Glasgow: The Largest City In Scotland

Glasgow is not the Scottish capital, but it is the largest city. It is a city in eternal rivalry with the real capital: Edinburgh. Travelers do not know which of the two is more spectacular, so the ideal is to discover both. And for that, now we are going to start talking about Glasgow.

A modern and fun city

When we say that Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland, we mean that it is the most inhabited. It is a city in which almost 600,000 people live.

Among its population there are many students, given the prestige of its university. And where there is an important university, there are many young people, which always means a modern atmosphere and many possibilities for fun.

Therefore, Glasgow is a good destination to enjoy day and night. During the day, with its various tourist and monumental attractions, which we will talk about later. And also shopping in stores with very interesting proposals, especially in its central Style Mile. Meanwhile, at night its pubs always vibrate with live music.

Glasgow’s monumental heritage

Also the great jewels of the architectural heritage of Glasgow have a lot of modernity, something that differentiates it from Edinburgh. It’s not that Glasgow doesn’t have interesting old landmarks, that it does, like St Mungo’s Cathedral or the beautiful Victorian cemetery. But in this city is the great legacy of an important architect: Charles Rennie Mackinstosh

Just as Barcelona identifies with Gaudí’s architecture, in Glasgow the great references are the Mackintosh buildings. Among all of them stands out its famous School of Art or the building The Lighthouse, which the architect conceived at the end of the 19th century as the headquarters of a local newspaper and which today is the true beacon of the brilliant design that arises among the creators of this city.

Glasgow museums

In this interesting creative panorama, the city’s abundant galleries are also protagonists, as well as its many museums. Some are very interesting, such as the Burrel Collection or the Kelvingrove Gallery, where you can take a look at the history of art from Renaissance works by Botticelli to other historical avant-gardes, for example, signed by Dalí.

But there are more museums of interest, and not only of art. A very interesting experience if you travel with children to Glasgow is to enter the Science Center, where they learn in a fun way. And likewise, it is highly recommended to visit the modern architecture of the Riverside Museum, where the history of transport in Scotland is discovered.

The importance of Scottish unicorns

The unicorn is the symbol of Scotland par excellence. This is the only way to understand the many sculptures dedicated to this mythological being that you will see around Glasgow. And of all, perhaps the most famous is Mercat Cross, located at the end of High Street, or what is the same, where the historic center or East End ends.

The University of Glasgow

We have already mentioned at the beginning the importance of the University of Glasgow, whose historical seat is well worth a visit. It is located in the West End and two places of interest await us : on the one hand, the so-called The Cloisters (the cloisters) and, on the other, the Hunterian Art Gallery, which houses the reconstruction of the architect Mackintosh’s house.

By the way, we once again make a mention of all those who visit Glasgow with children because this university is a good place to take them. The reason is to propose a game to them: see if it reminds them of some very, very famous school. Surely more than one comes to mind Hogwarts, the school of Harry Potter. And it is said that JK Rowling was inspired here for her successful series of novels.

To drink something

After seeing all those monuments, museums, shopping and discovering the best of the city’s heritage, it’s time to integrate into your social life. And for that the ideal is to go to its pubs , some with several centuries of history.

They are good places to toast this trip to Glasgow with a pint of beer. Or you can even have a shot of whiskey, being in Scotland it would almost be a sin not to taste their national drink.