Scottish summer: on the Glasgow tourist trail.

My friend Manon returns to France very soon, and before we all end up scattered around Germany she wanted to experience Glasgow like a proper tourist! When you're studying and living here, it can be surprisingly easy to let some of the city's attractions pass by unnoticed or unintentionally ignored, and the tour bus we decided to take even had some surprises in store for me! We set off on our bus tour a couple of weeks ago and though the sun hadn't heated up the city quite as much as it has this week, we were still lucky enough to find it shining happily all day long. I even got a little bit burnt!


My favourite parts of the tour were the two I'd never experienced before: the Necropolis and the People's Palace. Despite it looming over part of my daily bus route, I'd just never found the time or motivation to visit the Necropolis. I was surprised by the size of it - I didn't realise there was quite so much round the back! - and the views over the city were stunning. The People's Palace has never been on my beaten track, being in a part of the city I rarely have reason to visit, but I knew I'd enjoy a social history museum, and I certainly wasn't let down. Glasgow's social history is so important to the city's identity and the museum did justice to all of it, both the wonderful and the terrible parts. The exhibit on the Red Road Flats, currently being demolished, was especially poignant. We had fun trying to learn to dance old time Barrowlands style by following footprints on the floor; definitely not a success. We'd never have got a winch at the dancin' with these moves.


If you're in Glasgow and have never been to either the Necropolis or the People's Palace, go! Both are free (ahhh, lack of museum admission fees - another reason why I love my city) and definitely worth a visit. Plus, you can finish the day with a visit to West Beer and grab a pint of their gorgeous made-on-site German-style beer. Only a 10-15 minute walk from the city centre, so what are you waiting for? I really don't know why it took me so long to visit.