Glasgow first impressions + sweet street art

Hello Reader

It's hardly any time since I was in Scotland, enjoying the colourful rhododendrons and azaleas. Last weekend I was back again, this time on a trip to Glasgow.

It's obvious from the grand and confident Victorian architecture that this was a city built on money, but not so long ago the decline of the shipbuilding industry meant the city developed a rather more gritty reputation.

We noticed loads of building going on in anticipation of the city hosting the Glasgow Commonwealth Games in July. It did mean that 'The Duke' in George Square was fenced off among the road works. But hopefully when Glasgow comes out the other side, it will be sparkling again.

We took a street art tour, dipped into the world of Charles Rennie Mackintosh and enjoyed some welcome sunshine as we strolled through the leafy parks of Glasgow's affluent West End. In this newsletter, I'm sharing some of my impressions and photos from the trip.

Also on a street art theme (of which there's plenty in Glasgow) I recently met up with my blogging friend Giulia Riva, who has an excellent guide to the street art of London, in case you are visiting and want some insights.

My next trip to Zakynthos in Greece is coming up very soon, so I'll be able to share more of that next time.

Wishing you sunny days ahead!

Heather x

PS. I love to book a tour when I travel - and we tried this excellent Glasgow street art tour on last weekend's trip

Seen on our street art tour - this mural by SMUG in Glasgow (can you spot me?)

Travelling soon?

If you are travelling soon it really helps us if you use the booking links below.

We make a small commission at no additional cost to you, which helps keep this newsletter and blog free.

Hotels: I use Booking but Expedia is also good for flight + hotel packages.

Tours: For top end food tours, we recommend Devour Tours and small group tours with Take Walks. Both Get Your Guide and Viator are also great for tours and experiences.

Trains: For train bookings in Europe use Rail Europe. Byway Travel also offer great no-fly itineraries in Europe and beyond.

Car Hire: For car hire I use the car rental arm of Booking.com (but always check the scores and reviews of each provider).

Villas & Cottages: VRBO for villas and holiday rentals worldwide and Sykes Cottages for UK cottages.

First Impressions of Glasgow

Here are a few impressions and photos from our Glasgow trip.

Where we stayed - Moxy Merchant City

We stayed at The Moxy Merchant City, which was walking distance from the city centre, bus and train station.

The rooms are compact and modern, but I chose it for the large amount of public space downstairs to hang out, play pool or grab a quick bite to eat.

The hotel's happy to store baggage for guests, so you can arrive early and stay late to maximise your sightseeing time.

There's a youthful street-art vibe to Moxy hotels. I would have preferred some wardrobe space rather than just hooks to hang my clothes, but otherwise it's ideal for a citybreak.

Check out Moxy Glasgow Merchant City

Charles Rennie Mackintosh

We really enjoyed visiting some of the places associated with Glasgow's favourite architect and designer, who collaborated with his artist wife Margaret (I think she deserves a bit more credit!).

By the time we'd seen his reconstructed home at the Hunterian Gallery, visited the House for an Art Lover designed by him and had tea at the Willow Tearooms, we'd fallen in love with the Mackintosh play of light and dark, clean lines and gorgeous stained glass and decorative panels designed by Margaret.

Charles Rennie Mackintosh House for an art lover in Glasgow

Street art

I knew that the Yardworks street art festival took place recently in Glasgow, so wanted to dip into the city's well known street-art scene.

We decided to take this excellent and affordable street-art tour, which was a great starting point to learn about the local Glasgow artists.

We enjoyed the photorealistic murals by Smug and Rogue One, quirky cats by Venomouse and masked characters by Palley.

Parks and gardens

The West End area of Glasgow is easily accessible on the subway and is a great mix of period residential properties, stylish cafes and leafy parks.

While there isn't much green space in the centre of Glasgow, this is more than made up for by all the parks in the West End.

We especially loved the Glasgow Botanical Garden with its palm houses, but the Kelvingrove Park (with Victorian museum) and Bellahouston Park ( with Charles Rennie Mackintosh house) were also lovely.

So much building work!

One watchout for Glasgow right now, is that half the city centre seems to be dug up in a major public works programme. It's all in preparation for the 2026 Commonwealth Games being hosted in Glasgow during July and August.

George Square, the heart of central Glasgow, was all screened off and dug up with roadworks. So if you visit now you're not going to see the city at it's best - I'd probably wait until the autumn instead.

With all the building work, this is the closest we got to seeing 'The Duke' in Glasgow

Street Art in London

Talking of street art, I recently caught up with street art expert Giulia Riva when she was in Bristol to promote her new book, 'As seen on the streets of London' . I first met Giulia over 10 years ago, when she lived in Bristol and we bonded over our fantastic local street art scene.

Heather and Giulia Riva in Bristol - See no Evil mural by Inkie

Anyone interested in street art and travelling should definitely follow Giulia on her Blocal website, Instagram or Substack newsletter.

She regularly publishes local street art guides for the destinations she visits. If you're heading for London or are looking for an unusual gift for any London locals, Giulia has a great book about Street art in London.

Read about Giulia's Street art in London Book