One of the key cities in the United Kingdom, Glasgow is Scotland’s largest city, and is it’s most populous. The city of Glasgow is the one of the most visited cities in the nation, and has a significant place in history. It is also Scotland’s industrial center, and is an important economic center in the United Kingdom. It is a main headquarter for culture, music and education in the country. The Glaswegians, as the city’s residents are known, are a warm and friendly people, and are extremely welcoming and helpful.
Glasgow is situated on the banks of the River Clyde, at the west end of Scotland’s Central Belt. The citizens mostly speak Glaswegian, which is a local dialect.
Glasgow has a rich and varied tradition, and is known for its wealth of architecture, which apart from numerous Victorian and Edwardian structures, also consists of innumerable specimens of art nouveau architecture. Charles Rennie Mackintosh, who was one of the four leading proponents of this style, hails from Glasgow. Alexander Greek Thomson is another noted Glaswegian in the world of architecture.
Glasgow has a large amount of landmarks, and is known for its museums and art galleries. There are a myriad of interesting places, and are excellently managed, with a wide ranging collection of displays. The museums and galleries are mostly closed on Sundays, and many close their doors exactly at five in the evening.
The music scene in Glasgow is also extremely developed and is acclaimed the world over. Glasgow was named one of the UNESCO’s Cities of Music. There are at least 130 music events on average per week held in Glasgow. These range from pop, rock, metal, jazz, Celtic music and opera.
There are innumerable venues where live music can be enjoyed, and many music pubs exist throughout Glasgow. The Barrowland ballroom and King Tut’s wah wah are legendary venues. The Clyde Auditorium, Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre are also notable music locations. The Twisted Wheel on Queens Street, The Solid Rock Café and Rufus T. Firefly’s are pubs where you can listen to some head banging rock or metal.
There are some excellent theatres and art venues, and are witnesses to some incredible talent. The shows are an inventive and creative assortment. Stand up comedy is also very popular, and Glasgow has many venues hosting stand up comedians.
Glasgow has more parks and gardens than any other city in the United Kingdom, and “Glasgow Green” is very well known among the parks. Various events, concerts and open air festivals are held in the parks.
The city also has a rich football tradition, and has 3 football stadiums, and hosts major premier league matches which the city passionately follows.
Glasgow boasts of numerous retail havens, and is accepted as the second best shopping city in the United Kingdom, next to London. Buchanan Street is a famous upmarket shopping destination, and has a large number of designer clothing establishments. Apart from this, Argyle Street and Sauchiehall streets have a complete collection of labels. Ingram Street is also excellent and has several premium brands. If you wish to have a more personalized shopping experience and steer clear of chain stores, Bath Street and Hope Street have a lot of independent retail shops.
Hometown to gastronomic genius Gordon Ramsey, Glasgow has won the much desired title, “The Curry Capital of Britain” consecutively for some years, and has a huge collection of respected restaurants offering a range of international tastes, Indian or otherwise. Glasgow has a dynamic range of eateries, and many have a distinctive and diverse cuisine, which borrows heavily from a wide variety of international influences. Follow the advice of the locals, and you can not go wrong.
Glasgow pubs are legendary, and the city offers a wide range of establishments that cater to various interests. There are thousands of pubs all round the city, and are a perfect way to meet the locals and enjoy some scintillating conversation with a pint in hand. Football shirts are not allowed in a majority of the pubs, as this could be courting danger, and there are also a lot of other rules and regulations and myriad door policies that many Glasgow pubs have seen necessary to enforce.
Although not as much as London, Manchester or Edinburgh, Glasgow is remarkably gay friendly, and hosts the famous ‘Glasgay’ festivals every year in October.