Museums and galleries in Glasgow

Museums and galleries in Glasgow

1. See

   Burrell Collection

   Sir William Burrell (1861-1958) was a shipping magnate who amassed a huge art collection. He gifted it to the city with the condition that it should be displayed in a nearby yet rural setting, and this was difficult to satisfy until Pollok House was acquired in extensive parkland, and the purpose-built gallery was added. It was closed 2014-2022 for refurbishment and even now can only show a fraction of his 9000-strong collection. Other items appear in the various city museums such as Kelvingrove.

   Mon-Thu Sat 10AM-5PM, Fri Sun 11AM-5PM·Gallery free, parking £2.50

2. See

   Fairfield Heritage Centre

   Govan became the city's main shipbuilding quarter once the Clyde channel was blasted open, and Fairfield was one of its leading companies. Built to impress in 1891, these were the august headquarters of a series of shipbuilders until the last vacated in 2001. It's now a heritage space and museum of Clyde shipbuilding.

   Summer daily 11AM-4PM, winter Mon-Fri 1PM-4PM·Free

3. See

   Gallery of Modern Art

   GoMA

   It houses rotating exhibitions of contemporary work; there isn't a permanent collection, but exhibitions generally reside for several months. In the basement is one of Glasgow's many public libraries. The building was erected in 1778 as the town house of a tobacco merchant and slave-trader, and the Corinthian pillar frontage was added around 1830. The equestrian statue of the Duke of Wellington arrived in 1844 and almost ever since has had a traffic cone perched his head. Every so often the Council removes it, but next day it re-incarnates.

   Mon-Wed Sat 10AM-5PM, Fri Sun 11AM-5PM·Free

4. See

   Glasgow Police Museum

   Early police forces had a variety of roles that were later separated as firefighting, event security, night-watch and sanitary regulation (which often meant extorting bribes from the sex trade). Glasgow had the world's first police force from 1779, but it lacked state backing and folded. The first regular force was from 1800, and since then has grappled with criminals' ingenuity, but fortunately more often their gob-smacking stupidity. This small but well-stocked museum takes you through the history.

   Apr-Oct: Mon-Sat 10:30AM-4:30PM, Sun noon-4:30PM; Nov-Mar: Tue Sun 10AM-4:30PM·Free

5. See

   Glasgow Science Centre

   Science museum with hundreds of interactive exhibits for children. You pay extra for the IMAX cinema, planetarium and the 125-metre Glasgow Tower (summer only), the only tower in the world which can rotate 360 degrees from its base.

   seasonal, see website.·Adult £14.00, child £11.00, concessions £12.50

6. See

   Glasgow University

   main Gilmorehill campus is a district of half a square mile, bounded to the east by the River Kelvin, to the north by Great Western Road, south by Dumbarton Road, and west by Byres Rd - by Subway use Hillhead. It was founded in 1451, the fourth oldest in the UK, and has some 21,000 undergraduates, 11,500 postgrads, 4700 academic staff, and earns high ratings for teaching and research. You can stroll the neo-Gothic area anytime, but the main visitor attractions are the several branches of the Hunterian, founded around the vast collections of William Hunter (1718-83). Three are on campus, and there's a satellite museum in Dumfries.

7. Do

   Hampden Park

   Scotland's national stadium has a capacity of 51,866 for football matches and 44,000 for athletics. It hosts other sporting events as well as concerts, and houses the Scottish Football Museum. The Scottish men's and women's soccer teams play their home games here. It may be difficult to get tickets for a men's World Cup or Euros qualifier but any other game should be fine. Stadium tours are available on non-match days. If you get the train, expect to queue for the station post-match due to the outflow of fans. Hampden used to be the home ground of Queen's Park, but they are in the throes of moving next door.

