Welcome to Scotland’s friendliest city, "the city of smiles" as it’s now self-proclaimed. Glasgow is now a vibrant, trendy, cosmopolitan city, a far cry from decades ago when the life expectancy of adult men was 50 years of age and the city suffered from its negative image of Europe's murder capital. Glasgow is a city that has embraced its past and is building towards being one of the top European destinations to visit.
While in Glasgow, you will be welcomed by the locals in a friendly atmosphere however "dinnae be a bampot" (don’t be silly – ed.) would be my advice while hitting the vibrant night life. Whilst in Glasgow I recommend visits to some of the following places
Hampden Park, Home of Scottish football – www.hampdenpark.co.uk
The 51,866-capacity stadium hosts all Scotland’s cup finals as well as the countries national team games. Hampden was the biggest stadium in the world when it opened in 1903, with a capacity in excess of 100,000. This was increased further soon after and reached a peak of 150,000 in the 1930s. The record attendance of 149,415 for Scotland v England in 1937 is the European record for an international game. At Hamden you can go on a stadium tour and visit one of the best football museums in the world with 2,500 exhibits on display in 14 galleries. The Scottish Football Hall of Fame is also based at the stadium and you even have the chance to score a goal on the Hampden Park pitch!
Glasgow Science Centre - www.glasgowsciencecentre.org
The science centre is very fun, even for adults! Opened in June 2001, it is one of Scotland's most popular tourist attractions with dozens of interactive displays and made up of three separate buildings, the Science Mall, Glasgow Tower and the IMAX cinema. You’ll need a few hours to fully explore the science centre, but it’s worth it if you want to learn something while in Glasgow for the game
George Square
Named after King George III, it is Glasgow’s main square, it has statues dedicated to some of Scotland’s finest sons and is also the home to the Cenotaph of Glasgow to commemorate the country's military heroes. Around it you will find lots of pubs, clubs and restaurants.
A joint tour of Celtic Park and the Tennents Wellpark Brewery Tour tennentstours.com
Glasgow is home to more than 450 years of brewing tradition and you have the option of visiting Celtic Park together with the brewery of Scotland’s most popular lager, Tennents. You can take a tour of our opponent's stadium before the match, this includes a visit to the home team dressing room, sitting in the dugout pitchside and going into the Celtic Boardroom. After that you can visit the city's most famous brewery, all with one ticket. The tour of the brewery takes you behind the scenes to discover how Tennent’s is made and you also get to taste of Scotland's favourite beer at the end of the tour.
Also worth a visit are while in the city are Glasgow Green and Glasgow Clydeside, home of Scottish shipbuilding. You should also try the local cuisine such as Irn Bru (orange fizzy drink –ed), haggis and of course whisky, or scotch as we call it here. Glasgow is packed with bars, nightclubs and places to eat on every street corner and getting around the city is easy, the underground (metro) and other public transport options are cheap and frequent.
Zenit take on Celtic in Glasgow this Thursday, 15 February. Kick-off time is 23.05.
