Glasgow West End
Glasgow's West End is a vibrant and cosmopolitan district situated a few miles from the city centre, and easily reached by bus or underground.
The hub of life in this part of the city is Byres Road, running between Great Western Road and Dumbarton Road, past Hillhead underground station. Shops, restaurants, cafés, some enticing pubs and hordes of roving young people, including thousands of students, give the area a sense of style and vitality. Glowing red sandstone tenements and graceful terraces provide a suitably upmarket backdrop to this cosmopolitan district.
Dominating the West End skyline, the 19th-century, gothic-turreted tower of Glasgow University overlooks the slopes, trees and statues of the ever-popular Kelvingrove Park. Aside from its credentials as a seat of learning, the 'uni' is also home to the Hunterian Art Gallery, best known for its wonderful works by American painter, James Whistler and the Mackintosh House, a remarkable re-creation of the interior of the home of Margaret and Charles Rennie Mackintosh.
Across the River Kelvin from the university stands Scotland's most popular visitor attraction, the recently restored Kelvingrove Museum and Art Gallery, off Argyle Street. Reopening in 2006 after a £28 million, three-year restoration programme, Kelvingrove's ecletic mix of art and artifact has proved to be a 'must-see' winner with natives and visitors alike. Nearby, the excellent Museum of Transport with its enormous collection of trains, cars, trams, and models ships is also well-worth a visit for kids, big and small.
