Sometimes there's nothing better than spending a sunny Sunday afternoon being a tourist in your own…read morecity. I'd heard about the Merchant City Public Art Trail last year and had it on my "to do" list ever since, and we had a few hours to kill yesterday afternoon so started our wee wander around Merchant City. It's a self-guided trail and is suitable for nearly anyone - there is a very steep hill in part of it, but apart from that it's an easy ramble around Merchant City. Sadly they didn't have any printed versions of the trail at GOMA so we made do with the online version - it'd be better to have a printed copy though as the online version is a PDF file which doesn't make for the easiest viewing. Starting at GOMA, you follow the trail to Royal Exchange House, the Mercure Hotel, Jigsaw, the Italian Centre ... and on and on. The guide tells you where to look and some information about it - I think the snippets of information are perfect as they're long enough to give you detail but not so long that you're standing there reading for ages. The guide also gives you instructions where to walk next so you don't have to flick back to the map each time to check. We found so many wee (and not so wee) pieces of artwork we'd never noticed before on this wander that it really was a totally delightful afternoon. I can't pick just one highlight as I genuinely found each stop really interesting. It really makes you appreciate just how much there is to Glasgow and what an amazing city we live in. (Note: we only made it to 14 on the trail, there are 21 in all so we are planning on finishing it off over the summer. There are so many great bars/restaurants in the area that it makes for the perfect bar-hopping or pre-dinner activity. And it's also a good walk!)

Fantastic street murals. We arrived in town very tired only 1 night but I wanted to see the murals…read moreso we set off walking in the cold rain. We didn't find them all but most i wanted. The mural of the breast feeding woman is covered by construction.. hope they don't destroy it.

Though my particular walking tour of Glasgow was not focused on the City Centre Murals, per se, it…read morewas inevitable that I'd come across these giant works of art; the tour took me through Merchant City where many of the murals can be seen. Commissioned by Glasgow City Council to revitalize the city, there are around 29 murals beautifying buildings & walls. If you aren't on a guided tour, google will point you to several mural maps, locations, & descriptors. Murals that stood out for me were the Strathclyde University Wonderwall which celebrates the 2014 Commonwealth Games & the two popular pieces by street artist Smug, St. Mungo as well as St. Enoch and Child. I absolutely love strolling through a new city to get to know its distinct areas; these murals made my stroll that much more fascinating.

What a hidden gem! It is a beautiful building inside. Can't imagine what it must have been/smelled…read morelike when it was a fish market. Glasgow CAMRA recently had their beer festival there and it was the perfect space for it. Think it is mainly used as an artist space which is good but then most people will not see the building, which is a shame. Would be good to see some cafés or bars opening up so more people can use and see the building.

The Briggait is a pleasant looking, large and spacious place, at a really good location…read more I've been there several times already, attending The Glasgow Coffee Festival, Judy's Vintage Fairs, and the Etsy Made Local Fair (maybe even more, but these were the most remarkable occasions). The most important thing I have to mention is that I liked all of these. Not only were the topics usually interesting to me, but the exhibitors/sellers were also carefully selected. The events were always well organised, and I never had the feeling that many things could be improved about the circumstances. What I especially appreciate is that the venue is never overcrowded, either because there is a limit to people attending at the same time, or a small entrance fee that might keep some of the less interested audience out. I hope it will keep hosting lots of interesting events in the future as well. I will be looking for them.

The West End Festival is one of my favourite events of the year in Glasgow. The parade is a mix of…read morecolour and music as the people in it dance down the streets of the West End. Mouths won't go hungry as local businesses set up stalls and seats outside. Burgers, pizza, chips, cakes and pastries: there's lots to fill you up whilst you're entertained by the parade. Outside Hillhead Bookclub is the over 18s area which is a good escape from the pushy prams. You just need to make sure you get a good spot or you might not get to see a lot!

