Top 18 Things to Do in Glasgow with Kids

Glasgow with Kids – I love Glasgow. I studied there and had a total ball so where do you take kids in this buzzing city? There are so many options, many of them FREE!                 *Contains affiliate links

Kelvingrove Art Gallery & Museum / Burrell Collection /  Glasgow Science Centre / People’s Palace and Winter Gardens / Scotland Street School Museum / Duke of Wellington / Riverside Museum / Mural Trail /  University of Glasgow and the West End / Botanic Gardens / Necropolis & Cathedral / The Tenement House / National Piping Centre / Mackintosh at the Willow /  National Museum of Rural Life / Summerlee / Food and Drink / Accommodation

1 Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum – Glasgow with Kids

FREE The Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum – As well as beautiful pieces by the Glasgow Boys and Scotland’s favourite painting (Dali’s Christ of Saint John on the Cross), the free Kelvingrove Museum is also home to floating heads, an aeroplane, gigantic stuffed animals and DINOSAURS. Children love it!

The museum is in Kelvingrove Park which is an attraction for any age or demographic. With a great play park for little ones, it’s scenic and central – great to push a buggy around or chase a toddler.

2 Burrell Collection – Glasgow with Kids

FREE The acclaimed Burrell Collection is SO interactive for kids, they’ve really thought about how to keep little ones entertained. Our boys tried virtual wood turning, virtual glass blowing and they sat at an online painting station for a good half hour.

The 9000 strong collection was the personal endeavour of the Burrell family, who gifted it to the city in 1944. The newly restored museum only opened in 2022 so it’s shiny and new.

Another tip, we looked up the collection’s Top 30 Items over breakfast, and the kids sought them out within the museum. An accidental treasure hunt! Also look out for Highland Cattle within the grounds. Thoroughly recommend.

3 Glasgow Science Centre – Glasgow with Kids

The Science Centre – A great rainy day option the Science Centre covers four floors of exploration and allows every loving parent to nurture their own child genius. We messed with DNA, experimented with the numerous hands-on interactive displays, steered our own ship and hit the soft play zone in the Big Explorer Zone.

For an additional £3.50 we attended the planetarium’s Space Explorers, a show designed for ages seven and under. It’s great. The movement of the 360°  film, screened across a 15-metre hemispherical dome, was mesmerising and confusing for our tots who tilted and leaned in accordance with the spaceship. The shows are led by astronomer-presenters, who I’m sure appreciated Mr Toddler shrieking ‘MOON’ at every planet we approached, regardless of which planet it actually was.

4 People’s Palace, Glasgow Green & Winter Gardens – TEMPORARILY CLOSED

FREE – The People’s Palace tells the story of Glasgow’s people from 1750 to the end of the 20th century. From positive highlights such as music and dancing at the Barrowlands and going Doon the Watter on holiday, to the rougher side of life and poverty, it’s all covered. There are several hands-on spots for kids, my favourite was when my boys set to work in The Steamie (traditional Glasgow laundrette).

FREE In Glasgow Green there are epic play parks – I completed one with Mr Toddler that I’m pretty certain was designed for marines (it’s so full on). There are also picturesque water fountains and it’s all in close proximity to the old street market known as the Barras. We picked up a tube of bubbles from a market stall and enjoyed the Green in the sun.

We were lucky enough to visit the Winter Gardens a few years ago, a beautiful glass house full of exotic plants and palms. It’s CURRENTLY CLOSED, so head to the Botanic Gardens glasshouses instead.

5 House for an Art Lover – Glasgow with Kids

Get your Charles Rennie Mackintosh fix at the stunning House for an Art Lover in Bellahouston Park. It works surprsingly well for children, with a welcoming playground, vast grounds and a Walled Garden to explore. The interiors of the house itself are SO beautifully unusual that they do grab everyone’s attention, whatever their age. There is also a welcoming cafe and gift shop. Serene.

Read more about Glasgow’s Charles Rennie Mackintosh Trail.

6 Visit the Duke of Wellington – Glasgow with Kids

FREE A great photo opp! The equestrian statue of the Duke of Wellington caused a headache for officials due to the locals’ insistence on ramming a traffic cone on its head. If the cone was removed, within days it was back! The story goes that eventually the council gave up removing it, as the costs ran into thousands of pounds annually, and there it remains. Jaunty.

7 Riverside Museum

FREE The modern Riverside Museum houses Glasgow’s transport and technology collections, from shipbuilding and train manufacturing to engineering. Look out for a wall of motorbikes, bicycle velodrome and (my fave) a street modelled on 1895-1930.

The highlight is stepping aboard the Tall Ship. This sail powered cargo ship is over 120 years old, and our kids loved exploring above and below deck.

