Glasgow with its beautiful architecture, a profusion of parks and museums and eclectic chequered history is simply not a city that you can explore fully behind frosted windows. Even if you do a hop on hop off city sightseeing bus tour of Glasgow (works well as an introduction to the city) you need to take at least a couple of walking tours to reach the bowels and the heart of the city. History lurks in each lane of the biggest city in Scotland and its unusual culture and humour can only be appreciated when you invest some time in getting up close and personal with its wall art, buildings, streets, shops and cafes.
You can check rates and choose from a range of great walking tours of Glasgow and book online from this Viator Site.
Below are the best of Glaswegian walking tours; offerings that are a curated mix of architecture, culture, art, attraction hopping, food and soul travel. These are all well-rated established guided tours. If you want to do a self-guided tour of the top Glaswegian attractions then you will find enough help here. It makes sense to spend some time thinking about what kind of guided tour to do when you are in Glasgow. If money isn’t a constraint then a private guided tour will be the best option and if money is the biggest constraint then there is even a free guided tour on offer.
There are also small and mid-group guided tours that are affordably priced. Some walking tours focus on the art heritage of the city while the others take in the attractions of the city centre only while still others focus on the unique gastronomic offerings of the city. Prioritise tours according to your wishes and schedule and if you have more than a couple of days in the city…go ahead and try all of them.
City Centre Walking Tour
This is one of the most popular walking tours in Glasgow and most of the best city sites are covered in this tour. Taking the City Centre Walking Tour is a great way to gain a nice understanding of the history, culture and vibe of Glasgow. The tour is offered by a Scottish based company called ‘Walking Tours in Scotland’. So far they are the only walking tour company in Glasgow that comprehensively covers all major city sights.
The tour will involve around 3 miles of walking so please bear in mind that you need to be reasonably fit. Some of the sites covered in this tour are George Square, Glasgow Green, Glasgow Cathedral and Necropolis, Tolbooth Steeple, Duke of Wellington and the banks of Clyde. There are also some offbeat attractions that visitors normally don’t visit like the Barrowlands Walkway, Templeton Factory, Barras, Clutha and Saint Andrews Cathedral.
The City Centre Walking Tour lasts for about 2.5 to 3 hours and there is a break in between for snacks etc. The tour starts off at George Square that’s the first stop of the tour… it’s advisable to arrive about ten minutes early!! The tour ends at roughly the same location i.e. the Gallery of Modern Art that is right next to George Square.
The tour operates at 10.30 a.m. and 2.00 p.m. every day during summers but in winters it’s conducted only at 10.30 a.m. This can be a large group tour (more than 31 people) or a medium group tour (17 to 30 people) or a private small group tour (1 to 16 people).
You can check the rate and book the tour online from this Viator site.
Contact Details
Phone: +44 7934 739456
Email: [email protected]
Glasgow City Centre Walking Tour (Free)
This free tour by Glasgow Gander concentrates on the architecture of Glasgow…specifically on the Victorian buildings that are found in the merchant quarters of the city. Most of these buildings are outstandingly old and beautiful and are Category ‘A’ listed.
Normal stops on this free walking tour are Royal Exchange Square, George Square and Glasgow City Chambers, Buchanan Street, Merchant City, Trades Hall, High Street, Glasgow Cross and Cathedral Precinct.
Read The amazing buildings in George Square and Merchant District.
There are usually 12 points of interest in this free walking tour and they include unusual ones like Britannia Panopticon Music Hall (Britain’s oldest music hall) that are often neglected by mainstream tours.
Glasgow Gander is a community-driven group that offers a well-reviewed city tour led by guides who are passionate about the city’s history and architecture. The guides offer lots of extras like recommendations about restaurants, cafes, tourist experiences and other tour recommendations. The guides also offer an introduction to Irn-bru (Iron brew) that’s a fruity soda-based drink extremely popular in Scotland (often called the second national drink of the country). The visitors are offered those iconic cans of Irn-bru with the pictures of an athlete on the cover and the generosity of guides who offer these cans for free on a free tour will blow your mind!!! Almost all participants on this tour tip generously.
Note: remember that some attractions like the Glasgow City Chambers have their own free guided tours. You can easily combine the Glasgow Gander free walking tours with individual attraction tours.
The City Centre Walking Free Tour leaves from outside a Costa Coffee building (a little north to the Gallery of Modern Art on Royal Exchange Square). The guide always wears a quirky Glasgow Gander jacket and it’s impossible to miss him. The tour finishes at Glasgow Cathedral that’s approximately 15 minutes of walk away from George Square.