Did anyone make their way to Glasgow Mela last weekend? Cause I thought it was FAB! Lucky enough…read morethat the weather was on our side last weekend too. The festival had so many things and I'm glad that it was free too seeing as it was in Kelvingrove Park! The atmosphere of family, children and friends of different cultures (many Indian folk, locals and a bunch of other random nationalities including myself :D) came by to chill out at the park. Whether it was to play with outdoor installations or at the fun fair, or listen to music with a pint under the sun, or watch silly performances by street artists (and magicians) or even dance along with the amazing traditional performers (and also Irish line dancers) the day was just great! My partner and I explored everything! We were down at the smaller stage listening to Indian music with toddlers dancing everywhere. And then we watched as a parade of what seemed to be circus performers walked by. We slept on the grass while having Pimm's cocktails and listening to some dj sets. And then watched the amazing performers by so many tradition local clubs! If you haven't been before, you should really consider going in the next years to come :) Update: also, went to Chop Pop's exhibition of her Love Letters to Glasgow in the Hillhead Library and it was wonderful! Her artwork is amazing and meticulous! She's also a friendly wee lady and I love her. Check out her facebook if you didn't manage to catch her!

i don't know much about Dolores Ibarruri but I'm not sure if this statue represents her or would…read moreinspire anyone to want to find out, its a bit dull looking, uninspiring, boring. i wouldn't go out of my way to see it.

I love this statue, located on the north bank of the Clyde in the city centre…read more La Pasionaria (The Passion Flower) commemorates Dolores Ibarruri, a Spanish communist who symbolised Republican resistance against fascism during the Spanish Civil War. "Better to die on your feet than live forever on your knees" "The City of Glasgow and the British Labour movement pay tribute to the courage of those men and women who went to Spain to fight fascism 1936-1939"

Designed by Charles Rene Mackintosh, probably the most famous architect to come out of Glasgow. I…read morewould best describe him as a proto-modernist who was way ahead of his time and somehow achieved architecture, furniture, and design that could be both described as minimal and also Art Nouveau. Out of all the places you can visit in Glasgow I would recommend this one as closest to the original intent. Other places have had to unfortunately modernize with exit signs, lighting, etc... that were not part of the original vision. On site there is a gift shop, cafe with indoors and outdoor seating, upstairs private meeting room and wedding area, and of course rooms designed by Mackintosh. The only unfortunate name is "House For An Art Lover". It seems somehow not so serious and I think it should have just been called "Mackintosh House". This was designed in paper in 1908 but not completed until 1996, there is an alcove between the 1st and 2nd story that has a scale model and reproductions of the design drawings. The thing I LOVED is there were no barriers and you could touch and sit anywhere you want. There is a room with a fancy piano and I was surprised you could sit there and play on it, listened to our oldest play Minuet in G and felt like we were transported back in time. This is the room that shows up in a lot of photography and our favorite.

House for an art lover is situated in Bellahouston park, a beautiful house designed by Charles…read moreRennie Mackintosh in beautiful grounds with some interesting art pieces in and around the area. As you enter there is a £7 entry fee and you will be handed an audio guid and instructed to head upstairs where you will find stunning Mackintosh designed rooms including the main hall, the oval room and my favourite: the music room and the staircase! This is definitely a wonderful place to visit whether your a Mackintosh fan or not!

