The monumental heart of Glasgow lies north of the River Clyde. The City Center is divided between the larger and mostly Victorian Commercial Center and the more compact district now designated the Merchant City (in honor of the tobacco and cotton "lords" who lived and ran businesses there from the 1700s). Glasgow is a vibrant modern city with art galleries, theaters, multiplex cinemas, music halls -- not to mention hundreds of bars and restaurants. The Merchant City roughly is to Glasgow as SoHo is to Manhattan: full of warehouses converted to condos, stylish bars, and trendy restaurants. The City Centre offers loads of shopping opportunities on the pedestrian stretches of Argyle, Buchanan, and Sauchiehall streets. If the river creates a southern boundary for "downtown" Glasgow, the M8 motorway creates both its western and northern limits. The eastern boundary is set by the High Street, which is historically the core of the city.
Virtually all evidence of Glasgow's medieval existence was demolished by the well-meaning, if history-destroying, urban renewal schemes of late Georgian and Victorian Glasgow. Practically nothing remains to give any idea of how the city, before the 18th-century boom, looked. And, by some accounts, it was one Europe's most attractive medieval burghs. Still standing on the hill at the top of the High Street is Glasgow Cathedral, an excellent example of pre-Reformation Gothic architecture that dates, in part, to the 12th century, and across the square is Provand's Lordship, the city's oldest house, built in the 1470s. Down the High Street, you'll find the Tolbooth Steeple (1626) at Glasgow Cross, and nearer the River Clyde is Glasgow Green, one of Britain's first large-scale public parks.
The city's salubrious and leafy West End, home to the University of Glasgow, is just a short journey from central Glasgow, on the other side of the M8. The terraces of Woodlands Hill, rising to Park Circus, afford excellent views. Across Kelvingrove Park is a red sandstone palace, the city's Art Gallery and Museum (reopened after renovation in 2006). Nearby, the tower of the University of Glasgow dominates Gilmorehill. Byres Road is the social and entertainment destination in the West End, a street full of restaurants, cafes, bars, and shops.
The city's Southside sprawls from the River Clyde and is largely residential. Aside from the city's shiny Science Centre, on the south bank, there may be little of immediate interest to the casual visitor. But just over 5km (3 miles) southwest of central Glasgow in wooded Pollok Country Park is the vaunted Burrell Collection. This museum of antiquity and art has become one of Scotland's top tourist attractions. The commercial heart of the Southside is Shawlands, which offers an increasing number of good restaurants, and nearby Queens Park is a hilly classic of Victorian planning.
Glasgow's East End is only slowly redeveloping after its industrial heyday. Once the site of coal mining and steel production, it is the least affluent area of the city and, according to surveys, has the poorest and least healthy districts in all of Europe. But statistics don't tell the entire story. Visitors to the Gallowgate at the weekend should see the flea-market stalls of the Barras. Neighborhoods such as Dennistoun are gradually drawing young, creative types who can no longer afford apartments in the West End or on the Southside: a renaissance is simmering.
Finding an Address -- Glasgow was built in various sections over the years, and some historic districts, such as the infamous Gorbals, south of the city center, have been torn down in the name of slum clearance: streets have been completely reconfigured to accommodate modern traffic flows. Other central neighborhoods have fallen prey to freeway development. The central city is primarily laid out on a grid, which makes it easier to navigate, and in at least this part of the city, street names don't change every other block.
Get a detailed map of Glasgow before setting out. Always find the nearest cross street, and then look for your location from there. If it's a hotel or restaurant, the sign of an establishment is often more prominent than the number.
