Glasgow is a city full of things to do, and amazingly all museums are free to enter! This guide is our personal top 11 Free things to do in Glasgow… while there are more of course, these are the most popular places to visit in the city. We jumped on the City Sightseeing Glasgow Hop On- Hop Off Bus Tour with audio guide and with 21 stops there is lots to see, and it is the most convenient way to get around the city!
Here are our top 11 Free things to do in Glasgow!
Glasgow City Chambers
Glasgow City Chambers is one of the city’s most prestigious buildings and is located in George Square. As well as being striking on the outside, the inside oozes opulence with elegant and stunning Italian marble staircases, mosaic ceilings, gold leaf accents, rich Spanish mahogany panelling, swathes of stained glass and pillars of granite. Be sure to also check out George Square which is one of six civic squares in Glasgow and is right in the heart of the city, from here you can enjoy drinks or a meal in the nearby restaurants or just sit in the square and admire the architecturally rich buildings around you Free Open- Monday- Friday with guided tours being conducted at 10.30am and 2.30am. If you cannot make the tour, you can wander freely around the entrance hall.
Glasgow City Chambers, George Square, Glasgow
Free
Open Mon- Fri with guided tours being conducted at 10.30am and 2.30am. If you cannot make the tour, you can wander freely around the entrance hall.
GoMA
Glasgow’s Gallery of Modern Art (GoMA) is the most visited modern art gallery in Scotland and sits as the pride and joy of Royal Exchange Square in the city centre. The building is exquisite on the outside and filled with amazing art pieces inside. The most iconic part of the GoMA could arguably be the Duke with the cone on his head statue located at the entrance.
Gallery Of Modern Art Glasgow, Royal Exchange Square, Glasgow
Free
Open- Thursday 10am-8pm, Friday 11am-5pm, Saturday 10am- 5pm, Sunday 11am- 5pm
Glasgow Cathedral
Glasgow Cathedral is one of the best examples of Gothic architecture remaining in Scotland. The structure has origins from the 12th century, most of what is here today dates from the 15th century. Visit the crypts beneath the cathedral and find the tomb of St Mungo, Glasgow’s Patron Saint. Enormous ceilings, pointed arches, ribbed vaults and intricate stained glass exist in abundance. The best views of the cathedral are from the neighbouring Necropolis. (see below)
Glasgow Cathedral, Castle St, Glasgow
Free
Open- 26 March to 30 September: Monday to Saturday, 9.30am to 5.30pm, Sunday, 1pm to 5pm. Last entry 4.30pm
1 October to 31 March: Monday to Saturday, 10am to 4pm, Sunday, 1pm to 4pm. Last entry 3.30pm
Glasgow Necropolis
In this Victorian cemetery there are over 50,000 souls buried here, and all have the most striking and prominent grave stones. Might sound a bit morbid but this a cemetery like no other, and there is also amazing views over Glasgow.
Castle St, Glasgow
Free
Open- Dawn until dusk
People’s Palace And Winter Gardens
The People’s Palace And Winter Gardens had its grand opening in 1898. The Winter Gardens is a large magical conservatory filled with gorgeous and exquisite plants and trees. (Currently there are plans to close the Winter Gardens due to funding costs to repair deemed too high). Outside in the park Glasgow Green you will find the Doulton Fountain, built in 1888 it represents the four British Colonies Australia, South Africa, Canada and India, it is made from terracotta and at 14 metres high is the largest terracotta fountain in the world.
Glasgow Green, Templeton St, Glasgow
Free to enter – suggested donation of £5
Open- Thursday 10am- 5pm, Friday 11am-5pm, Saturday 10am – 5pm, Sunday 11am- 5pm
The Lighthouse
Dating back to 1895, The Lighthouse was the first public commission by Charles Rennie Mackintosh. Once housing The Glasgow Herald newspaper, The Lighthouse is now Scotland’s Centre for Design and Architecture, with many exhibits. Be sure to climb the spiral staircase to soak up views of Glasgow’s cityscape from the Mackintosh Tower.
11 Mitchell Lane, Glasgow
Free
Open- Monday- Friday 10.30am – 5pm, Sunday 12pm- 5pm
Riverside Museum
The Riverside Museum is the location of the current award-winning Glasgow Museum of Transport. Opened in 2011, it won European Museum of the Year 2013. There are over 3,000 objects on display from Stormtroopers to Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman’s motorbikes from ‘Long Way Down’ to interactive displays and re-created Glasgow streets where you can climb aboard trains, tram and busses. Here you can also discover Glasgow's rich shipbuilding history and outside berthed on the river Clyde be sure to check out the Tall Ship, Glenlee, the UK's only floating Clyde-built sailing ship.
Riverside Museum, 100 Pointhouse Rd, Glasgow
Both the Riverside Museum and Glenlee Tall Ship are free to enter
Open- Monday – Sunday 10am – 5pm
Glasgow Mural Trail
Whilst wandering around Glasgow you may notice huge pieces of art that adorn some of the city's buildings, bringing a splash of colour to rejuvenate some buildings, this concept is forever expanding and people of Glasgow are embracing the concept of street art. There is a mural trail you can follow or just try spot some as you go around the city
Locations of the above images-
St Mungo by Smug, High Street 1.
Crazy Cat Lady, Sauchiehall Street 2.
Charles Rennie Mackintosh, at The Clutha, Clyde Street 3.
The World's Most Economical Taxi, Mitchell Lane 4.
Free
Open always
Kelvingrove Art Gallery And Museum
The beloved Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum stands out with its facade being constructed of Locharbriggs Red Sandstone. The interior is equally as interesting with art pieces and objects from around the world, and of course no museum is complete without stuffed animals, and the odd dinosaur- currently on loan from the Natural History Museum in London until 6th May 2019 is Dippy the Dinosaur
Kelvingrove Art Gallery And Museum, Argyle St, Glasgow
Free
Open- Thursday 10am- 5pm, Friday 11am-5pm, Saturday 10am – 5pm, Sunday 11am- 5pm
Kelvingrove Park
Kelvingrove Park is a lovely area to wander and relax, in the Spring time there is an abundance of blossom trees and in the summer, it is a lovely place to sunbathe (yes it totally gets warm enough to sunbathe) Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum is also located here. Outside the park near to the museum you will find a huge array of bars and restaurants
Kelvingrove Park, Glasgow
Free
Open- always
Window shop on Style Mile
Glasgow’s Style Mile is the area that runs between Argyle Street, Buchanan Street, Merchant City and Sauchiehall Street, and it is the UK’s largest shopping area outside of London. Here you will find a huge range of shops and department stores including St Enoch’s Centre, Buchanan Galleries and if you want to window shop diamonds then check out the Argyll Arcade.
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We visited these sites as part of the City Sightseeing Glasgow Hop On- Hop Off bus tour, which is £15 pp for 24 hours or just £1 more for 48 hours!
Everywhere we have mentioned above can be found at or near the following bus stop numbers-
#1 Glasgow City Chambers
#1 GoMA
#2 Glasgow Cathedral
#2 Necropolis
#5 People’s Palace And Winter Gardens
#7 The Lighthouse
#12 Riverside Museum
#16 Kelvingrove Art Gallery And Museum
Read more on our Glasgow Blog posts!
*Disclaimer: AD
We were offered complimentary tickets for the City Sightseeing Glasgow Bus, which we warmly received. Our content is purely our own ideas, and our own opinions. We live in Scotland and work in Glasgow, so we are genuinely passionate about the city.
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