Long overshadowed by Edinburgh, a mere 30 miles (48km) away, Glasgow actually has a lot to offer. It has left its reputation as a black hole of unemployment, economic depression and urban violence far behind. The 1980s and '90s saw the city reinvent itself culturally and socially. You're in no doubt that this is a Scottish city, brimming with vibrancy and energy. The city centre is built on a grid plan on the north bank of the shipbuilding river Clyde. Sights are spread over a wide area, with Sauchiehall St the place to go for shops, pubs and restaurants.

The oldest part of the city is to the east, around the intact Gothic masterpiece of Glasgow Cathedral, St Mungo's Museum of Religious Life & Art and the oldest house in Glasgow, 15th-century Provand's Lordship. Heading back west, an interesting walk takes you through the gracious houses and commercial structures of 18th-century Merchant City. Busy Sauchiehall St is home to the Charles Rennie Mackintosh Art Nouveau masterpieces of the Glasgow School of Art and the still-operational Willow Tearoom. The Tenement House is an extraordinary time capsule, providing vivid insight into middle-class city life at the turn of this century.

Also not to be missed is Glasgow's top cultural attraction, the Burrell Collection, housed in the Pollok Country Park 3 miles (5km) south of the city. Its idiosyncratic collection includes Chinese porcelain, medieval furniture and impressionist paintings, housed in one of the world's few inspirational buildings to be built in recent times.

DMC Companies

(the links below will open a new window and bring you to another website)

• Blue ribbon Events
• Brook Green Travel
• Hallmark Travel consultants
• Kyles on Scotland Ltd
• Panorama Tours Ltd

Summary|Edinburgh|Glasgow|London
Snowdonia NP|Stonehenge