8 Mural Trail – Glasgow with Kids

FREE Wherever you visit in Glasgow city you’re never far from a rather cool mural on Glasgow’s Mural Trail. Hunt them all down or pick a selection. After visiting Glasgow Cathedral and St Mungo’s shrine we visited the nearby modern depiction in mural form of St Mungo, and the contemporary mural of St Enoch (his mother, with baby St Mungo breastfeeding). Note the robin in both pics, associated with St Mungo because, as a child, he brought a robin back from dead.

We couldn’t miss the mural of Charles Rennie Mackintosh over the Clutha Bar. Brilliant.

9 Visit the University and the Hunterian Museum

FREE I’m a bit biased as I attended the University of Glasgow. But strutting around the West End, running beneath those cloisters and dipping into the free Hunterian Museum isn’t a bad wee outing for a kid. It’s a striking building in a great part of city. And it gives you an excuse to grab a drink or coffee in the popular hang out that is Ashton Lane. 

In the West End find a grown up children’s menu at the Hanoi Bike Shop. The children’s menu is cleverly Vietnamese, but adapted for wee ones. Not a chicken nugget in sight. It also offers a Gluten Free and Vegan menu.

10 Botanic Gardens – Glasgow with Kids

FREE While in the West End be sure to explore the Botanic Gardens. On sunny days relax, play in or explore the parklands. Whatever the weather don’t miss the glasshouses. They were originally the posh conservatory at the Helensburgh home of wealthy John Kibble, before they were shipped down the Clyde to be put in place in their new home in the West End. The building itself is a thing of beauty, and the plants (especially the carnivorous ones) are a joy to behold.

11 Necropolis & Cathedral – Glasgow with Kids

FREE The cathedral is a beautifully intricate building, and a free treasure hunt for kids keeps little ones occupied. We spent ages hunting for the items listed! It’s also the site of St Mungo’s tomb, the patron saint of Glasgow.

FREE – From the cathedral walk uphill to Glasgow’s Necropolis. This burial place of the city’s great and the good is Glasgow’s answer to Paris’ Pere Lachaise. And it gives great views over the city.

If you’re looking for somewhere to eat nearby I’d recommend the family friendly Drygate Brewery. When we arrived lots of families were in there eating – we opted for some small plates and tried a Beer Flight too. Nearby Tennants Brewery offer tours, but children have to be over 12.

12 Catch the Clockwork Orange

Glasgow’s underground system, or the Clockwork Orange, as it’s affectionately known due to the orange carriages, is a fun and easy way to get around town. It’s a tiny, easy to understand system, you CANNOT get lost, and kids always seem to enjoy a new mode of transport!

13 Scotland Street School Museum – CURRENTLY CLOSED

FREE For any Charles Rennie Mackintosh fans, this is a child friendly and free attraction to visit, designed by the man himself. A mix of different classrooms, from Victorian times into the 60s, create a really different and approachable way for children to learn about education and Mackintosh. For a list of Charles Rennie Mackintosh attractions across Glasgow to consider with wee ones click here.

14 Tenement House

FREE to NTS members – The Tenement House is a typical Glasgow tenement frozen in time. A Miss Agnes Toward moved in here in 1911, and passed away in 1975 leaving the house untouched. It’s a real slice of social history, with lots of details and knick knacks to help youngsters understand how life was lived in the early 20th century.  A small cafe and gift shop are onsite too.

15 National Piping Centre – Glasgow with Kids

 

The National Piping Centre houses a museum where you can see and hear the heritage of Scotland’s iconic bagpipes. There are some really quirky pipes are display, and cool international bagpipes, but don’t miss the Meet the Piper sessions that run throughout the summer where you get a chance to play a chanter (starter pipe) yourself. It’s harder than it looks! The centre also houses a restaurant called The Pipers’ Tryst.

16 Mackintosh at The Willow – Exhibition, Tours and Tea!

The Mackintosh at The Willow Exhibition is fun for kids as it explains the history of Mrs Cranston’s iconic Glasgow tearooms, the original site of Charles and Margaret Macdonald’s eye-catching designs, architecture and furnishings. For adults display boards are filled with information about this turn of the century delight, while kids (and big kids) can listen to giant teacups, build their own Mackintosh high-backed chair, wear tearoom fancy dress, watch short films and choose their own 19th century tea menu with touchscreen gadgets. FREE to NTS members, non-members prices here.

To see restored ground floor tearooms simply book a table or chance turning up for a treat, like I did. Alongside the famed afternoon tea, lunches, plus simple tea and cake are available.

To see the ladies’ grand Salon de Luxe book afternoon tea Thursday-Sunday at 2pm. To see all the tea salons (ladies’ Salon de Luxe, gents’ Billiards Room, and the Front Salons) book one of the daily tours that take visitors behind the scenes [currently £11 for adults, £9 for concessions].

