Twenty years ago, most travellers would have scarcely considered gritty Glasgow on their UK travel itinerary. Today, if you don’t go you’ll miss out on one of Europe’s most exciting cities.

But what is the real Glasgow? Is it along the Clyde River, where bold new buildings grace the former shipbuilding yards? Is it the tobacco barons’ grand Victorian edifices in Merchant Square or the sandstone tenements of leafy West End now chock-a-block with brew pubs and gourmet cafes? Or is it the graffiti-dotted indie music clubs or outrageous exhibitions at independent galleries?

Cafe culture is alive and well in Glasgow’s West End. Picture: iStock

The reality is, for a visitor at least, that Scotland’s largest city is all these things and more. But most of all it’s bold, disarmingly friendly, bursting at the seams with creativity and, to quote Anthony Bourdain, “the most bulls–t free place on earth and an antidote to the rest of the world”.

It is also the edgy alter ego to tartan-draped, castle-obsessed Edinburgh. And as for festivals, the place that’s famous for “taking the piss” out of everything hosts Europe’s largest comedy festival and a food festival called F*rk This: Let’s Eat Glasgow.

Formerly the world’s largest shipbuilding centre, Glasgow was nicknamed the Workshop of the Empire in the Victorian era yet it had to reinvent itself in the 1980s after a long post-World War II industrial decline. The city, which is both resolutely Scottish and yet outward-looking, turned to art, music and sports to regain its mojo. It was named a European Capital of Culture in 1990, a UK City of Architecture and Design in 1999, Europe’s Secret Capital of Music in 2004 and a UNESCO City of Music in 2008.

Glasgow’s West End is now filled with trendy pubs. Picture: Sue Gough Henly

Proudly working class, it also sports the grandest of Victorian edifices built for cultural enrichment. It is fun, down to earth and easy to explore. In short, the perfect place for a visit. Here are some tips to get you started.

1. Pay homage to Glasgow’s most famous native son, Charles Rennie Mackintosh, whose trailblazing architecture, furniture and interior designs influenced the international art nouveau movement. Visit Mackintosh House at the University of Glasgow’s Hunterian Museum, the Mackintosh Centre at The Lighthouse, Scotland’s Centre for Design and Architecture and the Willow Tea Rooms, where you can sip tea as you admire his exquisite organic designs.

The Glasgow School of Art designed in 1896 by Charles Rennie Mackintosh.

2. Go to a music gig in one of Glasgow’s diverse spaces, such as indie favourite King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut, consistently voted the top live music venue in the UK, Barrowlands with its excellent acoustics, the outdoor Kelvingrove Victorian-era bandstand and amphitheatre, or the new SSE Hydro, ranked in the world’s top five music arenas. The city’s legendary music scene spans contemporary and classical to Celtic and Ska. And, the busking culture is one of Europe’s most diverse.

3. Visit Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, an ornate Victorian red sandstone building built for the 1901 Glasgow International Exhibition. Entirely free, it is the most visited museum in the UK outside London. There are 8000 exhibits ranging from a World War II Spitfire to Rembrandt’s A Man in Armour and the museum beehives.

The Scotia Bar is Glasgow’s traditional pubs. Picture: Sue Gough Henly

4. Check out some of Glasgow’s pubs including old-time Scotia Bar or Braemar Bar or groovy brew pubs such as Inn Deep. Or visit Drygate bar and experiential brewery where you can make your own beers. There’s also a mile of pubs in Ashton Lane popular with students from nearby Glasgow University.

5. Take a Glasgow School of Art student-led walking tour to discover the city’s remarkable architectural heritage. The Glasgow Style tour covers a rich diversity of buildings from High Victorian to Mackintosh’s elegant organic structures. In contrast, the Glasgow Miracle tour focuses on public art, contemporary design and edgy art spaces.

6. Visit the Zaha Hadid-designed Riverside Museum, 2013 European Museum of the Year, which houses a remarkable transport collection, including train engines and Clyde-built ship models. Visit a recreated Glasgow cobblestoned street and explore a tall ship.

7. Go shopping along the Style Mile on Buchanan St and Merchant Square – the largest shopping area in the UK outside of London.

New Scottish cuisine at the Ox and Finch. Picture: Sue Gough Henly

8. Enjoy new restaurants such as Cafe Gandolfi, the Ubiquitous Chip, Ox and Finch, Porter and Rye and Two Fat Ladies. Discover why Glasgow is the curry capital of the UK at Mother India.

9. Visit the Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA) whose statue of Lord Wellington on his horse has become a Glasgow icon – cheeky Glaswegians have placed orange traffic cones on both man and horse as hats.

The writer was a guest of Glasgow City Marketing Bureau.

ESCAPE ROUTE

GLASGOW

GETTING THERE

Qantas flies from Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane via Dubai to Glasgow.

See qantas.com.au

STAYING THERE

The beautiful historic Grand Central Hotel is near Glasgow’s Style Mile.

See thegrandcentralhotel.co.uk

Hotel Indigo Glasgow is a bright and airy 95-room CBD boutique hotel.

See hotelindigoglasgow.com

MORE

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