Taggart, the famous Glaswegian detective show, is the world’s longest running police drama currently on TV. Broadcast in 80 countries and translated into dozens of language, the gritty show highlights the dramatic Glasgow scenery. For a long time, Glasgow was the poor, deprived little sister of Edinburgh, Scotland’s capital city, but is now a vibrant, cosmopolitan city in its own right, evidenced by its 1990 title of European City of Culture.
Thanks to its award-winning Glasgow’s Miles Better campaign, the determined bid to re-invent post-industrial Glasgow turned the city’s fortunes around, allowing it to bring in tourists and investment alike.
Based on the banks of the River Clyde in West Central Scotland, the heart of the city is in George Square where you’ll find the Tourist Information Centre.
At the centre of the city’s tourism resurgence is its focus on culture. The city plays host to the Scottish Ballet, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, the BBC Symphony Orchestra as well as the National Youth Orchestra of Scotland. It also has many museums, galleries and concert venues such as the Theatre Royal (home of the Scottish Opera), the Pavilion Theatre, Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, the Centre for Contemporary Arts and the Tramway Theatre (now home of the Scottish Ballet company).
The Burrell Collection, housed in an award-winning building in the city’s Pollok Country Park, is considered one of the premier attractions of Scotland. Named after its donor, shopping magnate Sir William Burrell, it displays work from artists such as Degas and Cézanne as well as important pieces of Chinese and Islamic Art and examples of medieval and ancient civilisation art.