I picked up a brochure for this at the recent Kelvingrove Museum exhibition and knew it would make…read morefor a nice spring/summer activity. Of course, May in Glasgow is a little changeable so it wasn't the warm summer stroll we were hoping for! This is a self-guided tour which you could easily do in 30 minutes or you could stretch it out over a couple of hours by taking some food and drink along the way. We started at Ubiquitous Chip and one of the staff members was kind enough to talk to us about the mural which was lovely. You can find the Alasdair Gray artwork in the stairway between the Wee Pub and the Brasserie. He did the artwork in return for food and drink at Ubi Chip - sadly this offer isn't open to all customers however. We then headed over to Hillhead Subway. I've visited the artwork here before and frustratingly it is behind the ticket barriers so you can't get up close to it without buying a ticket. It's worth having a close look though as there's lots of intricate, interesting tiling here. We also got told off by an SPT staff member for standing by the barriers even though we were obviously doing a tour which was a bit off-putting. I wasn't sure whether we'd be able to visit the Western Baths Club as it's a members-only club, but with a smile and an explanation they told us where to go and helpfully offered "there's a bar down there too, if you want a drink." The mural here looks like it's from the 60s but is actually only recently installed and looks great. The baths are worth looking around while you're there, too. Finally, we went to Oran Mor. Sadly it's wedding season in Glasgow and so the Auditorium was closed to the public, so we couldn't see the final mural on the tour. Of course, we stayed to enjoy a drink instead. I really enjoyed this walking tour and even though the brochure is pretty brief, it's a nice way to spend an afternoon. There's other Alasdair Gray murals which you can visit - Kirkfieldbank Tavern near Lanark, Greenbank Parish Church in Clarkston and Palacerigg Nature Reserve in Cumbernauld.

4.5 star rating on yelp I am not convinced…read more In my mind this really was a square you would walk past without hardly even noticing it if I am being honest. So I have had to have a think as to what would bring it such high ratings. Plus points for me are of course the duke of Wellington statue. For some reason like many Glaswegians I love the cone on his head, just says something about our sense of humour I think. But... It has its own yelp listings so can be rated highly on its own. I'm struggling to think of anything much else. It's got some nice shiny Christmas lights that hang over it at night and look pretty ........ Ohhh and there are some bars and restaurants as well that could be worth a wee look .... And that's about it. Average square. Average 3 star rating.

Royal Exchange Square is one of those breathtaking places in Glasgow that you can wander into and…read morefeel like you've been transported back in time, or to a city on the continent. It is a really gorgeous space, with welcoming archways from Buchanan Street. One of the archways (the more southern one) has scaffolding on it just now to repair it, but I believe the other one is just as beautiful as ever. I love the fairy lights they have up here during the winter, I just wish they'd leave them up year round. Yes, I know that Glasgow doesn't get dark til 11pm in summer but they're still so beautiful. We had our wedding photos taken in this square and the photos are a really gorgeous reminder of what a wonderful city is. We even got a photo with the Duke of Wellington statue with a cone on his head (a daily occurrence in Glasgow).

This is a fantastic sculpture by Kathy Chambers (b. 1942). It's a bronze topographical relief map…read morewhich can be found in the pedestrian precinct in Buchanan Street at the junction with St. Vincent Street. It really is beautifully made and faithful to details and scale of buildings, bridges and streets. I like the way that the cut out 'Clyde' fills with water when it rains! It's fascinating for anyone to appreciate and a good guide to finding one's way about, and especially interesting and useful to anyone visually impaired. My husband, who is totally blind, said it helped him enormously to visualise the area. This is one of a pair of similar sculptures which Kathy Chambers created the other one is in Kelvingrove Park, in front of south entrance to Glasgow Art Gallery but I haven't seen that one yet.

The museum is one of the top attractions in Glasgow. It was established in 1901- 125 years ago. The…read morearchitecture of the building itself is a marvel. I'm not much of a museum person, but entrance is free. The expansive museum's west wing focuses on "Life" (natural history/prehistory), while the east wing focuses on "Expression" (fine art). There are 22 galleries with 8,000 objects. Salvador Dalí's "Christ of Saint John of the Cross" is one of their most famous works of art. I was most interested in "The Floating Heads" installation by Sophie Cave. We spent most of our time viewing Scotland's Wildlife, where most of the kids were. While we were there, we also enjoyed an organ recital- 1:00pm Monday-Saturday and 3:00pm on Sunday.

Hands down a must visit in Glasgow! Free admission!…read moreLocated in Kelvingrove Park, West End. This is a popular museum and art gallery with the likes of Dali and more. It's a large space and it's divided up by fine art, natural history, etc. I wandered through all of the rooms and believe that I saw almost every exhibit. I spent hours and just took my time taking it all in. Stopped by the cafe' for a cuppa tea too. Fantastic museum.