Five Activities for Rainy (and Sunny) Days in Glasgow

Hey! Today I’ve got a slightly different post for you. During my time of studying in Glasgow I was lucky enough to get get a couple of visitors from home. The following post is not written by me, but by one of my visitors. I hope you’ll enjoy to read about Glasgow! For my part, I will definitely add some of these activities to my bucket list for when I am back in Scotland. xx Julia

Glasgow has plenty of things to do! It is definitely not always raining here, but if you get caught in the rain, you still won’t be bored. I’ve listed you a few of my recommendations that are suitable for every weather:

Townhall of Glasgow

My favorite place in Glasgow is George Square which impresses with its location, the architecture and the statues. Even though it is surrounded by the busy city center and a lot of roads, it is a place to relax and to enjoy the vivid atmosphere at the same time.

I want to start off by recommending a visit of the townhall which is located at George Square. Here you can book a one-hour guided tour in the morning or in the afternoon to visit the insides of the townhall. There is no entrance fee and I think it’s definitely worth a visit.

The tour guide shows you around the insides of the impressive building. You will see portraits of Glasgow’s mayors. Did you know that the Scottish word for mayor is convener and that Glasgow’s current convener is Eva Bolander? The tour gives you interesting insights on the life of politicians and information about the municipal building. You can even sit on the armchairs of the aldermen!

 

Willows Tea House

After this cultural activity, you can go for afternoon tea to the Willows Tearooms in Sauchiehall Street. It’s perfect if you want to treat yourself to one of a wide selection of teas and to share an étagère with sandwiches and a variation of cakes. It is said that even prince Charles stopped by the Willows Tearooms a little while ago. A further Willows Tearoom is located in Buchanan Street. Both teahouses are built in the distinct Mackintosh style, a prestigious architect of Glasgow.

More of his grandiose architecture is displayed in several other places in the city.

 

Riverside Museum

Starting at George Square you head towards the river Clyde. From there, you walk along the Clyde in direction west, passing several bridges, the Scottish Exhibition and Science Conference Centre and the Armadillo (that’s the nickname of Glasgow’s concert hall). After a further 15-minute walk, you reach the Riverside Museum with the Tall Ship. Of course, there is also a bus that you can catch in order to get to the museum quicker and drier (in case it’s raining).

As we went to the museum by foot, we first had a cappuccino break in the café. From the museum’s café you have an extraordinary view on the Tall Ship. We stayed a few hours in the nice museum which features the history of transport. You can marvel at old trams and railways, bikes, cars and motorbikes.  Especially impressing was a replica of a street from the years 1895 to 1905. A coach was parked in the historic street of Glasgow and on the roadside were replicas of shops which you could enter. It’s great for taking pictures for instance in the historic pub, at the chemist or in front of the many cute shops.

Don’t forget to visit the ship Glenlee from the inside. It was built in 1896! The opening times are different from the rest of the museum. It already closes at half past three and we didn’t manage to visit the insides during our first visit. But don’t worry – it gave us a reason to come back a second time and we enjoyed the museum once more.

You can visit three floors on board of the ship. You’ll see the rooms of the sailors, the cabin of the captain, the machine room and the inside of the vessel. A café is located in the ship’s hold, too.

We had a bit of bad luck when trying to catch the bus back to the city in the afternoon. We found out that it’s handy to have coins with you. When we tried to pay for our bus ticket, the bus driver didn’t have change, so we ended up having to walk to the subway station.

 

Kelvingrove

You can also catch a bus to Kelvingrove Park to visit Kelvingrove Museum. It is fantastic and you shouldn’t miss it. You can easily stay for many hours if you want to visit all floors of the museum. It has numerous exhibitions divided in continents, pictures of famous painters, displays of architecture (including a Mackintosh exhibition) and much more. It’s nearly impossible to see everything in a day and depending on your interests, you can pick what you want to visit. Attention-catching are the illuminated stone heads that are hanging from the ceiling in the large museum’s hall. On Sunday, we had the opportunity to do a one-hour guided tour where we were showed around a little part of the museum. Before leaving, we listened to the weekly organ concert. Every week a different musician is performing.

Westend

After visiting so many places, I recommend going for a walk around the Westend. Here you will definitely find a great spot to take a break. We picked the café K & J for our break. At the corner of the same street, you’ll find the Tennent’s pub which these days is run by women. An interesting fact about it is that only men used to be allowed to go to this pub. This was until a massive strike of women in 1971. From the pub and the café, it is not far to walk to Ashton Lane – a street with a little cinema and one pub next to the other. The lane looks especially impressive in the dark when all the fairy lights are sparkling.

 

These are my favourite Glasgow activities for rainy days (and also sunny one’ of course). However, there are many more great places in Glasgow that I can think of. Have fun visiting Glasgow – be it rainy, sunny or even snowy. You will love it! Let me know if you would like to read more about Glasgow.

Yours Petra