What is the Glasgow self-guided walking tour?
The Glasgow self-guided walking tour is an audio walk through the city centre and the Merchant City to Glasgow Green, narrated on your phone so you need no guide. Allow about 3 hours: 33 minutes of that is walking, the route covers 2.6 km, and the rest of the time goes to the 10 stops, where you stand and listen. You pick the day and the hour.
On St Enoch Square you hear about Thenew, the mother of Saint Mungo, and the little red sandstone building that was an entrance to one of the world's oldest underground railways. Outside the Gallery of Modern Art the narration explains the traffic cone on the Duke of Wellington's head. In the Merchant City it tells how the tobacco lords grew rich on tobacco grown by enslaved people in Virginia, and on Glasgow Green it introduces the Doulton Fountain of 1888, said to be the largest terracotta fountain in the world.
- Durationabout 3 hours
- Walkingabout 33 min · 2.6 km
- Stops10
- LanguagesEnglish, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Dutch
What you do on the walking tour
Listen
Each stop comes with its history, its legends and a few details most passers-by never notice. The text is also on screen if you would rather read.
Walk on
Between stops, Google Maps leads the way: 33 minutes on foot over 2.6 km, at whatever pace you like.
Take a break
Duck into a café or spend an hour in a gallery, then carry on later the same day or on another one.
Eat and shop
The stops come with tips for food and local shops near the route, and in the app you can change the starting point and the order.
See the route and attractions →
How it works
- Book online Choose the number of people. Your booking reference arrives by email straight away.
- Get the app Download the World City Trail app from the App Store or Google Play and enter your booking reference.
- Walk when you like Start whenever you are ready, walk at your own pace and pause any time. No guide, no fixed schedule.
Who the walking tour is for
A first visit
One walk connects the civic squares, the Merchant City and Glasgow Green and explains what each of them meant to the city.
History without the gloss
The tobacco lords' streets and the trade behind their wealth are part of the story, alongside the grand Victorian buildings.
Anyone who avoids groups
No umbrella to follow and no meeting time: stay where something holds your attention and move on when you are ready.
Good to know
- Bring a charged smartphone with mobile data; a power bank helps.
- No entry tickets needed: everything happens outside the buildings. Going inside is optional and paid separately.
- Family friendly; children must be accompanied by an adult.
- Not suitable for wheelchair users and difficult with strollers.
- Groups of up to 5 work best; larger groups split up, one ticket per person.
- Every purchase helps support stray cats and dogs in Greece.
The walk stop by stop: St Enoch Square, George Square, Merchant City, Glasgow Green
10 stops · about 33 min walking · start: St Enoch Square · finish: People's Palace
St Enoch Square is the starting point, with the old subway entrance in its middle. From there you walk to the Gallery of Modern Art and on to George Square, where the Glasgow City Chambers fill the east side. The route then crosses into the Merchant City, passes the City Halls and Old Fruitmarket on Candleriggs, and reaches the Tolbooth Steeple at Glasgow Cross and St Andrew's in the Square. Glasgow Green comes last, with the Doulton Fountain and the People's Palace, where the walk ends. You can change the start and the order in the app, and every stop is free.
Open the route map ↗
1St Enoch SquareStart
The square is named after Saint Enoch, or Thenew, the mother of Saint Mungo, Glasgow's patron saint. The small red sandstone building in the middle dates from 1896 and was built as an entrance to the Glasgow Subway, which opened that year as one of the oldest underground railways in the world.
2Gallery of Modern Art (GoMA)
This columned building began in 1778 as the townhouse of William Cunninghame, one of the tobacco lords, and was turned into the Royal Exchange in the 1820s and 1830s. Since 1996 it has been the Gallery of Modern Art. Outside, the statue of the Duke of Wellington on horseback usually wears a traffic cone on its head, a Glasgow tradition.
3George Square
Glasgow's main civic square was laid out in the late 18th century and named after King George III. Its statues include Robert Burns, James Watt, Queen Victoria and Prince Albert on horseback, and a tall column topped by Sir Walter Scott. The city's war memorial, the Cenotaph, stands on its east side.
4Glasgow City Chambers
Queen Victoria opened Glasgow's city hall in 1888, when the city called itself the second city of the British Empire. Designed by William Young, its richly sculpted façade and tower fill the east side of George Square. It is still the seat of Glasgow City Council.
5Merchant City
In the 18th century, Glasgow's tobacco lords grew rich on tobacco grown by enslaved people in Virginia and built their mansions and warehouses in this grid of streets. Names such as Virginia Street and Glassford Street still recall that trade. Today its restored buildings hold bars, restaurants and shops, around landmarks such as Robert Adam's Trades Hall.
6City Halls & Old Fruitmarket
On Candleriggs, a street named after the candle makers who once worked here, the City Halls were built in the 1840s for concerts and public meetings. Next to them, the Old Fruitmarket was the city's fruit and vegetable market hall, with an iron roof and gallery. Both are now concert venues, and the City Halls are home to the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra.
7Tolbooth Steeple
The Tolbooth Steeple at Glasgow Cross is all that remains of the tolbooth built between 1626 and 1634, which served as town hall, courthouse and prison. Its seven stages rise to a stone crown about 38 metres high. The main building was demolished in 1921, leaving the steeple standing alone in the traffic.
Read the full story →
8St Andrew's in the Square
Built between 1739 and 1756, St Andrew's in the Square is one of the finest Georgian churches in Scotland. Its portico of Corinthian columns and its steeple were modelled on St Martin-in-the-Fields in London. It was designed by Allan Dreghorn and built by the mason Mungo Naismith.
9Doulton Fountain
Made by the Doulton pottery company for Glasgow's International Exhibition of 1888, this is said to be the largest terracotta fountain in the world. Queen Victoria stands on top, above figures representing Canada, Australia, South Africa and India. It was moved to Glasgow Green after the exhibition and now stands in front of the People's Palace.
Read the full story →
10People's PalaceFinish
Opened in 1898 on Glasgow Green, the city's oldest park, the People's Palace is a museum about the everyday life of Glaswegians. The large glasshouse of the Winter Gardens is joined to its back. Nearby, the former Templeton carpet factory copies the Doge's Palace in Venice in colourful brick.
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