Follow the Mackintosh Trail in Glasgow…

 

17 Just Outside Glasgow – National Museum of Rural Life

Scotland has four national museums* and the National Museum of Rural Life is situated roughly thirty minutes outside Glasgow in East Kilbride. The museum tells the story of the people, the machines, the land and the crops that are the backbone of Scottish food production. Then it’s time to jump on the ‘Farm Explorer’, a tractor and trailer, to visit the actual farm where tots can get up close with gorgeous piglets, horses, cows and hens. The farm’s guides takes you from stable to sty to yard, and talk you through the lives of the animals before letting guests tour the original old farmhouse. You can either walk back to the museum from the farm, through signposted fields and lanes, or jump back on the tractor and trailer. Amazing day out for kids.

18 Just Outside Glasgow – Summerlee Industrial Museum

FREE Go back in time at Summerlee in Coatbridge. A highlight are the cottages that represent different eras, such as the 1980s, 1960s and 1940s. A traditional sweet shop is always popular with kids. Plus an old wash house opened the children’s eyes to how difficult laundry was in the past!

Food & Drink

The subterranean La Lanterna old school Italian on Hope Street worked well for our little pasta and pizza fans, as did Osteria Italiana on John Street. For trendy Italian in a modern, industrial setting make it Sugo on Mitchell Street. For sit in or takeaway fish and chips try the Blue Lagoon – kids love the giant fishing boat in the centre of the restaurant. For French food in smart surroundings make it Atlantic on St Vincent Place.

For a classy taste of traditional Glasgow fare we also loved Glasgow institution The Buttery/Two Fat Ladies. This is Glasgow’s oldest restaurant, smart but v welcoming, with a quality kid’s menu. Our boys were treated really well. For five star dining yet v welcoming to little ones try the Blythswood Square’s beautiful iasg restaurant. Very good kids menu here too.

Accommodation –

Self-Catering ApartHotels at Native Glasgow

Native Glasgow is set within the former head office of the renowned Scottish shipping company Anchor Line. So these smart Aparthotels have a jazz age vibe, with interiors designed to reflect life aboard a glamorous 1920s transatlantic liner. Native is popular with couples, but for all the art deco influence, they’re family friendly too. The accommodation offers many benefits of a hotel, such as a 24 hour reception, plus free milk, tea and coffee. Self-catering amenities in my larger room (101) included a dishwasher and washing machine plus all the powders, liquids, cloths and tablets needed to keep a place clean. Other rooms balconies, so they aren’t all offering the same facilities. Look out for Gordon Castle toiletries in the shower room, and a de-steam mirror for makeup application. The staff were notably friendly too. Such a central location on St Vincent Place.

Downstairs are two restaurants to choose between, French ‘Atlantic‘ (accessible by lift without even leaving Native Glasgow) and The Anchor Line. Both venues have beautiful interiors, great cocktails and I’d thoroughly recommend the pork belly at Atlantic.

Apex Hotel

For smart and contemporary accommodation try the Apex on Bath Street. It’s so central, and the kids adore the free duck! Parking is available nearby with a 40% discount rate. We really like this brand and have stayed at the Dundee Apex several times (it also boasts a pool and spa!).

QUALITY BUDGET – MotelOne

Right next to Central Station you can’t go wrong for price and quality at MotelOne. Double rooms available so suitable for couples and good friends, rather than families. Contemporary bar and public spaces, with imagery and decor inspired by the West Coast railway line.

ADULT ONLY ACCOMMODATION – House of Gods

 

For glam, bubbles, fun and adult only glamour, it’s got to be the House of Gods. Book their ‘Treat me Like I’m Famous’ package and channel main character vibes all night. Its lush rooftop bar, Sacred Garden, is a floral delight.

Booking.com

BUDGET – Travelodge

Another options is the Travelodge on Queen Street in the centre of the city. For the other end of the spectrum, i.e. five star luxury, try Blysthwood Square.

We drove from Aberdeen to Glasgow but be aware that Glasgow has a Low Emission Zone so check if your car fits the bill otherwise you’ll be fined! The city has a good public transport system, from the buses to ample taxis to the famous Clockwork Orange (metro) which is loved by locals and visitors alike. There are two railway stations, Glasgow Central and Queen Street, and a large bus station, so getting here should be relatively straightforward.

Ultimately Glasgow’s still smiles better.

*The four national museums are the National Museum of Scotland, The National Museum of Flight, The National War Museum and the National Museum of Rural Life.

If you liked Glasgow with Kids then don’t miss a post, subscribe here, buy a wee coffee, and join the conversation on Facebook. For any queries or opportunities please email scots2travel@hotmail.com. We received two nights at the Apex for review purposes. All images copyright of Scots2Travel.