Buchanan Street is now the busiest shopping thoroughfare street in UK after London’s Oxford Street. Glasgow’s most lavish promenade contains a large assortment of shops, two arcades, library and museum, a design centre and numerous ornamented Victorian and Edwardian style buildings. The entrance to the main concert hall of the city axes the street meridian and leads shoppers into Sauchiehall Street… another shopping hotspot of Glasgow.
Buchanan Street won multiple awards like 2003 award for Scotland’s favourite street and 2004 award for new Urbanism award for excellence. More than 30 million people visit Buchanan street each year and some say that Glasgow’s stylish heart beats London’s west End in terms of the quality of its offerings.
History
A tobacco lord Andrew Buchanan had predicted the Glasgow would spread westward. On 15th February 1763 Andrew Buchanan acquired a portion of ground in Glasgow burgh… the part was then known as Palezeon’s Croft on the Northern side of Argyle Street. Andrew Buchanan even thought of demolishing his private mansion on Argyle Street and expedite access to the new street. The American War of Independence happened and Andrew Buchanan lost all his fortune in tobacco. Andrew’s dream plan fell into the hands of some bankers and since the street lots were in his name… his dream progressed into reality bearing the name Buchanan Street.
The first part of Buchanan Street from Argyle Street to Gordon Street opened to the public in 1780 and the remaining part of the street opened in 1804. Buchanan Street was not as glamorous back then… only merchant’s villas, workshops and small holdings were present. As time progressed however beautiful buildings began to be erected like St. George’s Church (designed by William Stark) and the Glasgow Stock Exchange (designed by J Burnet). Many of the street buildings show the Ecole des Beaux Arts architectural style that was a rage back then in New York, Chicago and Glasgow. As you will be able to note when you visit Buchanan Street… the general architectural style is French neoclassicism with some renaissance and Gothic styles. Also note the widespread use of iron (often in extravagant imaginative designs) and glass in the building facades… all the inventions of the Ecole des Beaux Arts of Paris.
Buchannan Street was pedestrianized in 1978 but its exclusive lovely appearance formed much later. In 1997 an international competition was held for the street design and a British design and landscaping firm Gillespie’s won the competition. The lighting, lack of visual clutter, neat demarcation by blue tones and the air of elegance of the street is all credited to Gillespie’s design. The Good Place Guide names Buchanan Street as one of Britain’s 10 best places.
What To See & Do
Look up above when you pass the L’occitane store and Hotel Chocolat and you will see an impossibly gorgeous Goth style building with creative ironwork on its façade. Don’t miss capturing it …this makes for great Instagram posts. This is Princes Square… voted to be Scotland’s favourite building time and again.
Go inside and discover couture fashion stores of Vivienne Westwood, Belstaff, Kurt Geiger, Kate Spade New York (only non-London store in the world) apart from high street brands like COS, Reiss, Whistles, Ted Baker. There are multi-brand stores like Space NK and Jo Malone London and fashion jewellery outlets like Links of London. For more information on what to shop for nearby at the George Square and Merchant District, visit the post on George Square.
Princes Square may well take up more than half a day for there is a very smart coffee shop (TinderBox) and elegant places to lunch like Darcy’s, The Restaurant Bar and Grill and October. Further, you can explore a truly luxurious Boutique Cinema experience at the intimate plush red velvet-covered spaces offered by EveryMan Cinemas (the only boutique cinema in Scotland).
House of Frasers is an extremely elegant multi-departmental store on Buchanan Street. The medieval-style building has retained all its old design features and inside it’s a cornucopia of designer wear, apparel and beauty products. This is undoubtedly Glasgow’s best address for a beauty product haul with Clinique’s, Kiel’s and Estee Lauder apart from other brands. Afterwards, Visit Gin71 for a classy afternoon tea session or sit in the in house coffee shop or maybe go for a facial.
The main crux of Glasgow shopping is organised around Sauchiehall Street (north) and Argyle Street (south) with Buchanan Street serving as a link. At the very top of Buchanan Street (its junction with Sauchiehall Street) is the high street heaven… Buchanan Galleries. This contains more than 90 brands including Warehouse, Swarovski, Next, Thomas Sabo, Mango, Hollister and River Island.
