Your Guide to Glasgow Shopping, Restaurants & Businesses
Discover Glasgow
Looking for store reviews, restaurant recommendations, and opening times in Glasgow? We’ve got you covered! Find the best local shops, top dining spots, and reliable services in Glasgow.
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Best reviewed in Glasgow
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Reviews about Glasgow
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Glasgow Shopping Centres & Retail Parks
Explore the top shopping centres and retail parks in Glasgow. Whether you’re looking for fashion, home goods, or dining options, find the best shopping areas nearby.
Glasgow Neighborhoods
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Glasgow Shopping Streets
Explore the best shopping streets in Glasgow, featuring trendy boutiques, supermarkets, and cozy cafes. From the latest fashion to everyday essentials, find it all here.
Discover Glasgow: Shops, Restaurants and Things to Do
As a port city in Scotland on the River Clyde, Glasgow has a bit of a rough and ready reputation compared to its neighbour Edinburgh but don’t let that put you off. Its rich shipbuilding history means it’s full of gorgeous Victorian architecture, and more recently, a buzzing restaurant scene has sprung up, leaving visitors spoilt for a choice of places to eat and drink. If that’s not enough to tempt you, the museums and picturesque parks should seal the deal.
Mainstream Shopping
Buchanan Street is the main street for shopping in Glasgow. Located in the city centre, you’ll find everything the high street has to offer on this pedestrianised street. Connecting streets Argyll Street and Sauchiehall Street contain more shops.
Luxury Shopping
Sticking with Buchanan Street, you can find luxury brands amongst the usual high street fare. For more, Ingram Street is your next stop.
Markets
The Merchant Square craft market is the place to go for handicrafts, while the Park Lane market sells everything from secondhand clothing to food. The Barras in the East End is Glasgow’s most famous market, and you’ll find furniture, food, antiques and much more here.
Boutique Shops
Glasgow is also home to many independent shops. In addition to the usual high street offerings, the West End plays host to funky boutiques, while vintage clothing can be found in the South Side or Kings Court in the City Centre. The Scottish Design Exchange in the Buchanan Galleries sells pieces made by artists. The Leith Collective in the St Enoch Centre is a similar idea with a sustainable twist, as all pieces are made from objects that would otherwise be discarded.
Shopping Centres and Retail Parks
The best places to go to find all the shops in one place are:
- The Buchanan Galleries on Buchanan Street is home to more than 80 shops and many food and drink options. This is the best option for big brands.
- The St Enoch Centre at the bottom of Buchanan Street is a three-floor mall with a cinema and more affordable staples.
Glasgow’s buzzing restaurant scene is one of the city’s best features. It includes two Michelin-starred restaurants and many trendy local spots.
Traditional Scottish
The Ubiquitous Chip in Glasgow’s West End is a local institution serving locally sourced food at affordable prices. At the same time, Stravaigin is a more upmarket option with an adventurous menu. The Bothy in Ruthven Lane features seasonal Scottish food and a drinks menu, including plenty of Scotch whisky.
High End
The city’s two Michelin-starred restaurants are Cail Bruich and Unalome by Graeme Cheevers. If you’re looking for slightly less fancy but still upmarket, try Finnieston, an area between the City Centre and the West End that hosts many of the city’s best restaurants.
Casual or Trendy
Ashton Lane is a cobbled lane in the West End with several restaurants, including the Ubiquitous Chip and casual curry spot Ashoka, as well as pubs. Nearby Hillhead Book Club is a great casual spot for drinks, food, and even board games.
Food Markets
Dockyard Social, a street food market in the centre of Glasgow, has everything from burgers to Thai street food. You need to buy a ticket before you go, which will reserve you a table and entitle you to a free drink. Farmers’ markets take place in the Shawlands and Partick on alternating Saturdays, so it’s best to check online for dates. There’s also a monthly vegan market at Drygate in the East End.
Glasgow’s museums, parks and art galleries are all worth a visit.
- The Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum is a free museum that hosts works by Rembrandt, Van Gogh, and local architect and artist Charles Rennie Mackintosh.
- The Botanic Gardens in the West End are a chance to warm up from the often cold Scottish temperatures and see plants from around the world.
- Glasgow’s Gallery of Modern Art displays pieces from local and international artists.
- The Glasgow Cathedral, built in the 12th century, contains beautiful stained glass windows, while the nearby necropolis was inspired by the Pere Lachaise cemetery in Paris.
- The Duke of Wellington Statue is a chance to see the famous Glaswegian sense of humour. The iconic Glasgow landmark is very often seen with a traffic cone on its head. As soon as it gets removed, enterprising locals begin scheming to put it back on again.
- The Barrowland Ballroom is Scotland’s most famous live music venue, where performers from Blur, Ocean Colour Scene, and Daft Punk have been seen.
Glasgow has shaken off its once bad reputation, with the city now known for its friendliness and for being Edinburgh’s trendier neighbour. Here are the best neighbourhoods to check out when you’re here.
City Centre
Home to the city’s main shopping streets, cinemas, pubs and clubs. You’ll also find modern art galleries and performance venues like the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall.
Southside
The leafy Southside is home to a vibrant art scene and many cafes. Pollok Park is also well worth a wander, and you’ll find some of the city’s independent shops and a farmers market here, too.
West End
The West End is popular with students, and that’s reflected in the area’s buzzing nightlife and affordable food options. It also has vintage shops and attractions, including the Kelvingrove Art Museum and the Botanic Gardens.
East End
The East End begins with Glasgow Cathedral and continues down to Dennistoun. This area remains one of the more deprived areas in Glasgow, so tourists should avoid straying too far from the city centre, but they should definitely check out the Cathedral and Necropolis.
Merchant City
The Merchant City plays host to fancy boutiques, gin bars and cafes. You can also see concerts here at the City Halls and Old Fruitmarket.
Finnieston
The foodie hub of Glasgow, Finnieston is also home to Scotland’s largest concert venue, the SEC.
While not quite as well-served by flights as Edinburgh, Glasgow is still pretty easy to get to.
Flying
You can fly to Glasgow from other UK cities, though you may sometimes have to change to London.
Train
For a more environmentally friendly option, take the West Coast train with Avanti from London, which takes 4.5 to 5.5 hours.
Driving
There is a continuous motorway from London to Glasgow, and the city is also easily reached from elsewhere in Scotland with another motorway linking Glasgow and Edinburgh.
Like in other major cities, on-street parking can be expensive, but there are several NCP car parks and parking spaces in the two big shopping centres. The city centre is more accessible by public transport, with a circular subway serving the city centre and West End and plenty of local buses.
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