Large events and exhibition venue, the main theatre (Hall 4) seats 10,000. Opened in 1985, it was that first of what's grown into an "Event Campus", with the Armadillo and the Hydro following.
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formerly Clyde Auditorium
They've capitulated, and re-named this shiny metal venue what Glaswegians have called it since it opened in 1997. It has a 3000-seater auditorium and is part of the "Scottish Event Campus" alongside the SEC Centre and OVO Hydro. They're at pains to point out that it wasn't inspired by Sydney Opera House, it's supposed to represent ship's hulls. If so, they're bottom-up like The Poseidon Adventure.
Science museum with hundreds of interactive exhibits for children. You pay extra for the IMAX cinema, planetarium and the 125-metre Glasgow Tower (summer only), the only tower in the world which can rotate 360 degrees from its base.
Magnificent public gallery and museum, opened in 1901 as a legacy of the 1888 International Exhibition. It's in red sandstone, in sort-of Spanish Baroque via St Pancras, and was refurbished in 2006. Extensive collections and displays, well-geared to children and families. The 22 galleries cover natural history, civilisation from ancient Egypt to the present, big-name artists such as Dalí, Van Gogh, Monet and Rembrandt, and furnishings by Rennie Mackintosh. A Supermarine Spitfire hangs in the main hall. The organ in the main hall has recitals M-Sa at 1PM and Sundays at 3PM.
stretches west, with the River Kelvin running through it. It was laid out in the 1850s when the city's earlier green space, Glasgow Green, became hemmed in by slums. The bandstand was refurbished in 2014, and worthy statues include physicist Lord Kelvin, writer Thomas Carlyle, Field Marshal Lord Roberts and chemist Lord Lister. It's always open and popular with students of the nearby university; see below for the museum and gallery in its west corner. The easiest access from city centre is by bus towards Argyle St; by Subway use Kelvinbridge north or Kelvinhall west.
is across the street from Kelvingrove and mirrors its style. This was the city's main event and exhibition venue until SECC opened in 1985, see "Do". It's since been a bit of everything and nowadays is a study and research outpost of the Hunterian, a storage facility for Glasgow Museums, and has a climbing wall and soft play areas. The Moving Image Archive of the National Library of Scotland lets you watch archive films and videos - fill a wet afternoon by watching a 100 year old film.
built around 1860, is the centrepiece of the well-heeled Park District. If they were aiming to recreate Bath, what they got was Edinburgh Scotland Street, with legal brassplates set around a leafy oval - the Montessori School seems inevitable. Approaching from Kelvingrove Park, come up the imposing Granite Stairs from the south. The steps were once a pilgrimage site for fans of the rock band Deacon Blue, as the view from the top was the cover picture of their 1987 album Raintown. But tree growth and other development since means you can no longer recreate that cloud-wracked vista, nor the rear-cover view of the M8.