Location: Merchant City
Top Things to do in Merchant City
10 Things to do in Merchant City That You Shouldn't Miss
As Scotland’s largest city, Glasgow is famed for its culture, shopping and people. Spend your day exploring a wide range of fascinating free museums and galleries, enjoying the UK’s best shopping outside of London, and taking advantage of tips from friendly local people on the city’s hidden gems — then choose from 130+ weekly musical events for a special night out. Glasgow is also the perfect base for exploring more of Scotland, with great connections to the Highlands and the islands.
Restaurants in Glasgow
1. Merchant City
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 761 reviews
Self-guided walking tour maps are available from George Square Tourist Office of Merchant City, now a vibrant historic cafe quarter and designer-shopping mecca. Highlights of this tour, which dates back to medieval times, include the grand neo-classical halls and Georgian townhouses built for Glasgow's rich tobacco barons and shipping merchants.
Reviewed By ian_dempster - Wigan, United Kingdom
Merchant city is a great area full of splendid buildings restaurants bars and as a great vibe. Love the converted fruit market.
2. Sharmanka Kinetic Theatre
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 377 reviews
Hundreds of carved figures and pieces of old scrap perform an incredible choreography to haunting music and synchronised light, telling the funny and tragic stories of the human spirit as it struggles against the relentless circles of life and death. Audiences in many countries have been fascinated by its magic. In Glasgow it has gained a reputation as one of the city’s hidden treasures. Very gripping theatre. - The Times Unforgettable experience. - The Herald An icon-painter for our times. - Scotsman For SEASONAL TIMETABLE OF SHOWS please visit our website. Special / group shows out-with the opening hours can also be booked via the website. For ticket prices and TO BOOK TICKETS please visit our website. Advance booking is highly recommended.
Reviewed By sofiasW5271KN
A truly unforgettable cultural experience: the pieces are rich with symbolism and the accompaniment of music, lights and movement turned it into a performance that was both touching and entertaining. The gallery manager was enthusiastic and informative in his explanations on the art pieces; and he was attentive and professional in regards to all the measures put in place for Covid-19 safety. I would definitely recommend Sharmanka to anyone looking for a cultural experience in Glasgow!
3. Duke of Wellington Statue
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 691 reviews
An iron statue of the Duke of Wellington.
Reviewed By johnhouston2 - Knaresborough, United Kingdom
Arguably, in a country festooned with thousands of historic grand and artistic statues, this one of the Duke of Wellington in Glasgow city centre is the most iconic. I read an article by a Glasgow journalist and her opening lines seemed to explain it all. “Edinburgh has the Castle. London has Big Ben. And Glasgow? Well, Glasgow has a statue with a traffic cone on its head.” But before further comment re the traffic cone, here’s the official bit: The equestrian Wellington Statue is a statue of Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington. It is located on Royal Exchange Square, outside the Gallery of Modern Art near the end of Ingram Street and was sculpted by Italian artist Carlo Marochetti and erected in 1844. For the best part of 140 years, the statue stood on its plinth without much fanfare, but that all changed in the early 1980s, when a traffic cone mysteriously started appearing on top of the Duke of Wellington’s head. Nobody knows how the practice began and most theories suggest that a drunk reveller in the city centre scaled the statue after a night out in order to adorn the Duke with his new accessory. In Glasgow? Surely not! At various stages, the city council has removed the cones and tried to come up with schemes to halt the practice altogether. Despite such attempts however, the cone has remained for over 30 years, and whenever a cone is removed, it is only a matter of days before a new one appears in its place. In 2013, the council proposed a scheme to double the height of the plinth in order to deter intrepid cone fans, but the immediate and emphatic backlash from the Glaswegian public showed that the practice was not widely considered an act of vandalism, but rather a representation of local culture, and within 24 hours, a ‘Keep the Cone’ Facebook page had accumulated over 72,000 fans who united in opposition of the council’s plans. It is clear that the statue with the cone on its heid has become one of Glasgow’s most iconic images and in 2011 the ‘Coneheid’ statue was named by Lonely Planet as one of the top ten most bizarre monuments on Earth. And I must say that I agree with the founder member of the Keep the Cone campaign when he said: “The cone represents an important part of the city’s identity – Glasgow’s unique sense of humour. It’s a harmless way of ‘sticking it to The Man’ and it simply gives people a laugh or reminds them of good times.” And even the authorities have shown a bit of pragmatic common sense and have finally realised that the statue with the traffic cone means more to the heritage of Glasgow than the statue itself ever has.
4. Trades Hall of Glasgow
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 48 reviews
The Trades Hall of Glasgow is a historical building dating back to the 1700's. It is still used for its original purpose as a meeting place for The Trades House. It is also a fantastic wedding venue, offering elegance and class, in the heart of the Merchant City. Hold your special day here and we will ensure it's all you dreamed it to be!
