Things to do in Glasgow

29 activities, venues and outings in Glasgow, from theatres and live music to parks and tours.

Ranked with the travel guide's picks and well-known places first.

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Barrowland Ballroom
Opened in 1934, but rebuilt in ever-so-Sixties style after a fire, this is a popular live venue with 1900 standing capacity. It's renowned for its sprung dance floor and excellent acoustics.
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Britannia Panopticon
The oldest surviving music hall in the world, this was built in Italianate style in 1857, intended for shops but opening as a free-standing entertainment complex. Big names who boosted their early careers here include Stan Laurel in 1906 (his début, 20 years before he teamed up with Oliver Hardy), the debonair Jack Buchanan and the salt-of-the-earth Harry Lauder. Glasgow audiences were notorious for leaving no turn un-stoned (shipyard rivets and rancid turnips were traditional missiles) - toilets only arrived in 1893 and young boys used the balcony to pee on performers. The installation of a zoo in 1908 hardly made audience manners worse. The music hall folded in 1938 and the space was adapted for retail and industry. It's been re-opened and shows mostly light fare such as burlesque and comedy. There's no heating, so dress accordingly. No wheelchair / disabled access.
Thu-Sat noon-5PMAdut £2, child £1
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Celtic
the Bhoys, the Hoops, the Celts
Celtic play soccer in the Premiership, Scotland's top tier, and are Scotland's most successful club. The stadium (capacity 60,400) is two miles east of city centre, between A74 London Rd and A728 Clyde Gateway. See the club website for tickets, match day info such as travel disruptions, stadium tours, and no end of merchandising. Celtic were founded in 1888 at St. Mary’s church in the Calton area for the purposes of alleviating Irish immigrant poverty, and in the years since have risen to be the dominant force in Scottish football, and are the only Scottish side to win the European Cup. The women's team play in the Scottish Women's Premier League, their top tier, with home games at Penny Cars Stadium in Airdrie.
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Cineworld
Multiplex with 18 screens. They also have edge-of-town sites at The Forge and Barrhead.
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Glasgow City FC
Glasgow City FC are a women's team playing in the Scottish Women's Premier League, of which they are reigning champions. They're not affiliated with any men's club and play at Petershill Park (capacity: 1,000, 500 seated) in Springburn, two miles north of the city centre. That makes them the leading women's team within Glasgow, as Celtic and Rangers women play out of town. Book tickets here.
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Glasgow Film Theatre
Independent cinema opened in 1939 showing classics, and art and foreign-language movies - the advent of "talkies" made these less accessible to British audiences. It hosts the annual Glasgow Film Festival.
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Glasgow Royal Concert Hall
Stonking great hall completed in 1990, with a main auditorium seating 2475 and four other spaces of 300+. It's home to the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, who perform throughout Scotland. The same management also runs City Halls and the Fruitmarket. Just below the basement run the Subway trains, with a thick rubber barrier to block the rumblings.
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Grosvenor Picture Theatre
Opened in 1921 in what had been a cab office and funeral parlour, this shows mostly mainstream films.
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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.
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King Tut's Wah Wah Hut
Venue for up-and-coming bands, where Oasis and Glasvegas were discovered.
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King's Theatre
Glasgow's main traditional theatre, a grand affair of 1904 seating 1785. It shows mostly musicals, comedy and panto.
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Nice'N'Sleazy
A student favourite, Sleazy's is a cross between a bar and a nightclub. Live bands most nights downstairs, and the bar upstairs also has small acts. Over 18s only.
Mon-Fri 6PM-3AM, Sat Sun 5PM-3AM
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O2 Academy
Opened in 2003, this venue in Gorbals hosts rock, indie and comedy, and has a capacity of 2500.
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Partick Thistle
Thistle, the Jags
"The Jags" play in the Scottish Championship, the second tier. They're named for the Partick district but since 1908 have been at Firhill, an all-seater stadium of capacity 10,100 in Maryhill. Getting a ticket shouldn't be a problem, but be wary when it's a big match towards the end of the season. They can be purchased here or by phone. Thistle have passionate fans, so bring some noise!