Shop for sportswear from Fred Perry and Trespass and for authentic Scottish designer wear and fashion from Scottish Design Exchange…100% of the sales proceeds from the latter goes to local designers. Buy your favourite poison from the Whiskey Shop or sip on tea from the Mooboo Bubble Tea shop here while the Street Food Hub Bar on the 2nd floor is a great place for casual meals.
Around the Buchanan Gallery, you will also see the Statue of Donald Dewar… Scotland’s First Minister… he was also known as Scotland’s Father of the Nation. This was Kenny Mac Kay’s work and it captures Dewar’s essence perfectly right from his grave expression to his glasses and ruffled jacket.
The statue stands in front of one of the leading attractions of Buchanan Street i.e. the Royal Concert Hall. This is one of Scotland’s most prestigious music venues and has hosted famous classical, pop, jazz and folk performances. Artists like BB King, David Byrne Heels, and Johnny Cash have performed here.
Speaking of statues, you will find a funny one when you go through Prince’s Square from Buchanan Street to the doors connecting Ted Baker and Whistle. Step outside and look to the left and you can’t miss the huge naked man standing on the podium with hands crossed across his chest and a strutting peacock nearby. In the typical Glasgow humour style, the statue is named ‘As Proud as’.
The St. Enoch Shopping Centre is at the junction of Argyle Street and Buchanan Street. You will find H&M, Super dry, Topshop, Moriconi and Folli Follie here. Kids especially love the Disney stone and Hamleys while the flagship Mothercare store and the Glasgow Museum store add value to the entire shopping experience. Don’t miss a visit to the extra-large Debenhams’s store and pick up a coffee at Costa Coffee or maybe a meal at Ed’s Easy Diner.
You will find the Argyll Arcade along Buchanan Street… the best hub of luxury jewellery in the UK right now. Only the best jewellers of repute are offered a shop under the stunning roofs of this 19th-century gallery.
A small distance away from Buchanan Street is one of the best fresh markets of the city. The Sloan’s Market sits every weekend and offers everything from curated jewellery to fresh cheese and fruit and locally made art. Just pop into the lane between Buchanan Street and Argyle Street for a great street shopping experience.
Since the time it became vehicle free and pedestrian-only in 1978, Buchanan Street has become the biggest hub for street performers. You will find dancers, jugglers, acrobats, magicians and even giant stuffed animals walking around and entertaining everyone. Be prepared for a couple of or more bagpipe performances. If you are in a mood to experience and appreciate local music and dance then you will be thrilled. Otherwise serious photographers and dedicated shoppers are often seen wearing noise-cancelling headphones. There are regular street theatre performances happening at Buchanan Street too.
As mentioned earlier Buchanan Street is home to exceptional looking old buildings. The best of the lot is the Old Athenaeum Theatre that’s a mixture of European art nouveau, Indian and Scottish style. One of the very first buildings to have a lift, the Old Athenaeum Theatre was first a music school and then the National Academy of Music and then the Royal Conservatoire. It then morphed into the Citizens Theatre Company before being resold several times till finally, Hard Rock Café established itself in 2013. Stare at its multiple statues, windows, trellis and finials… it’s an exemplary work of J Burnett.
Another marvellous building is the St. George Tron Church that’s perched in Nelson Mandela place near Queen Street station at the terminating point of West George Street. Designed by the illustrious William Stark in 1808, the church underwent a massive renovation in 2009 at the cost of 3 million pounds. There is a café inside the church called Wild Olive Tree… serves delish scones, soups, salads and pasta. The church has beautiful stained glass windows and evocative memorials but its principal charm lies in its welcoming, inclusive community atmosphere that makes everyone right from pub crawlers to the homeless to the tourists feel right at home!!
The Glasgow Stock Exchange is another fantastic looking building situated on the corner of St George’s Place/ Nelson Mandela Place and Buchanan Street. This Venetian Goth style John Burnet designed building was opened to the public in 1877 though it underwent serious remodelling in 1971. The stock exchange is no longer functional and retail stores like Urban Outfitters and North Face had been trading there for some time. Recently AEW Europe City Retail has acquired the gorgeous building for 33 million pounds… however locals still refer to it as the Glasgow Stock Exchange building.