5. Buchanan Street
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 5,284 reviews
Reviewed By FayDoc - Greenock, United Kingdom
Fab restaurants, bars, Designer shops, department stores and all high street favourite shops, princess square worth a visit many great shops, gallery and fab bars and restaurants lovely place to watch the world go by.
6. Merchant's House
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 16 reviews
Reviewed By vessi80 - North Lanarkshire, United Kingdom
Like others,I have admired the exterior of this building and gazed up at the 'Ship and Globe' above the Dome. Built in 1877, the elegant John Burnet interior can only be viewed if you are lucky enough to attend a function here or to be involved with the Merchants House organisation itself . However on 'Open Sesame' or rather Glasgow Doors Open 2018, all was revealed. Opulent marble staircase, stained glass ,ornate ceilings and panelled walls bearing names of generous donors past and present. The welcome was as splendid as the surroundings. Excellent video intro, leaflets and volunteers in each stately room ready to answer our questions. The Lord Dean and other members of the Board spoke of the history of this famous house and its charitable role right up to present day - sounds boring? Wrong. These highly entertaining speakers could be on 'Newsnight'- it really is how you tell the story and they told it well ! Funds are not just given to individuals in need but to a range of charitable institutions in the City. Obviously quite a portion of the profits from the events hosted here are channelled into the charity. Hopefully the doors will open again next September or even more hopefully you can attend a function or concert here. Anyone cancels, I shall be happy to take a seat in that fine 'Grand Hall'
7. Britannia Panopticon Music Hall
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 105 reviews
Britannia Panopticon is the worlds oldest surviving music hall. It opened in 1857 above a pub called the Britannia Vaults and it served the working classes who made Glasgow the Industrial Capital of the World. For over 80 years Britannia entertained, and in addition to being a music hall, the building also accommodated early cinema, wax works, carnival amusements, freak show and basement zoo. Famous debut performances include Stan Laurel in 1906 and Jack Buchanan in 1911. Open Tuesday-Saturday noon-5pm (unless a show is programmed) for general viewing. Britannia Panopticon is also open for music hall shows, silent movie and Laurel & Hardy film nights, marts, festivals and other events. Admission is generally free (we charge to get out). Please donate when you visit to help us raise money to conserve this wonderful historic survivor from the heyday of music hall and early cinema. Britannia Panopticon is also available for private hire (conditions apply).
Reviewed By hairdy - Preston, United Kingdom
A must visit if you are in the Trongate area, step off the street into another time, very interesting history, volunteers are really passionate and quite rightly so.
8. Glasgow Police Museum
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 446 reviews
The Glasgow Police Museum illustrates the history of the Glasgow Police 1779 - 1975, through artifacts, stories and images. Its International Room has uniforms and insignia from EVERY country in the World. MUSEUM HAS REOPENED AND READY TO WELCOME VISITORS -FREE ADMISSION - NO BOOKING REQUIRED.
Reviewed By 2Bundp74 - Southampton, United Kingdom
Wonderful little museum, really interesting exhibits on the history of the police in Glasgow plus there's a room full of world police uniforms , badges and little details that make the experience very unique. Also the 2 guys running it were really helpful and friendly, they were lovely to chat chat too and explaind in detail some of the storys in the Museum. It's a shame this one's over looked by alot of tourists but I would really recommend a visit plus it's still open during the covid restrictions so a good stop in Merchant City part of Glasgow.
9. West Highland Line
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 71 reviews
Considered by many to be the most scenic rail journey in the world, the West Highland Line leaves Glasgow behind and delves deep into the wild west coast. Take the Line to Mallaig to travel the Glenfinnan Viaduct – used in the Harry Potter films for the Hogwarts Express. There’s a lot more to it than that, though. This is a side of Scotland you can only see from the train – a Great Scenic Rail Journey that carries you north along the west coast, through the Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park. The line splits at Crianlarich, carrying you either past Loch Awe to Oban, or high up to Rannoch Moor, through remote wilderness and on to Fort William and Mallaig. You’ll travel through a daunting landscape of mountains, steep-sided lochs, and heather moors. Keep an eye out for red deer, silhouetted on a skyline or half-hidden in the heather. You’ll pass some of the smallest, remotest stations on the network – a few buildings, and nothing more for miles around.
10. St Andrew's Cathedral Glasgow
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 246 reviews
Reviewed By 229margaretc - Malta, null
Come here to the cathedral every time we visit Glasgow, its beautiful architecture is a feast to the eye. Mass times are really good especially for visitors you are always made very welcome.
