We were warned that Glasgow would be a bit gritty and dangerous, but we did not see that at all. Maybe we needed to be there for a Rangers vs Celtics game… Instead we found a lovely historical city, full of good food, drinks and plenty of sights to see. A lovely way to explore the central part of the city is to follow parts of the mural trail. The murals themselves are wonderful and you will stroll through historical George Square and past the Gallery of Modern Art.

For some more historical spots you can head east of the city centre to check out the Glasgow Cathedral and the Necropolis. Both a gorgeous and the Necropolis is a great place to stroll around, soak up the atmosphere and to see some nice views of the city.

After all that walking we treated ourselves to a real Glaswegian delicacy – pizza crunch (essentially deep fried pizza). I know what you’re thinking, and yes, it was both as delicious and as disgusting as it sounds. You can get it from any chip shop, but we had a good one from Merchant Chippie.

One of the best areas to visit in Glasgow is the West End. It is basically the student quarter and is a great place to go out to eat and drink. Byres Lane is the main road through the area but the nicest place to walk is through the Lanes, Ashton Lane being particularly beautiful. There are plenty of pubs and restaurants to visit, but we chose Òran Mór, a converted old church. If we were in Glasgow longer we would have loved to go to their ‘A Play, A Pie and A Pint’, but alas we had to settle for just pints at the bar.

Near the West End is the absolutely gorgeous University of Glasgow. Parts of Harry Potter were filmed here so you know it is going to be bloody good. Wandering around the grounds is a great pre-drink activity. The nearby Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum is also beautiful and a good place to pop into while in the area.

Glasgow is filled with beautiful parks and I highly recommend visiting Pollok Park. It is huge and you could easily spend the better part of a day just wandering around. The manor house is very nice and we particularly enjoyed watching the many Highland cattle grazing in the paddocks.

There is also plenty to do in the areas surrounding Glasgow. Our friends took us clay bird shooting out at Cowans Law, which was a really fun activity. I mean, we were completely hopeless, but it was a good laugh.

Andrew’s definite highlight was visiting the Falkirk Wheel, an absolute engineering marvel. It is a rotating boat lift connecting the Forth and Clyde Canal with the Union Canal, and definitely worth watching in action. The surrounding area is also very pretty with some lovely walks along the canals. The nearby installation called The Kelpies is a great place for a quick stop to marvel at these giants. A kelpie is a mythological Scottish water horse and these statues pay tribute to the horse power heritage that was vital to the early industries of central Scotland.

Overall our brief time in Glasgow was wonderful, it is a really interesting city to visit with a good mix of the modern and the historical. Cost wise you are looking at around £60 (NZ$120) per day per person.