Glasgow flights and travel guide

You may need to pack an empty bag when you take cheap flights to Glasgow - this is a fantastic city for shopping. Buchanan Street, Argyle Street, and Sauchiehall Street are the places to flash the cash. One thing you'll definitely need is a waterproof jacket. The weather is described, kindly, as unpredictable. Just as well then that Glasgow is a city with a superb array of attractions. It never rains indoors.

Scotland's largest city is located on the River Clyde, west central Scotland, an hour's drive from Edinburgh, the capital. In the 19th and early 20th centuries it was the second city of the British Empire. Its business was ship-building and engineering and the legacy of those days is obvious.

The streets of Glasgow are lined with handsome Victorian and Edwardian buildings, beautifully carved stonework on the exteriors and lavishly decorated interiors. The work of Charles Rennie Mackintosh, the architect and designer, is synonymous with Glasgow. The Glasgow School of Art is considered by many to be his masterpiece, but the Willow Tea Rooms in Sauchiehall Street, which he designed, are perhaps more immediately accessible - for breakfast, lunch and afternoon tea.

More than the public buildings and museums, it's Glasgow's gregarious spirit that wows the visitor. Fizzing and crackling, it can only be described, in best, broadest, Glaswegian, as pure gallas.

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When to fly to Glasgow

Peak Season: 

July and August is high season when most tourists arrive on cheap flights to Glasgow. However, Glasgow has a packed calendar of events, most of which will place highest demand on hotel rooms at weekends. 

Off Season: 

With festivals taking place year-round, Glasgow doesn't really have a low season, however, the early weeks of the year (following New Year or Hogmanay) through March is a quieter time of year with fewer tourists and better hotel deals.

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Getting around Glasgow

Walking is the best way to soak up the atmosphere in Glasgow. The city centre is compact. While taxis are fairly cheap, the city has a great public transport system, operated by Strathclyde Passenger Transport. Bus lines include First Glasgow, Arriva and Stagecoach. Discount tickets are available for hop-on/hop-off travel around the city. Trains connect Glasgow to outlying areas and other cities around the UK. There's a subway too. Glasgow Underground trains link the south side and west end with the city centre.

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Glasgow insider information

• The Barras is an open-air street market in the East End. Open every Saturday and Sunday from 10am until 5pm, everything is on sale - old and new, legal and counterfeit (we don't advise picking up any dodgy DVDs). 
• Glickman’s Confectionery on London Road is an old-fashioned sweet shop selling childhood favourites such as Lucky Tatties, Soor Plooms and Macaroon Cake. 
• Archibald McLellan, a coach builder, left most of the founding contents of the Kelvingrove Art Gallery. His name is on the McLellan Galleries in Sauchiehall Street too. Kelvingrove also houses objects from overseas expeditions by the likes of Charles Darwin and Captain Cook. 
• Sir William Burrell, the shipping magnate, left his personal collection of more than 9,000 works of art to Glasgow in 1944. The Burrell Collection is housed in Pollok Country Park, gifted by the Maxwell family. 
• The People's Palace in Glasgow Green is a fascinating social history museum, telling the story of Glasgow and its people from different perspectives from 1750 to today. 
• Glasgow is one of the UK's most musical cities. King Tut's Wah Wah Lounge is one of the top spots for live bands. It is said to be among the top ten live music club venues in the world. The Arches, in the city centre, is one of Europe's leading arts venues. It was a derelict area under the Glasgow Central train station, which was converted for Glasgow's year as European City of Culture (1990). It hosts all sorts of events - theatre, music, visual arts, clubs. A full listing is at the website - www.thearches.co.uk. 
• Provand's Lordship is the only house in Glasgow that hails from medieval times. Sir William Burrell's (of Burrell Collection fame) collection of 17th-century Scottish furniture is here, helping to recreate faithfully what the house would have looked like around 1700.

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