Things to Do in Glasgow

Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum

The Spanish Baroque facade looms red and imposing over Kelvingrove Park. But inside you'll catch the echo of footsteps on marble and the faint smell of old books mixing with polished wood. The Dali painting of Christ hangs in a dimly lit room where whispered conversations bounce off the high ceilings, while the natural history section smells faintly of formaldehyde and dust.

West End pub crawl

Start at Òran Mór where the converted church still smells of incense beneath the whisky fumes, then follow the students down Byres Road where you'll hear live folk music leaking from pub doorways. The cobblestones of Ashton Lane glitter with rain most evenings, and you'll taste peat-smoke from the Laphroaig being poured at Jinty McGuinty's while students argue about philosophy over pints of Tennent's.

Clyde waterfront walk

The river smells of diesel and seaweed where the old shipyards once launched ocean liners, now replaced by the Riverside Museum's zinc-clad curves reflecting clouds. You'll hear the clang of the tall ship's rigging against masts at the riverside, while seagulls wheel overhead crying for chips dropped by tourists posing beside the angled bridge that looks like a drunken crane.

Barras weekend market

The Barrowland ballroom's neon sign flickers pink above stalls selling everything from vintage Adidas to questionable electronics, while the smell of bacon rolls and strong tea drifts from the cafe where traders shout orders in broad Glaswegian. You'll hear the banter before you see it - vendors calling 'two for a fiver, hen' while vinyl records crackle on ancient turntables and someone tries to sell you a trombone that might have seen better days.

Necropolis cemetery tour

The hilltop cemetery rewards you with views of the city sprawl while marble angels weather green with moss, their stone faces streaked black from industrial rain. You'll crunch through fallen leaves that smell earthy and sweet, reading Victorian gravestones where shipbuilders and tobacco merchants lie beneath increasingly illegible inscriptions, the Celtic crosses casting long shadows in afternoon light.

West End near Byres Road for student pubs and coffee shops that smell of roasted beans

Merchant City for warehouse conversions and cocktail bars in old tobacco buildings

City Centre for train station access and shopping on Buchanan Street

Southside around Queen's Park where tenements have original cornicing and cheaper rent

Finnieston for the best restaurants and bars within stumbling distance

East End near the Barrowlands if you want live music every night