8. See

   House for an Art Lover

   In 1901 a German design magazine ran a competition for a Haus eines Kunstfreundes, a house for an art lover. Charles Rennie Macintosh's entry was late and incomplete so it was disqualified, but awarded a special prize for its creative designs harmonising exterior and interior. From the 1980s there was a project to build to his original design, and this was completed in 1996. The building needed to pay its way, and wouldn't be viable just as a museum piece, so from the outset it was constructed as an event space not part of the original design for a residence. That means it's often closed, especially in wedding season. It is however a wonderful realisation of the Rennie Mackintosh style, which you will be so grateful you don't have to live in, with those bolt-upright chairs and where even the cutlery and bathroom fittings have to be exactly so.

   Varies, often·Adult £6.50, conc & child £5

9. See

   Hunterian Art Gallery

   It holds a huge collection of work by Whistler, Rennie Mackintosh, the Scottish Colourists and the Glasgow Boys. The Mackintosh House is a reconstruction of the interior of CRM's nearby home, which was lost to university expansion in the 1960s. So he didn't design that house, but embellished the interior in his distinctive style.

   Tue-Sun 10AM-5PM·Gallery free, Mackintosh House £8 adult, £6 conc, child free

10. See

    Hunterian Zoology Museum

    "Zoology" over the door proclaims the intent, and it's a classical natural history museum where stuffed animals regard you with reproachful glass eyes.

    Mon-Fri 9AM-5PM·Free

11. See

    Kelvin Hall

    is across the street from Kelvingrove and mirrors its style. This was the city's main event and exhibition venue until SECC opened in 1985, see "Do". It's since been a bit of everything and nowadays is a study and research outpost of the Hunterian, a storage facility for Glasgow Museums, and has a climbing wall and soft play areas. The Moving Image Archive of the National Library of Scotland lets you watch archive films and videos - fill a wet afternoon by watching a 100 year old film.

12. See

    Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum

    Magnificent public gallery and museum, opened in 1901 as a legacy of the 1888 International Exhibition. It's in red sandstone, in sort-of Spanish Baroque via St Pancras, and was refurbished in 2006. Extensive collections and displays, well-geared to children and families. The 22 galleries cover natural history, civilisation from ancient Egypt to the present, big-name artists such as Dalí, Van Gogh, Monet and Rembrandt, and furnishings by Rennie Mackintosh. A Supermarine Spitfire hangs in the main hall. The organ in the main hall has recitals M-Sa at 1PM and Sundays at 3PM.

    Mon-Thu Sat 10AM-5PM, Fri Sun 11AM-5PM·Free

13. See

    Kelvingrove Park

    stretches west, with the River Kelvin running through it. It was laid out in the 1850s when the city's earlier green space, Glasgow Green, became hemmed in by slums. The bandstand was refurbished in 2014, and worthy statues include physicist Lord Kelvin, writer Thomas Carlyle, Field Marshal Lord Roberts and chemist Lord Lister. It's always open and popular with students of the nearby university; see below for the museum and gallery in its west corner. The easiest access from city centre is by bus towards Argyle St; by Subway use Kelvinbridge north or Kelvinhall west.

14. See

    People's Palace

    This is a great folk museum, telling the history of Glasgow and its people from 1750 to 2000. One of Billy Connolly's banana boots is on display. The Winter Gardens are a large adjacent glasshouse. As of May 2026, the museum and glasshouse are closed for refurbishment, with the timeline for re-opening unclear.

    Mon-Thu Sat 10AM-5PM, Fri Sun 11AM-5PM·Free

15. Do

    Rangers

    the Bears, the Gers

    Rangers also play in the Premiership, where since returning they have finished runners-up to Celtic in all but one season. They play at Ibrox Stadium (capacity 50,800) in Govan and are Scotland's second-most successful club. In 2012, the business entity controlling the affairs of the football club entered liquidation, and the rest of Scottish football controversially voted for Rangers FC to start from the Scottish Third Division (now Scottish League 2) at the beginning of the 2012/13 season. They fought their way back up to re-enter the top tier in 2016, whereupon the 'Old Firm Derby' versus Celtic could resume its rightful place in the sporting calendar. Rangers women's team play in the Women's Premier League, their top tier; home games are held at Rangers training facility in Milngavie. See the club website for tickets, stadium and museum tours, and merchandise. In the summer of 2023 Rangers opened a new museum and events space called 'New Edmiston House'. The official Glasgow City Sightseeing tour bus will take you to Ibrox Stadium on the city tour where the stadium, museum and club shop can be visited.