£22 adults, £16 concessions, £6 U16s, for both home and away fans
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Pavilion Theatre
This was founded in 1904 and has seen many of the greatest stars of music hall perform, such as a then-unknown Charlie Chaplin. Neither the building nor its offerings have changed much over the years. They're proud of being an unsubsidised independent venue, which means a diet of crowd-pleasing light theatre, musicals, comedy and panto. You're not destined to see Parsifal here unless some celebs do it in drag.
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Queen's Park F.C.
The Spiders
Queen's Park play in the Championship, the second tier. Despite an incredible run without a major trophy since 1893, they are still amongst Scotland's most successful clubs with ten Scottish Cups to their name. Historically they played at Hampden Park and owned it, but their limited fortunes and attendance made that a nonsense; only in 2019 did they turn professional. Hampden Park was sold to the Scottish Football Association in 2020 and from 2025-26, Queen's Park will play at The City Stadium (aka Lesser Hampden), a small stadium to the west of Hampden Park. Don't confuse them with Queen's Park Rangers, the team from London's Shepherd's Bush.
£24 adults, £17 concessions, £12 U18s, £8 U12s
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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.
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Royal Conservatoire of Scotland
Primarily a teaching college but they also put on public performances of classical and contemporary music, ballet and dance, musical theatre, and contemporary drama.
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SEC Armadillo
formerly Clyde Auditorium
They've capitulated, and re-named this shiny metal venue what Glaswegians have called it since it opened in 1997. It has a 3000-seater auditorium and is part of the "Scottish Event Campus" alongside the SEC Centre and OVO Hydro. They're at pains to point out that it wasn't inspired by Sydney Opera House, it's supposed to represent ship's hulls. If so, they're bottom-up like The Poseidon Adventure.
Box office Mon–Fri 9AM-2PM
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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.
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Theatre Royal
What you see now outside is the modern frontage added in 2014, but the interior is the French Renaissance design adopted after the first major fire in 1879; it was rebuilt thus after the second fire in 1896. The venue opened in 1867 and opera was always a major offering, since in those days you could show it at a profit. From 1957 to 1974 Scottish Television was based here, then it became the home of Scottish Opera and later of Scottish Ballet. It stages mainly "serious" theatre, opera and ballet.
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Tramway
Former tram depot turned into an art space, and one of the hosts for Citizens Theatre work until that building is renovated.
Tue-Fri noon-5PM, Sat Sun noon-6PM
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Tron Theatre
This was built over the derelict Tron Kirk in 1980 - the steeple remains. It's a "producing theatre" like Citizens (below), putting on contemporary works.
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Vue Cinema
The newest cinema in Glasgow city centre boasts big comfy reclining chairs
£8.99 online, £9.99 at the door
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Òran Mór
Entertainment centre in the former Kelvinside Parish Church, with restaurant, pub, nightclub, theatrical and music and events venues, a fixture of the West End social scene. There are regular lunchtime plays in the "A Play, A Pie and A Pint" series, where the ticket includes a pint of beer and a pie or quiche.
Sun-Wed 11AM-1AM, Thu-Sat 11AM-3AM
Do Not mapped
Citizens Theatre
Legendary theatre in working-class Gorbals: its predecessor opened in 1878 and the Citizens took over in 1945. This is a "producing theatre", creating its own shows from scratch, so it's contemporary and avant-garde work in a Victorian showcase. It's often been at odds with authority, but having the City Provost denounce "kinky claptrap appealing only to mentally ill weirdos" ensured sell-out productions. A glittering roll-call of big names has graced its boards. The historic building was re-built 2019-2025.
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The Stand
Stand-up comedy club.
Daily 7:30PM-10:30PM
Do Not mapped
Classic Grand
Alternative music venue in a former tacky "adult" cinema.
Sun-Fri 9AM-1AM, Sat 9AM-3AM
Do Not mapped
The Cathouse
Rock club founded in 1990.
Wed-Sun 11PM-3AM

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