The tour starts at 10.30 a.m. on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. It’s recommended to reach a little earlier as the Glasgow Gander guide also arrives 15 minutes early. The tour lasts for 2.5 to 3 hours and covers approximately 1.5 miles. There aren’t any fixed toilet breaks though there are public toilets at Glasgow Gallery of Modern Art on the Royal Exchange Square. Keep in mind though that this is the starting point of the tour. The best thing about this tour is that it’s wheelchair accessible although the last half a mile goes straight uphill from Glasgow Cross to Glasgow Cathedral.
The Glasgow Gander free walking tour is very popular and there are only 15 places guaranteed on every tour so you need to book very early. It’s a free tour but donations are more than welcome.
You can book the tour online through this website.
Contact Details
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 07516 554828/44 7516 554828
Glasgow Private Walking Tours
There are lots of perks of taking a private walking tour though they are more expensive than group tours. There is complete privacy, the guide can meet guests at the hotel and the tour can kick off at customised times according to the convenience of guests. These are child-friendly tours and the stops can be as long or as short as guests want. There are even options where guests can be picked up from the airport or their cruise ship in a vehicle meeting their standards at extra cost. Vehicle and driver can be arranged for guests who wish to be chauffeured around Glasgow.
Glasgow Private Walking Tours is the best private tour operator in the city. They conduct tours in English, Spanish and Russian. The guides are passionate and knowledgeable about the city’s history and they use a lot of the famous Glasgow Patter. Guests are likely to learn origins of phrases like ‘Get off Scot’ and ‘Turn a blind eye’. Guests are treated to a delicious tea/ coffee and scone break. It’s also possible to change the tour route on request.
Glasgow Attractions Walking Tour
The Glasgow Attractions Walking tour (earlier known as Must-Sees Tour) is a 5-hour walking tour that takes in all the sights of the city. The stops covered in this tour are George Square, Gallery of Modern Art (doesn’t include entry) plus the statue of Duke of Wellington, Merchant City and its Murals, Glasgow Cathedral (inside), Necropolis, Mercat Cross and Tolbooth Steeple, St Andrew’s-in-the-Square and St Andrew’s-by-the-Green (outside), Glasgow Green Park and McLennan Arch and Buchanan Street Shopping District. Entries and guided tours of all attractions are included in the tour price unless otherwise specified. The tour includes a walk along the river Clyde and a visit to the iconic Subway (outside).
The tour lasts for 5 hours and can start at a flexible time as this is a private tour. There is a scheduled break where tea/ coffee will be provided in a café. If your hotel is within a 15 minutes walk radius of Glasgow city centre then the guide can meet you at the hotel.
The Glasgow Attractions tour is priced at 99 pounds per person (or couple). The inclusion of an extra person will cost 20 pounds each. Kids till the age of 14 can take the tour for free if accompanied by a paying adult.
You can check the rate and book the tour online from this Viator site.
Contact Details
Glasgow Private Tours
Clyde Offices, 48 W George St, Glasgow
Phone: 0141 946 3972
Glasgow Mini Attractions Tour
This is a shortened version of the Glasgow Attractions tour and is suitable for people who only have a limited time to explore the city. There are many stops on this tour like George Square, Gallery of Modern Art (without entry) plus statue of Duke of Wellington, Merchant City and its Murals, Glasgow Cathedral (tour inside), Necropolis, University of Strathclyde Campus. There is a 20 minute stop at George Square and a 10 minute stop at the GOMA and the Duke of Wellington statue. There is a 25 minute stop at the Glasgow Cathedral and a 40 minute stop at the Merchant City. The last stop is a 25-minute exploration of the Necropolis… Glasgow’s tribute to its glorious ancestors.
The tour lasts for 2 to 3 hours and there is a scheduled break that lets visitors enjoy a cup of coffee/ tea at a café. The tour is priced at 79 pounds per person (or couple). The inclusion of an extra person will cost 20 pounds each. Kids till the age of 14 can take the tour for free if accompanied by a paying adult.
You can check the rate and book the tour online from this website.
Glasgow Sightseeing Tour
This was earlier known as the Arts and Culture Walking tour and it covers attractions that are known for their artistic richness like the Botanic Gardens and Kibble Palace. The other stops are Byres Road, Ashton Lane, Glasgow University Campus with the Chapel and the Cloisters, Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum (visit) and the Kelvin Hall from outside. It might serve you better to read a little about these beautiful places beforehand.
