Glasgow is a city that can easily be explored on foot. Money pumped into the cleaning up of this former industrial city, shows in the numerous art galleries and museums that it has. This city can give Edinburgh a run for its money where the arts are concerned.

Designed in 1777 by Robert Adam, Culzean Castle sits atop a cliff, in the middle of a large estate governed by the National Trust.  

The castle offers a splendid view of the surrounding countryside (and the city), and is a good example of neo-classical architecture. The rooms are gorgeously decorated, and include what’s called the National Guest Flat, gifted by the people of Scotland in appreciation of General Dwight D Eisenhower’s services during World War II; the approach to the apartments is decorated with war momentos.

Both the Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery are part of Glasgow University, and owe their existences to an 18th century Glaswegian, a doctor called William Hunter, who, during his lifetime, managed to build up an unbelievably large collection of antiques, artifacts, and art. The museum holds the antiques and the artifacts, and includes one of the world’s best coin collections, besides a dinosaur skeleton. Among the other exhibits are scientific instruments, manuscripts and archaeological finds. The art gallery, which stands next to the Hunterian Museum, is equally good: within it is an extensive range of art by some of Europe’s best painters: Joshua Reynolds, Chardin, Rembrandt, Rodin and James Mcneill Whistler (Whistler’s collection here is particularly excellent). One of the main highlights of the gallery is a replica of the town house of Charles Rennie Mackintosh- who had lived very close by. Worth a visit for any art lover!

 One of the most spectacular churches in all of Scotland, the Glasgow Cathedral was built in 1136 and destroyed 56 years later. The church was rebuilt soon after, and is the only church in Scotland to have escaped the destructive zeal of Scottish religious reformers, who razed many of the region’s ancient churches. The cathedral survived the reformers mainly because of the intervention of city guilds, and it is today one of the city’s main sights.

The cathedral has a magnificent vaulted crypt, which contains the tomb of Saint Mungo, the patron saint of Glasgow and dates back to the 1100s. Although not as large as some of England’s cathedrals, this one is imposing enough and worth a look.

Situated in the midst of the lovely Pollok Country Park, Pollok House dates back to the mid 18th century and houses an excellent collection of paintings by European masters such as Goya, El Greco, and Murillo. Also on display are some very fine pieces of furniture, glassware, silver, porcelain, and works by William Blake. Pollok House is today a part of the National Trust, and the entire building, along with the surrounding gardens and park, are cared for by the trust.

Part of the Pollok Country Park, the Burrell Collection is a huge and impressive display of more than 8000 items- all art treasures and running the gamut from Roman, Greek and Egyptian artefacts to Oriental pottery, bronze, jade, French impressionist paintings, and Rodin sculptures. The collection owes its origin to a Sir William Burrell, who started collecting when he was just 15, and carried on thew good work till he died at the age of 96, having bought an average of two works of art every week. The building in which the collection is housed is an impressive contemporary one, of stainless steel, glass and pink sandstone, and the collection itself is truly amazing.

Constructed in 1894, the People’s Palace is an imposing building made of red sandstone, with an adjoining garden- well restored- known as the Winter Gardens. The People’s Palace houses a museum with an interesting collection of items related to the social life and history of Glasgow. Among the items on display are the writing desk of one of Scotland’s greatest political activists, John Mclean; and the boots of the comedian Billy Connolly. There are a lot of other items as well, all of them closely related to the city and to Scotland as such.

Glasgow has a number of other monuments worth a visit; there are, in particular, plenty of museums and galleries which are noteworthy, such as the Glasgow Gallery of Modern Art, the Mitchell Library, the Museum of Transport, the St Mungo Museum of Religious Life and Art, and the Kelvingrove Museum and Art Gallery. The last-named is undoubtedly one of the best collections of art in the UK- besides painting and sculpture, it also houses ancient Egyptian artefacts, silverware, ceramic, armour, and lots of other examples of applied art.