I’ve been writing about Glasgow now for a couple of decades and I’ve been lucky enough to witness its renaissance as both a city and also a serious city break destination. Gritty hard nosed Glaswegian cop and post industrial grime clichés are out these days and hipster bars and the UK’s best shopping after London are very much in.
I’ve been putting together guides for the ace Pearlshare app recently – you can read about what I’m doing for them and what the company is about here. I have just done an insider guide to Glasgow, with ten tips on places to stay, eat and enjoy this world class city. You can click through the ten venue guide here or just link through to the ten venues I’ve listed below as a teaser.
Enjoy both Pearlshare and Glasgow. Slainte!
- Hip Hotel – I’ve stayed at Hotel du Vin at One Devonshire Gardens half a dozen times over the years and despite some decent competition emerging in recent years this West End bolthole remains for me the best place to stay in Scotland’s largest city. Ultra friendly service, the Georgian Townhouse setting, palatial rooms and a hotel restaurant worth staying in for make for a perfect Glaswegian cocktail.
- Stunning Seafood – Glasgow may not boast the Michelin starred fine dining temples of Edinburgh, but for me it offers more good value restaurants than the capital. Pick of the bunch is Crabshakk. On the menu is boat fresh West Coast seafood such as lobster, oysters and scallops. I love the regular special – queen scallops in a delicious coral butter. Crabshakk is cheap as such, but massively cheaper compared to what you would pay for this standard of world class seafood in Paris, London or Edinburgh for that matter.
- Finnieston – A decade ago it was all about Byres Road, but these days the Glaswegian hipster cognoscenti have gravitated further east towards the centre and Finnieston. This formerly rundown industrial area is still a little rough around the edges, but that still adds to the charm. Style bars, hipster cafes and savvy restaurants sit alongside old men’s pubs and ding lounges. Very Glasgow and a lot of fun.
- Riverside Museum – One of the late architect Zaha Hadid’s landmark projects, this striking building on the lifeblood River Clyde is truly breathtaking. It is worth visiting alone to just marvel at it and how it fits into the post shipbuilding landscape. Delve inside and you can enjoy one of the world’s great transport collections, with everything from trains and trams, through the model ships and even an exhibit on the tragic Lockerbie bombing, which saw a Pan Am Jumbo Jet explode over Scotland.
- The Horseshoe Bar – Forget style bars and trendy lounges this is very much old Glasgow. Provided you ditch the guidebook and your camera you will be welcome here. As the name suggests the old fashioned bar swirls around the atmospheric pub in the shape of a horseshoe. It’s derigeur– don’t use words here like derigeur – to order a pint of ‘heavy’ ale and a wee dram to go along with. Avoid politics and you can enjoy a night of geniality and proper Glaswegian banter.
There are another five tips on my Pearlshare guide so tuck and enjoy. You can search Pearlshare for my other guides too. Slainte!