The tour focuses majorly on Glasgow’s West End and the stop at the Kelvingrove art gallery and Museum itself is for 1.5 hours ….there is an introduction to Dali, Rembrandt, Monet, Glasgow Boys and Charles Rennie Mackintosh.
There is a half an hour stop at the University of Glasgow and while you are here you should definitely have a look at the famed Hunterian collection. There is a 10 minute stop at Oran Mor that has a bunch of cafes, restaurants, shops etc. …the veritable heart of West End. Then finally, there is a 20 minute stop at Glasgow Botanic Gardens and its fantastic Victorian Glasshouses.
The Glasgow Sightseeing tour lasts for 4 to 5 hours and there is a scheduled break that lets visitors enjoy a cup of coffee/ tea at a café. The Glasgow Sightseeing tour is priced at 99 pounds per person (or couple). The inclusion of an extra person will cost 20 pounds each. Kids till the age of 14 can take the tour for free if accompanied by a paying adult.
You can check the current rate and book the tour online from this website.
Glasgow Wee Food Walk
Widely hailed as the best food tour in Glasgow, the wee food walk is not so wee after all… it takes in 6 hearty food stops and has nearly 20 food tastings. Every stop is at a local favourite place (some covered in food guides and some not) and each food stop has conversations with the owners, sharing of history, trivia and selected recipes. There is the Scottish speciality ‘Venison Haggis’, black pudding and stovies at Ubiquitous Chip.
There is a variety of haddock (cod) based dishes that you get to try at the iconic Gandolfi. If the owner (Seamus) is there he makes the courteous gesture of sitting with guests as they try dishes like Arbroath smokies and Cullen Skink. There is a sampling of different kinds of cheeses at the George Mewes cheese store (with unusual Glasgow blue cheese). Then there is Scottish Italian home conjured ice cream at University Café (try the gingerbread flavour).
The stop Guido’s Coronation café has kids’ delights like deep-fried Mars bars and Pizza crunch (loaded with toppings and sinful). Then there is candy and macaroon cake tasting at Glickman’s confectionery (operated by a charming mother-daughter duo)…some have really unusual flavours. And of course, there are tastings of Irn-Bru (Iron Brew) that’s unofficially known as Scotland’s second favourite drink. This is a fruity soda-based drink with a minute amount of alcohol so it will suit people of all age groups.
The guide is indeed the star of the entire food walk… Madeleine (American born Glaswegian resident) has been conducting the walk with an infectious passion for the last 15 years.
The Wee food walk doesn’t have a wee price tag either but unlike many other food tours, it doesn’t try to push in cheap eateries to save on costs. The Ubiquitous Chip and Café Gandolfi in fact can be both termed upscale places.
The tour gives a great return on investment as the guides talk a lot about the history of Glasgow, names of different streets and the overall experience are more like a food, culture and history tour rather than just a food tour. For example, on most wee food walks there is a short stop at Britannia Panopticon, that’s the world’s oldest usable Music Hall.
One thing though, even if the wee food walk is termed a walking tour (and there is a lot of walking involved) the tour uses the subway and bus too. The area covered exceeds 2.4 km so make sure that you wear comfortable walking shoes. The guide makes it feel like an adventure though, so guests almost always enjoy the experience thoroughly.
The only disadvantage of this tour is that it cannot cater to vegans though there are plentiful vegetarian options. The tour is offered in English and there are translations in French, Spanish and Mandarin if so required. There is no alcohol offered on the tour but the guide gives out nice brewery tour and pub recommendations for free.
The tours start off at 11 a.m. from Glasgow City centre every day (except Sunday). The tour lasts for about 4 hours and involves plenty of walking plus use of the bus and subway.
The price per adult for the wee food tour is 90 pounds. 5 pounds from each tour proceeds go towards feeding the hungry as the amount is donated to the local food bank.
The price covers all modes of transportation. Food and the services of the guide.
You can check the current rate and book the tour online from this website.
Contact Details
Address: 272 Bath Street, Glasgow, G2 4JR
Phone: +44 (0)141 345 3663/ +44 (0)779 933 3663
Email: [email protected]
(specify via email or phone if you have any food allergies).
A travel addict. Still celebrating the day when he quit his high-profile corporate job to pursue his passion for travel writing.