City Centre

Nestled in the nook of the busy M8 motorway, Glasgow’s bustling City Centre, just north of the River Clyde, can be confusing at first. But get to grips with its grid system of streets and you’ll be parading around like a local in no time.

During the day, Glasgow’s City Centre is great for shopping and art. By night it comes alive with restaurants, bars, gigs and clubs aplenty, meaning you can quite literally spend the whole day in central Glasgow without even a hint of boredom setting in. It’s also the ideal jumping off point for exploring other parts of the city, with transport links always within walking distance.

Photo: Lauren Parsons

Tantrum Doughnuts

With three pedestrianised shopping thoroughfares – Buchanan Street, Sauchiehall Street (pronounced Sucky-hall) and Argyle Street – and several shopping centres – St Enoch, Buchanan Galleries, Princes Square, Argyll Arcade and The Savoy Centre – Glasgow’s city centre is great if you’re looking for some much-needed retail therapy.

There’s an abundance of independent shops to be found here too. If you’re after some local ceramics, Fireworks Studio Garnet Pots (35a Dalhousie St) is a must, while bibliophiles will want to visit Aye-Aye Books in the CCA (350 Sauchiehall St) or the tell it slant poetry bookshop (134 Renfrew St). If you’re looking to add another record to your music collection, pop into Love Music (34 Dundas St) or Fopp (19 Union St).

For most, no day is complete without a hot cuppa, and in the city centre caffeine fiends should seek out the Italian-inspired Laboratorio Espresso (93 W Nile St), serving up delicious cannoli and clean batch brews alongside the usual options. Near Central Station, small batch coffee roasters Gordon Street Coffee (79 Gordon St) serve up excellent pastries and coffees with their in-house roastery just upstairs. Across the street is Riverhill Coffee Bar (24 Gordon St) and artisan doughnut shop Tantrum Doughnuts (28 Gordon St). In the west of the city centre, Singl-end (263 Renfrew St) offers up great coffee and cake, with lovely light brunch options too.

For something with a bit more punch, trendy bars and old fashioned boozers can be found on literally every street, basement, back alley and corner of the city centre. Near Central Station, Stereo (22-28 Renfield Ln) has been a staple since 2007. Housed in a building designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh, upstairs is a vegan bar and restaurant while you’ll find a regular gig programme in the basement. Across the lane, The Old Hairdresser’s is a popular bar, gig and gallery space, while round the corner and up the street is The Flying Duck (142 Renfield St).

The Horseshoe Bar (17-19 Drury St) is one for Travis fans as it’s where the

Why Does It Always Rain On Me? hitmakers formed. A few minutes away is Bier Halle (9 Gordon St), a subterranean German-style beer hall with outdoor seating on Gordon Street and Buchanan Street in the summer. On Mitchell Lane, Tabac (no. 10) and Bar Soba (no. 11) are both great for fusion plates and indulgent cocktails. Cocktails can also be found nearby at Max’s Bar & Grill (73 Queen St), which houses the La Cheetah nightclub in its basement.

Basement gig venues and nightclubs can also be found in Nice N Sleazy and Broadcast at 421 and 427 Sauchiehall Street, while The Variety Bar (no. 401) and The State Bar (148-148a Holland St) are great for pre- or post-gig drinks, the latter giving a true taste of old Glasgow with a great selection of cask ales. Rock fans should head to Rufus T Firefly (207 Hope St), while across the road The Pot Still (no. 154) is a must for whisky fans with their malt of the month offering and generous 35ml measures.

As well as good drinking and gig spots, Sauchiehall Street is awash with great eateries too. You’d be hard pushed to find more authentic Vietnamese cuisine in the city centre than at Non Viet (no. 536), while great Japanese food can be found at Nanakusa (no. 441). For an excellent on-the-go option Falafel To Go (no. 116) offer up affordable, fresh and super tasty wraps, while veggies and vegans alike will love the light and spacious Saramago Cafe and Bar inside the CCA (no. 350).

Away from Sauchiehall Street, for Italian cuisine head to Sarti (121 Bath St; 133 Wellington St), Pizza Punks (90 St Vincent St) or Paesano sister restaurant Sugo (70 Mitchell St); for Japanese food try Maki & Ramen (21 Bath St), for Thai head to Ting Thai Caravan (19 W Nile St) or Panang (71-73 St Vincent St) and for Korean, Bibimbap (3 W Nile St) is the one. If you’ve got a hankering for Mexican street food, go for tacos at the super kitsch and vibrant Mezcal (104 Hope St) or Topolobamba (89 St Vincent St), while burger fiends should try Bread Meats Bread (65 St Vincent St). Want to try a bit of everything? On Fridays and Saturdays head to street food market Platform (253 Argyle St) with its rotational food trucks and in-house microbrewery from Innis & Gunn.

Image: courtesy of Ting Thai

Photo: Artur Kraft

Image: courtesy of Glasgow Film Theatre

Glasgow Film Theatre

Despite being housed in the former townhouse of an 18th century Tobacco Lord, the Gallery of Modern Art (111 Queen St) is Scotland’s most visited modern art gallery with free exhibitions from local and international artists. The award-winning Centre for Contemporary Arts (CCA) (350 Sauchiehall St) is an arts hub with diverse year-round programming, while the nearby Glasgow School of Art’s Reid Building (164 Renfrew St) and Mackintosh-designed The Lighthouse (11 Mitchell Ln), Scotland’s Centre for Design and Architecture, both host regular exhibitions.

Originally opened in 1903, fans of tea will want to visit the iconic Mackintosh at the Willow tea rooms (215-217 Sauchiehall St), while for a unique slice of history, Garnethill’s The Tenement House (145 Buccleuch St) offers a rare glimpse into early 20th century life in Glasgow. Nearby, you’ll find one of the city centre’s only green spaces in Garnethill Park, while on its periphery is The Art Laundrette (39 Dalhousie St), a fully functioning laundrette with regular exhibitions.

Home to the Scottish Opera, The Theatre Royal (282 Hope St) is the longest running theatre in Scotland, having opened in 1867. The Pavilion Theatre (121 Renfield St) and King’s Theatre (297 Bath St) have packed schedules too, with big names in stand-up comedy, musicals, theatre and more. Cinephiles should head for the Glasgow Film Theatre (GFT) (12 Rose St), the UK’s first purpose-built arthouse theatre outside of London. Opened in 1939 as the Cosmo, it changed its name to the GFT in 1974, and almost five decades on is still going strong with regular film screenings and the annual Glasgow Film Festival which returns in March 2023.

There’s also no shortage of live music venues and nightclubs to be found here too, with several venues on Sauchiehall Street alone; the famous King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut (272A St Vincent St) and world renowned Sub Club (22 Jamaica St) are also in the city centre.

Low level trains from Glasgow Central Station (Gordon St) to Exhibition Centre will speedily take you to the OVO Hydro on the banks of the River Clyde, where you’ll find some of the biggest names in music. Similarly, low level trains from Queen Street Station (N Hanover St) are great for a quick jaunt to Partick and Finnieston where you’ll find the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum and the SWG3 music venue. In the city centre you can also hop on the 10.5km circular Glasgow Subway from Buchanan Street, St Enoch Square and Cowcaddens, making for easy connections to other parts of the city both north and south of the river.