3 days in Glasgow

Day by day

1. Day 1: Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum and University of Glasgow and the Hunterian

   Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, University of Glasgow and the Hunterian and Glasgow Botanic Gardens, then Clyde Walkway and the Finnieston Crane in the evening.

   1. Morning

      Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum

      Glasgow's best-loved museum fills a red sandstone palace with around 8,000 objects, from Salvador Dalí's Christ of Saint John of the Cross and Scottish Colourist paintings to natural history, armour and a Spitfire hanging above the west court.

   2. Late morning

      University of Glasgow and the Hunterian

      The Mackintosh House is visited on a separate paid ticket; the museum and cloisters are free.

   3. Lunch

      Lunch: Full Scottish breakfast

      Cafés across the city centre and the West End serve it all day; greasy-spoon cafés in the East End are the most traditional.

   4. Afternoon

      Glasgow Botanic Gardens

      At the top of Byres Road, the Botanic Gardens are free to enter and centre on the Kibble Palace, a curved Victorian iron-and-glass house filled with tree ferns and marble statues.

   5. Evening

      Clyde Walkway and the Finnieston Crane

      Walk west from the city centre in the late afternoon and finish with dinner on Finnieston's Argyle Street.

2. Day 2: Glasgow Cathedral and Glasgow Necropolis

   Glasgow Cathedral, Glasgow Necropolis and Provand's Lordship, then Ashton Lane in the evening.

   1. Morning

      Glasgow Cathedral

      Visit the cathedral first, then cross the Bridge of Sighs behind it to the Necropolis for the view back over the roof.

   2. Late morning

      Glasgow Necropolis

      This Victorian garden cemetery covers a hill east of the cathedral with some 3,500 monuments to the merchants and industrialists who built the city, topped by a column to the reformer John Knox.

   3. Lunch

      Lunch: Square sausage roll

      Bakeries and sandwich shops near stations and offices; ask for a 'roll and square'.

   4. Afternoon

      Provand's Lordship

      It takes only half an hour, so fit it between the cathedral and the Necropolis.

   5. Evening

      Ashton Lane

      Arrive early on Friday or Saturday evenings to get a seat in the beer gardens and upstairs terraces.

3. Day 3: Gallery of Modern Art and George Square and the City Chambers

   Gallery of Modern Art, George Square and the City Chambers and Mackintosh at the Willow, then Merchant City in the evening.

   1. Morning

      Gallery of Modern Art

      GoMA occupies the neoclassical former Royal Exchange on Royal Exchange Square and shows contemporary art, often by Scottish artists.

   2. Late morning

      George Square and the City Chambers

      Check the council's website before you go, as tours can be cancelled for civic events.

   3. Lunch

      Lunch: Haggis, neeps and tatties

      Traditional pubs and Scottish restaurants in the Merchant City and city centre; it is the centrepiece of Burns Night suppers on 25 January.

   4. Afternoon

      Mackintosh at the Willow

      Charles Rennie Mackintosh designed the Willow Tea Rooms on Sauchiehall Street for Kate Cranston in 1903.

   5. Evening

      Merchant City

      Cocktail bars, wine bars and the heart of the city's LGBTQ+ scene around Virginia Street and Glassford Street.

Before you go

If it rains

• Swap in Riverside Museum (Partick): Combine it with a walk along the Clyde Walkway from Finnieston, or take the seasonal ferry across to the Govan side.
• Swap in Burrell Collection (Pollok Country Park): Take the train to Pollokshaws West and walk through Pollok Country Park, stopping to see the Highland cattle on the way.
• Swap in Glasgow Science Centre (Pacific Quay): Walk across the Bell's Bridge footbridge from the SEC side; it takes about five minutes.

Where to stay for this itinerary

With 3 nights, City Centre keeps most of this route within easy reach. For a calmer or cheaper base, Merchant City ($$$) suits couples, food lovers, nightlife and first-timers. Compare every area.

Pace and daylight

The sights in this plan add up to roughly 13–16 hours of visiting over 3 days, before meals and getting between them. Daylight runs from about 7 hours in December to 17.5 hours in June, so in winter start early and keep museums for the afternoon.

More or fewer days

• One day in Glasgow
• 2 days in Glasgow

Questions travellers ask