We love Glasgow. It has architecture. It has views. It has history. It has quirkiness. It has many Instagrammable Locations.
The best way to experience Glasgow and all it has to offer is simply walking the streets. The centre of Glasgow is easy to get around on foot and most of these attractions are within walking distance of each other. The other easy option is to explore the city on the ‘City Sightseeing Glasgow’ bus tour- you can hop on and off at each stop and this lets you get to the further away sites mentioned below.
If you are looking to document your travels around Glasgow, then read on for top 10 Instagrammable Glasgow Locations
Glasgow Cathedral
This magnificent medieval cathedral is the oldest building in Glasgow and the oldest cathedral on Scottish mainland which survived the 1560 Scottish Reformation, which was when Scotland broke away from the Roman Catholic Church and created the Church of Scotland.
Photography Tip: Step inside for a delight to the eyes and camera as this building is beautiful inside and out. Be sure to head down to the crypt for gorgeous ceilings which look great in a photograph and crane your neck to take in the vaulted ceilings and gorgeous stain glass windows
Location: Castle Street, G4 0QZ
Cost: Free / donation
Glasgow Necropolis
Located on a hill behind Glasgow Cathedral you will find the Glasgow Necropolis- yes, a graveyard- but a graveyard like no other, the gravestones of this Victorian era are creative and intricate, and it provides a great vantage point the views of Glasgow and the Cathedral are pretty special
Photography Tip: Learn some information on the people buried here as there are some notable graves
Location: Castle Street, G4 0UZ
Cost: Free / donation
University of Glasgow Cloisters
There are many great photo spots around the university of Glasgow campus as the grounds and buildings are gorgeous, but it is the Cloisters which are perhaps the most iconic with archways, columns and vaulted ceilings making it a pretty place to photograph
Photography Tip: Be sure to capture the vaulted ceilings bypositioning your camera low to the ground
Location: University Avenue, G12 8QQ
Cost: You can freely walk the grounds
River Clyde Landmarks
The River Clyde is where Glasgow was built and here you will find many of Glasgow’s famous landmarks, with many interesting designs and stunning architecture there are plenty of photo opportunities and notable Instagrammable locations.
There is the hyper- modern, award winning Riverside Museum designed by architect Zaha Hadid which is home to the transport museum with collections of historic vehicles and interactive displays- such as an old Glasgow Street you can meander in.
Photography Tip: Well actually the best views of this striking building are from a bird’s eye perspective, although we are yet to get our drone over here
Location: 100 Pointhouse Road, G3 8RS
Cost: Free / donation
The crane you see is the Finnieston Crane also known as the Stobcross Crane, is a now disused cantilever crane which has been retained as a symbol of the city’s engineering heritage. The crane along with the many others around the Clyde was used for loading cargo, in particular steam locomotives, onto ships to be exported around the world.
Photography Tip: View from across the river to capture the whole crane in one shot
Location: 4 Finnieston Quay, G3 8HL
Cost: Free to wander around the base
Other notable buildings are the Armadillo, the SSE Hydro and the Glasgow Science Centre which are all near to one another. At the Science Centre you can do the Glasgow Tower where you have unrivalled panoramic views of the city and the Clyde.
Photography Tip: The Armadillo and the Hydro are best seen at night when they are magically lit up in an array of colours.
Location: Exhibition Way, G3 8YW
Cost: The Armadillo, the SSE Hydro best viewed from outside, both hold concerts which of course have a fee. The Glasgow Science Centre is £6.50
Photography Tip: Walk across one of the many footbridges which cross the Clyde, here you will fit most of these iconic structures into one image
The Duke of Wellington Statue &
Royal Exchange Square
The Gallery of Modern Art is just one of the many beautiful buildings in Glasgow, located in Royal Exchange Square the area and buildings are desperate to be photographed, but it is the Duke of Wellington Statue that grabs the limelight, a statue is not uncommon in Glasgow (see George Square below) - so why is this statue so photo-worthy I hear you ask!? Well the Duke and his horse are quite almost always sporting traffic cones on their heads (!?) Since the 1980’s traffic cones started appearing and Glasgow City Council would remove it, only for it to be replaced time and time and time over- costing thousands of pounds each year to remove, now it seems they have quite rightly given up and now the Duke of Wellington with a cone on his head is surprisingly and hilariously one of the best photo spots in Glasgow
Photography Tip: Head down Ingram Street to get street views or try taking the image from the doors of the GoMA to get the modern buildings in the background
Location: Royal Exchange Square, G1 3AH
Cost: Free / donation
George Square & Glasgow City Chambers
Around the corner from Royal Exchange Square is George Square with many statues adorning the square and architecturally beautiful buildings. Each Christmas time the square comes alive with Christmas Markets, but year round it is a lovely place to snap away. Head inside the Glasgow City Chambers to view some of the most exquisite Italian Marble you may ever see
Photography Tip: Get down low to get more buildings and statues in the one shot
Location: George Square, G2 1DH
Cost: Free, but book in advance
Opening times: Glasgow City Chambers 10.30am and 2.30pm. Monday to Friday
Want to know more about Glasgow City Chambers? Then read...
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Glasgow Cross & Trongate
This area takes you back to Glasgow of yesteryear in fact the area once an ancient royal burgh. This is a major junction with five streets leading from this point. Here there are some great structures to marvel at and grab some photo opportunities, one is the Tolbooth Steeple- one of the oldest buildings in Glasgow- part of a 17th century tolbooth which once consisted of a town hall, court house and jail , and the gorgeous buildings hugging it, then there is the Mercat Cross (market cross – where markets were once held) and the colourful Tron Kirk Steeple which leads to Trongate one of the oldest streets in Glasgow
Photography Tip: Set up a tripod at Mercat Cross and watch biz of traffic and pedestrians pass by the Tolbooth
Location: Trongate, G1 5EP
Cost: Free
Glasgow has so many impressive architectural buildings, check this out...
The Lighthouse
Originally built as a newspaper office and designed by famous Glasgow architect, Charles Rennie Mackintosh. In the 1990’s The lighthouse was tuned into a creative hub and museum, but it is climbing the spiral staircase for panoramic bird’s eye views of Glasgow that make The Lighthouse so worth visiting!
Photography Tip: Look out for the best Glasgow landmarks and capture them amongst the rooftops. Also, from here look out to see the hills surrounding Glasgow
Location: 11 Mitchell Lane, G1 3NU
Cost: Free / donation
Ashton Lane
A quirky little cobblestone lane off Byres Road in the West End filled with shops, restaurants and bars
Photography Tip: With fairy lights, signs, cobblestones and people, there are so many photo opportunities at Ashton Lane
Location: Ashton Lane, G12 8SJ
Cost: Free to wander
Murals
I couldn’t possibly do an Instagrammable Locations of Glasgow without mentioning my favourite (s) that is the many, many murals which are dotted around the city. Located on gable ends or on boarded up buildings, these murals which there is a huge variety have something for everyone. Street art is so colourful and always great to photograph. There are over 30 murals currently and each piece will strike us all differently, however some of my favourites are ‘Fellow Glasgow Residents’ in Ingram Street Car Park by Smug and ‘The Frenchie, The Girls and The Bubbles’ in Renfield lane by Rogue One and Art Pistol Projects
Photography Tip: Check out our Glasgow Mural Guide to decide which Murals you want to visit, as seeing them all could take more than one day
Location: All across the city- check out our 'Soaring Through The Sky Mural Guide' linked below
Cost: Free
Read more about Glasgow's murals...
Have you visited Glasgow and found somewhere better for photographs and instagramming? Let us know! :)
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