Garden

Best green space:

Botanic Gardens

Glasgow is known as the Dear Green Place because of the number of parks it has – more than 90 at the last count. In the heart of the leafy west end, just a 15-minute walk from the city centre, sits the Botanic Gardens, undeniably one of the best green spaces in Glasgow. Follow paths through the wooded gardens to the banks of the River Kelvin and it’s so peaceful it’s hard to imagine you’re still in a bustling city. Then go to the Kibble Palace, the mighty glasshouse which dates back from the 1870s and is packed with tropical blooms.
Where: Botanic Gardens, 730 Great Western Road, Glasgow, Tel: +44 (0)141 276 1614.
Website: www.glasgow.gov.uk/

Art

Best art:

Burrell Collection

Take a bus from the city centre to the south side to marvel at this wonderful collection of art, sculpture and objets d'art bought over the years by the late Glasgow shipping tycoon Sir William Burrell. There are paintings by Cezanne and Renoir, pieces of Chinese porcelain and medieval furniture. The collection is so vast it regularly changes, so even Glaswegians who keep coming back still haven’t see it all.
Where: The Burrell Collection, Pollok Country Park, 2060 Pollokshaws Road, Glasgow, Tel: +44 (0)141 287 2550.
Website: www.glasgowmuseums.com/

Landmark

Best quirky landmark:

Duke of Wellington statue, Queen Street

This unique Glasgow landmark sits proudly outside the Gallery of Modern Art. At some point in the past it seemed a good idea – presumably by passing drunks on their way home from the pub – to put a striped plastic road cone on the Duke’s head. After several attempts to take it down, it always ended up going back on, and now the Duke has become a tourist attraction in his own right. Buy a postcard of the statue, have your photograph taken next to it or splash out and buy fabric with the Glasgow toile on it, infamously designed by award-winning interiors mavericks Timorous Beasties.
Where: Royal Exchange Square on Queen Street, city centre, Glasgow.

Shopping

Best shopping:

Glasgow Print Studio

Come here to buy fine art prints from leading and up and coming Scottish artists. The custom-built printmakers’ workshop has gallery space and regular workshops as well as a shop selling original work on handmade paper. It’s the perfect souvenir to take home with no hint of cheesy tartan.

Where: Glasgow Print Studio, 25 and 48 King Street, Glasgow, Tel: +44 (0)141 552 0704.

Website: www.gpsart.co.uk/