One of the most famous monuments in this part of the city is the Wellington Statue in front of the Gallery of Modern Art that’s just around the corner very near Buchanan Street. This is a bronze sculpture built in honour of the Duke of Wellington and such is its fame that it was featured in the movie Trainspotting 2. Sometimes even Duke of Wellington’s horse is decked with a hat. For the record, even the Gallery of Modern Art is a stunningly beautiful building.
Right next to the Gallery of Modern Art (a leading attraction near Buchanan Street) is the beautiful George Square that’s flanked by a lovely Victorian building the Glasgow City Chambers. This building was featured in the Outlander One of the most logical things to do after checking out Buchanan Street would be to walk towards George square with its assortment of statues, flocks of pigeons and attractions like the Glasgow City Chambers and the General Post office building. Read all about George square and its activities here.
If you keep walking to the southern end of the street you will reach River Clyde. Going for a short stroll along its banks can be a good activity post your street tryst.
About 12 minutes of bus ride away from Buchanan Street there is the North Street containing yet another beautiful and important building… the Mitchell Library and Gallery… open from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. from Monday to Thursday and from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays… Mitchell Library is UK’s biggest public resource library. You will find all possible information about Glasgow’s history inside and the city archives including the information about the tombs in Glasgow Necropolis.
The Mitchell Library was designed by William Brown White (Glasgow architect) at the request of Stephen Mitchell… a Tobacco Lord of the Victorian time of Glasgow. The nearby Andrew Hall is now a theatre and the library now lends music and has moved admirably with modern times. You will find a huge collection of electronic databases, computers and digital tools inside. The gorgeous copper dome of the Mitchell Library is surmounted by a bronze statue by Thomas Clapperton. The dome and its huge ornamental façade are enough to qualify it for one of the best looking buildings in Scotland.
You can find several great guided tours of Buchanan Street (including combination tours) and book online from this Viator site.
How to Reach
Buchanan Street sits at the junction between Glasgow’s Victorian-style commercial heart and Merchants City. Two stations i.e. the Buchanan Street metro station and the St Enoch Subway sit at both ends of the street and two of the biggest rail terminus of Glasgow are within 5 minutes of walk from this street. The Buchanan street metro is an attraction in itself… it’s the busiest and the most glamorous subway station in Scotland. The biggest entrance to the subway is through a snazzy escalator that looks like it stepped out of a movie set. This is a rather amusingly angled escalator that features an alleyway at its top… this leads to the Queen Street Station. If you are travelling to/ from Edinburgh then this is the station to target.
At the other end of Buchanan Street is the older vintage style St Enoch subway station with its older station building now revamped into a coffee shop. It’s glass-sheathed too like the Buchanan Street station and these two subway stations provide the densest links to all parts of Glasgow and its suburbs. Buchanan Street literally is as good a transport hub as a shopping hub!!
Bus lines 2, 38 E, 310 and 900 stop near Buchanan Street. The closest bus stations to Buchanan Street are Dyke street Baillieston (4 minutes walking distance), Swinton Road Garrowhill (5 minutes walk) and Martin Crescent Baillieston (5 minutes walk). Additionally, the Buchanan Street Bus station lies just behind Queen Street… this is one of Scotland’s busiest bus stations but things could become quite seedy here at night. Don’t miss the famous Winchers Stance statue inside the bus station… this bronze sculpture is John Clinch’s work and was unveiled in 1994. It shows a couple kissing with a tear of joy running down the woman’s cheek.
There is no dearth of places to munch and sip in after finishing your shopping and exploration of Buchanan Street. Some of the city’s best bars and cafes are here apart from a few great restaurants. There is Juniper Scottish Gin Bar on Prince’s Square and Hugh’s Champagne Bar inside the House of Fraser building. Visit the Hot Chocolat Café, Café BonBon and Riverhill Coffee Bar (this has a restaurant too).
For serious meals check into The Ivy, Western Club Restaurant, Zizzi, Jojo’s Kitchen and the Revolution. And if you want some quick bites then Tabac, the Lab and Pizza Express will serve your purpose. Most Tourists prefer to visit the Gallery of Modern Art (Royal Exchange Square) and the Lighthouse (Mitchell Lane) after their Buchanan street tryst. As mentioned earlier visiting the iconic George Square should also be a part of the plan.
A travel addict. Still celebrating the day when he quit his high-profile corporate job to pursue his passion for travel writing.