Glasgow City Guide

Whether Glasgow is your intended destination or just a brief stopover on the way to your new home, we have compiled this guide to help you get your bearings on arrival. To obtain more details about the city check out the websites listed at the end of this profile.

Greater Glasgow & Clyde Valley is one of Europe’s most exciting and beautiful destinations, which combines the energy and sophistication of a great international city with some of Scotland’s most spectacular scenery.

Population

According to mid-2006 estimates, Glasgow is populated by some 580,000 people.

Geography

Situated on the banks of the River Clyde, in west-central Scotland, the city covers an area of 175.5 square kilometres.  Just beyond the city of Glasgow lies some of Scotland’s most beautiful scenery. The local area is rich in history and heritage and each of its delightful country towns and villages has its own fascinating tale to tell. A short drive south of the city is the Clyde Valley Tourist Route, which makes its picturesque way to the upper reaches of the River Clyde and the World Heritage Site of New Lanark. To the west is Renfrewshire and the town of Paisley with its medieval Abbey and Museum and Art Galleries.  Inverclyde’s coastal towns enjoy spectacular panoramas across the Clyde Estuary to the Argyll Hills while Milngavie’s Mugdock Country Park to the north of Glasgow includes a stretch of the long distance footpath, the West Highland Way.

Economy

Glasgow is Scotland’s largest urban economy. Glasgow has transformed from a pre-eminent industrial hub to a diverse business location. The city is home to 13,000 firms, including one-quarter of Scotland’s largest businesses. Many of these fall within a number of key sectors: financial and business, retail, tourism, food and drink, construction and represent a range of specialisations which add value to the city’s economy: shipbuilding and marine technologies, enabling technologies, energy, life sciences and creative and cultural industries.

Dining Out

Glasgow has a rich variety of restaurants, pubs and bistros which offer a selection of both traditional cuisine made with the best of Scottish produce and a truly international range of cooking from China, India, Italy, France and other parts of the world. The city has approximately 1,000 restaurants and bars, making the city second only to London as the UK’s culinary capital.


Shopping

Glasgow city centre is packed with the best fashion names and brilliant independent boutiques and is one of Britain's best-loved shopping destinations. One of the delights of shopping in Glasgow is the fact that everything is within easy walking distance, and right in the heart of the city is Buchanan Street, the main shopping thoroughfare. You'll also find some of Glagsow's gorgeous historic shopping malls at the south side of Buchanan Street, including the majestic Princes Square, and the delectably pretty early 19th-century Argyll Arcade, with its little rows of antique stores and traditional and contemporary jewellers.

Offering what is probably the most elegant shopping experience you're ever likely to find on a British high street, Princes Square – an artfully restored nineteenth-century shopping mall – is a unique, not-to-be-missed city gem, offering a vibrant, modern fusion of cool, contemporary brands as well as covetable international labels.


Transport

Glasgow has an extensive suburban network of buses, trains, a subway and there is no shortage of taxis in the city. The Buchanan Bus Station, the underground station, Central Station and Queen Street Station are all on or within a couple of blocks of George Square.

Arts & Culture

Glasgow has an amazing portfolio of more than twenty museums and galleries – many of them free – including the unique Burrell Collection, stunning Mackintosh House and cool and contemporary Gallery of Modern Art. Whether you’re a clubber, concert-goer, opera aficionado, theatre lover or dance fan, visiting Greater Glasgow & Clyde Valley is always an eventful experience. No matter when you arrive you’ll find live performances, festivals and entertainment fifty-two weeks of the year. Productions by Scottish Opera, the RSNO Summer Proms and the West End Festival as well as the smooth sounds of Glasgow International Jazz Festival, the rousing Hogmanay Celebrations and Celtic Connections are just some of the vibrant annual events, which reinforce its reputation as one of Europe’s leading cultural capitals.

Lifestyle & Outdoor Recreation

The city has an abundance of opportunities from golfing, walking, climbing and mountain biking to horseriding, rafting, surfing and diving. 'Glasgow' means 'dear green place', recognising the fact that Glasgow has over 70 parks and open spaces, more than any other city its size. Many of them contain some of the city’s main galleries and attractions, facilities for recreational activities, and many fine examples of Victorian sculpture. Among their many features are the exotic Victorian Kibble Palace in Botanic Gardens and the grand Winter Gardens on Glasgow Green, Victoria Park’s Fossil Grove, a fascinating display of fossilised tree trunks more than 300 million years old, the newly completed House for an Art Lover in Bellahouston Park, designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh almost a century ago, and recently built using his original drawings, the International Rose Garden in Tollcross Park, venue for the city’s annual International Rose Trials, Highland cattle and Clydesdale horses in Pollok Country Park and Glasgow Green, and a Riding School in Linn Park.

On the Net

Glasgow City Council
www.glasgow.gov.uk

Glasgow Tourism
www.seeglasgow.com

Weather

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Avg. Max.

6°C

7°C

8°C

11°C

15°C

17°C

19°C

18°C

16°C

12°C

9°C

7°C

Avg. Min.

1°C

1°C

2°C

3°C

6°C

9°C

11°C

11°C

8°C

6°C

3°C

2°C

Mean

4°C

4°C

6°C

7°C

11°C

13°C

15°C

14°C

12°C

9°C

6°C

4°C