


A city with a big heart, from home made chocolate snowballs at The University Cafe (a Glaswegian institution that hasn’t changed since it opened in 1918) on Byres Road, a stroll round the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, lunch in the Merchant City, a peruse down the ‘style mile’ in the afternoon and a candle lit dinner at night. This is a city you can enjoy being lost in. But, ultimately, it’s the people that make Glasgow - even in the rain they have a smile for everyone. I would absolutely recommend No.1 Devonshire Gardens, an indulgent experience, where they will do their best to upgrade your room for free. My boyfriend doesn’t believe in Valentines Day - he says I hoodwinked him into it, but I know this city will always hold a special place in our hearts - may even move there one day.
Hotel
www.hotelduvin.com/hotels/glasgow/glasgow.aspx
Restaurant
www.guysrestaurant.co.uk/
It’s not quite a trip to the jungle, it’s not a tour through sparkling snowy waste, but exploring the side streets of Glasgow can be just as much a life-changing experience. It’s the music that does it, as I discovered on trips to the city in the last year. Live music happens in every street; not just in grand concert halls but in basements bars and attic clubs, in ageing art deco cinemas and old variety theatres, in subterranean tunnels where gigs are punctuated by passing trains, in vegan (yes vegan) cafes which would not look out of place in San Francisco. Live music transforms even the most battered parts of the city into an unforgettable experience – O2 Academy stands like a beached liner, a defiant dazzler on Gorbals edgelands. Barrowland is a beacon for rock bands the world over, The Arches and Sub Club rock the city underground and even the Apollo, long gone, absolutely refuses to die. All adding to the gritty, almost industrial strength of Glasgow’s cultural life. No wonder this is the UK’s first UNESCO City of Music. I explored Glasgow with the help of Walking Heads audio tours who have just produced Glasgow Music Tour as a free app.
You can walk up the see the Falls of Clyde where there is a manned area with telescopes by the Scottish Wildlife Trust. We saw the mother feeding her newly hatched chicks.
www.swt.org.uk/visit/falls-of-clyde-visitor-centre/
Google map: bit.ly/koo26P
I took my partner there last week for a wonderful meal. Even though it's in the futuristic Xscape building, the inside of the restaurant is as traditional Italian as you can get. The meal and wine were fantastic!
www.bellaitalia.co.uk/
Xscape, Braehead, Glasgow, G51 4FB
+44(0)141 8867645
Google map: bit.ly/lJnk4K
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