16. See

    Riverside Museum

    Offers an excellent collection of vehicles and models telling the story of transport by land and sea, with a unique Glasgow flavour. Besides the usual rail locomotives, buses, trams, cars and planes, the museum also includes a recreated Subway station and a street scene of old Glasgow. The museum was designed by Zaha Hadid and completed in 2011.

    Mon-Thu, Sat 10AM-5PM, Fri Sun 11AM-5PM·Free

17. Do

    SEC Centre

    Large events and exhibition venue, the main theatre (Hall 4) seats 10,000. Opened in 1985, it was that first of what's grown into an "Event Campus", with the Armadillo and the Hydro following.

18. See

    Scotland Street School

    This school, opened in 1906, was Charles Rennie Mackintosh's last major building. It was a wonderful Art Nouveau design (so naturally it was way over budget) and closed in 1979 when the Gorbals slums were demolished and school enrolment fell. In 1990 it was converted into a museum of school education, with Victorian / Edwardian classrooms, and an exhibition on the work of Mackintosh. It's now again closed for rebuilding, which will partially return it to educational use for early years.

    Closed ufn

19. See

    Sharmanka Kinetic Theatre

    "Sharmanka" is Russian for "barrel-organ" and it's a kinetic gallery. It has dingbat machines created by Eduard Bersudsky, described somewhere between Heath Robinson and Jean Tinguely.

    45-min show adult £14, conc £12, child £8.62

20. See

    The Museum of Piping

    The home of the bagpipes is in the former Cowcaddens Free Church. The museum shows 300 years of piping history, mainly showing Scottish bagpipes, but also showing Northumbrian pipes and some from Poland, Hungary, Italy and Spain. The piping centre also has a restaurant, an 8-room hotel and teaches piping.

    Mon-Fri 9AM-5PM, Sat 9AM-1PM·£4.50

21. See

    Willow Tea Rooms

    Mackintosh at the Willow

    The temperance activist Kate Cranston established a chain of artistic tea rooms, where citizens (especially women) could enjoy non-alcoholic refreshments in genteel surroundings. Her designer was Charles Rennie Mackintosh, and this Sauchiehall St branch, opened in 1903, was the most popular and has been lovingly restored. It's still a cafe-bistro, and that's the best way to enjoy it. But so many people have come just to look at the decor that it's morphed into a museum, so taking a tour or having a meal is now the only way to see the Room de Luxe on the second floor.

    Daily 11AM-5PM·Tour £7.50, conc £6.50

22. Buy Not mapped

    Buchanan Galleries

    A large central mall with the usual high street stores, including John Lewis.

    Mon-Sat 9AM-6PM, Sun 10AM-6PM

23. See Not mapped

    Hunterian Museum

    The Hunterian artwork and dead animals are now in separate buildings, so this museum is on the theme of civilisation. It exhibits many Roman findings from the Antonine Wall, the development of medicine in Glasgow, and Kelvin's scientific instruments. "Curating Discomfort" confronts the many links between the collections and Western colonialism, slavery, tobacco and partial versions of history.

    Tue-Sun 10AM-5PM·Free

24. See Not mapped

    St Mungo's Museum of Religious Life and Art

    This depicts Glasgow's patron saint and the growth of Christianity in the city, and of other faiths practised locally and worldwide.

    Mon-Thu, Sat 10AM-5PM, Fri, Sun 11AM-5PM·Free

25. See Not mapped

    Transmission Gallery

    A gallery set up in 1983 by former students of Glasgow School of Art as a hub for the local art community and to provide exhibition space.

    Tue-Sat 11AM-5PM·Free

26. See Not mapped

    Street Level Photoworks

    An alternative art gallery and installation space.

    Tue-Sun noon-5PM·Free

Listings from the Wikivoyage guide to Glasgow (CC BY-SA 4.0).