Glasgow Essentials

Glasgow Essentials & Tourist Information

Currency	UK Pound Sterling
Time Zone	GMT
Language	English
Voltage	240 V AC (UK three-pin plugs)

Glasgow Tourist Attractions
The city of Glasgow has a rich heritage of artistic endeavour and the elegant GoMA building houses the very finest contemporary artworks from leading Scottish and international artists. There are educational studios, children’s workshops and lectures along with ever changing displays of modern visual art. Best of all, entrance is free and it makes for an inspiring day for all ages. With departures every 15 minutes the hop on hop off Glasgow city tour bus is the most convenient way to view the attractions the city has to offer. A 2 day ticket costs just £9.00 and calls at all the major city highlights with knowledgeable and humorous audio commentary throughout.

Glasgow Opening Hours
Operating hours for retail businesses in Glasgow are similar to the rest of the UK, although there is a much higher proportion of shops that do not open on Sundays and bank holidays. This is more likely to be limited to large shopping centres and chain stores with much reduced hours. Expect to see most stores open from 9 or 10am until 5.30pm Monday to Saturdays and some small independent and speciality shops still have a traditional midday lunch break. 

Tipping & Etiquette in Glasgow
For meals in restaurants, pubs and full service cafes, a gratuity of 10% of the total bill is considered sufficient although a majority of mid range establishments will already include this. Bar staff are often rewarded with small change for a polite and engaging service and Glasgow taxi drivers often expect a small monetary gift. Other tipping to consider is for tour guiding, hotel room service and spa or salon staff.  

Glasgow Food & Drink
Glasgow is a magnet for all the finest Scottish produce and its city restaurants boast the very bets cuts of quality beef, venison, smoked salmon and much more. Many upmarket restaurants also feature wildfowl dishes such as partridge, wild duck, pheasant and the highly prized grouse usually roasted with cranberries and wild mushrooms. Old traditional Glaswegian meals are simple, filling affairs such as the numerous soups and broths made with mutton, beef and pearl barley, leeks, potatoes and smoked haddock. After dinner, cakes and biscuits are popular, often a variety of different treats.  It’s the perfect way to round off a meal. Sample tempting cream cakes, marzipans, truffles and bannocks and of course no meal in Glasgow would be complete without some authentic sugar encrusted Caledonian shortbread.

Glasgow Useful Numbers
• Police – 999
• Ambulance – 999
• Fire – 999

Disabled Access in Glasgow
Some of the more interesting, less visited historic areas of Glasgow have uneven cobbled pavements and steps which may cause inconvenience to wheelchair users although most of the main points of interest have good amenities for the disabled such as ramps, wide entry points and toilet facilities. The city tour bus is fully accessible to wheelchair users and stocks large print city guides and has audio commentary. Some bars and restaurants are housed in elegant Georgian buildings which are less equipped to serve disabled customers; however shopping should prevent few problems to those with special needs.

Glasgow City Breaks  Getting Around Glasgow

Things To Do In Glasgow  Glasgow Weather