cross.

This classic Georgian house, dating from the mid-1700s, sits amid landscaped gardens and avenues of trees that are now part of Pollok Country Park. It still has the tranquil air of a wealthy but unpretentious country house. The Stirling Maxwell Collection includes paintings by Blake and a strong grouping of Spanish works by El Greco, Murillo, and Goya. Lovely examples of 18th- and early-19th-century furniture, silver, glass, and porcelain are also on display. The house has beautiful gardens that overlook the White Cart River. The downstairs servants' quarters include the kitchen, which is now a café-restaurant. The closest train station is Pollokshaws West, from Glasgow Central station; or you can take Bus 45, 47, or 57 to the gate of Pollok County Park.

Glasgow's oldest house, one of only four medieval buildings surviving in the city, was built in 1471 by Bishop Andrew Muirhead. Before it was rescued by the Glasgow City Council, this building had been a pub, a sweetshop, and a soft drinks factory. It is now a museum that shows the house as it might have looked when it was occupied by officers of the church. The furniture is 17th century, and the top floor is a gallery with prints and paintings depicting the characters who might have lived in the surrounding streets. Behind the house is a medicinal herb garden, and the cloisters house and its rather disturbing carved stone heads.

The only church Mackintosh designed houses the Charles Rennie Mackintosh (CRM) Society Headquarters and is the ideal place to learn more about the famous Glasgow-born architect and designer. The church has beautiful stained-glass windows and a light-enhancing, carved-wood interior. The center's library and shop provide further insight into Glasgow's other Mackintosh-designed buildings. A taxi is probably the best way to get here, but you can also take a bus toward Queen's Cross from stops along Hope Street or walk up Maryhill Road from the St. George's Cross subway station.

Exhibits of medals, badges, and uniforms relate the history of a famous, much-honored regiment and the men who served in it.

Visit the humble thatched cottage where Scotland's national poet lived for his first seven years. It has a living room, a kitchen, and a stable, one behind the other. The life and times of Burns, born in 1759, are beautifully and creatively illustrated in the fly-on-the-wall videos of daily life in the 18th century, while the garden is lush with the types of vegetables the poet's father might have grown.

It's just one part of the Robert Burns Birthplace Museum. Besides being a poet of delicacy and depth, Robert Burns was also a rebel, a thinker, a lover, a good companion, and a man of the countryside. The main museum building, a short walk from the cottage along the Poet's Path, explains why the Scots so admire this complex "man o' pairts." The imaginative displays present each of his poems in context, with commentaries sensitively written in a modern version of the Scots language in which he spoke and wrote. Headsets let you hear the poems sung or spoken. The exhibits are vibrant and interactive, with touch screens that allow you to debate his views on politics, love, taxation, revolution, and Scottishness.

In the price of your ticket, you can also visit the spooky churchyard where Tam o' Shanter faced fearsome ghosts, and the neoclassical Burns Monument, built in 1823 and overlooking the Brig o' Doon—take care if climbing to the top.

A former school designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh, this building houses a fascinating museum of education. Classrooms re-create school life in Scotland during Victorian times and World War II, and a cookery room recounts a time when education for Scottish girls consisted of little more than learning how to become a housewife. There's also an exhibition space and a café. The building sits opposite Shields Road subway station.

To get an idea of the life led by textile industry workers, visit the Sma' Shot Cottages. These re-creations of mill workers' houses contain displays of linen, lace, and paisley shawls. Two typical cottages, built 150 years apart, are open to visitors.

An outstanding collection of artifacts, including Celtic crosses and statuettes of Hindu gods, reflects the many religious groups that have settled throughout the centuries in Glasgow and the west of Scotland. A Zen garden creates a peaceful setting for rest and contemplation, and elsewhere stained-glass windows include a depiction of St. Mungo himself. Pause to look at the beautiful Chilkat Blanketwofven, made from cedar bark and wool by the Tlingit people of North America.

This 1859 church, the work of Alexander Thomson, stands high above the street. The building exemplifies his Greek Revival style, replete with Ionic columns, sphinxlike heads, and rich interior color. Owned by Glasgow City Council, it is currently used by the Free Church of Scotland. You can see the interior by attending a service Sunday at 11 am or 6 pm or by appointment.

On the site of the old Summerlee Ironworks, this vast and exciting museum re-creates a mine and the miners' rows (the cottages where miners and their families lived). An electric tram transports you there from the huge hall where industrial machines vie with exhibits about ordinary life. You can take a short trip into a mine (helmets and lamps are provided), and later you can stroll along the canal and take the kids to a fine playground.

Charles Rennie Mackintosh designed these former offices of the Glasgow Herald newspaper, with the emblematic Mackintosh Tower, in 1893. On the third floor, the Mackintosh Interpretation Centre is a great place to start exploring this groundbreaking architect's work, which is illustrated in a glass wall with alcoves containing models of his buildings. From here you can climb the more than 130 steps up the tower and, once you have caught your breath, look out over Glasgow. (Alternatively, a viewing platform on the sixth floor can be reached by elevator.) Today the Lighthouse serves as Scotland's Centre for Architecture, Design and the City, celebrating all facets of architecture and design. There are a number of popular bars at the foot of the lighthouse, which are pleasant spots to take a break from sightseeing.

Built in 1896, this fine tall sailing ship now sits on the River Clyde immediately behind the Riverside Museum. The Glenlee once belonged to the Spanish Navy (under a different name), but carried cargo all over the world in her day. She returned to Glasgow and the River Clyde in 1993, and now forms part of the museum. You can wander throughout this surprisingly large cargo ship with or without an audio guide, peer into cabins and holds, and stand on the forecastle as you gaze down the river (but bring your own binoculars). Bus 100 from George Square brings you here, or you can walk from the Partick subway station in 10 minutes.

South of the City Centre, this innovative arts center is well worth seeking out. It hosts regular exhibitions in its two galleries, and plays—often of a very experimental nature—in its flexible theater space. The city's famed Citizens Theatre Company also currently performs here while its permanent space undergoes a major renovation. Tramway has a café and a more formal restaurant on the first floor. Don't miss the Hidden Garden, which has transformed an empty lot behind the building into a sculpture park. To get here, take the train from Glasgow Central station to Pollokshields East (one stop).

It is also home to the fantastic Scottish Ballet, who train upstairs. Often if you ask nicely you can even pop upstairs and watch their training sessions.