Glasgow Hop-On Hop-Off Sightseeing Bus Tour

The City Chambers square and the Merchant City

Your Glasgow hop-on hop-off bus tour starts in the city's grand central square, the civic heart of Glasgow, surrounded by statues and handsome stone buildings. On its eastern side stands the City Chambers, the seat of the city council since 1888, whose richly decorated halls and marble staircases reflect the wealth of Glasgow in its industrial heyday.

Just east of the square lies the Merchant City, the quarter where merchants who traded across the Atlantic built their warehouses and mansions in the eighteenth century. Today, its restored streets are full of restaurants, boutiques, galleries and cafés, with lively squares and colourful murals. Hop off here to explore on foot and enjoy one of the most stylish areas of Glasgow.

Glasgow Cathedral and the Necropolis

Glasgow Cathedral is the oldest building in the city and one of the finest medieval churches in Scotland, built mainly between the twelfth and fifteenth centuries on the site where Glasgow was founded. It is the only medieval cathedral on the Scottish mainland to have survived the Reformation almost intact, and its dark stone, lofty nave and atmospheric lower church make it unforgettable. Entry is usually free.

Behind the cathedral, a bridge leads up to the Necropolis, a nineteenth-century garden cemetery spread over a hill, with elaborate monuments, obelisks and tombs of the city's wealthy merchants. From the top, the views over the cathedral and the city are superb. Across the street stands the oldest house in Glasgow, built in the fifteenth century and now a small museum.

Glasgow Green and the city's social history

Glasgow Green is the oldest public park in the city, a wide green space along the River Clyde used by Glaswegians for centuries for walking, washing clothes, sport and public gatherings. Today, it is a peaceful place to stroll, with monuments, fountains and riverside paths.

At its heart stands a red sandstone museum of social history opened in 1898, which tells the story of ordinary Glaswegians, their work, their houses and their entertainment, with a large glasshouse winter garden attached. The museum is free to visit and gives a moving insight into life in the city through the industrial age. It is a lovely stop for families and anyone curious about Glasgow's people.

The Clyde waterfront: Riverside Museum and the Science Centre

The Red Route follows the River Clyde, once lined with shipyards that built some of the greatest ships in the world. Today, the waterfront has been transformed with striking modern buildings: a curved concert hall, a titanium-clad science centre with an interactive exhibition and a slender rotating tower beside it, ideal for families on a rainy day.

Further downriver, the Riverside Museum of transport and travel sits in a dramatic building with a zig-zag roof, opened in 2011. Inside, you can explore vintage trams, cars, locomotives and a reconstructed old street, and outside a historic tall ship is moored on the river. Is the Riverside Museum worth visiting? It is free, fascinating for all ages and one of Glasgow's most popular attractions.

Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum and the University of Glasgow

Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum is one of the most visited museums in the UK, a grand red sandstone building opened in 1901 in a leafy park beside the River Kelvin. Its collections range from natural history and arms and armour to European paintings and Scottish art, and a great organ plays in the central hall. Entry is free.

Above the park rises the University of Glasgow, founded in 1451 and one of the oldest universities in the English-speaking world. Its nineteenth-century Gothic main building, with a tall tower and atmospheric cloisters, is one of the city's most photographed sights. Hop off here to walk through the cloisters and the quadrangles, then explore the cafés and shops of the West End.