Must see in Glasgow?

My BF and I are doing a weekend in Glasgow from the 16-18th and everything I know about Glasgow I learned from Trainspotting and Still Game. They're not exactly tourism adverts and I was wondering what the must-see things are.

My fiance and I spent four days in Glasgow last spring, and had a great time.  Aside from lots of great shopping and restaurants, we really enjoyed the Glasgow Science Centre and the Kelvingrove Gallery & Museum. 

There are several other museums around the city that we didn't make it to, but they're on our list for future visits.  Check out the Visit Scotland website for more info.

Ohhhh fun!    Prepare for a wall of text!

Well, like woadgrrl said, Kelvingrove and the Science Centre are good places to see.  The Hunterian is also fantastic. 

The Hunterian Art Gallery is small but usually has a nice selection up, plus the Mackintosh House is attached to it and is pretty great.  The Hunterian Museum with all the weirdo odds and ends (William Hunter was an 18th Century Anatomist  ) is across the road in the Glasgow Uni main building.  Most of it is shut to the public right now because they're repairing the roof but they have the must-see stuff out in the main entry hall.  The Uni looks like Hogwarts, so that in itself is worth having a glimpse at. 

Unfortunately the Transport Museum is shut because they're moving it to a new location which will be the Riverside Museum.  They have the Harry Potter car there and I love it.

There's also GOMA which, to be honest, can be hit or miss.  If you don't even like modern art, don't bother.

There's the Burrell Collection and Pollock House which are out in a really nice, leafy part of Glasgow.  They've got a group of heeland coos out there too and I think there are some calves born in the spring if you need a dose of cute.

You HAVE to go to the Botanic Gardens because they have a whole room in one of the greenhouses devoted to carnivorous plants and it's awesome.  I also used to live just near the gardens so I am unapologetically biased. 

Other than the touristy stuff, there are lots of nice pubs and restaurants in the City Centre as well as in the West End.

I don't know, I could probably go on for ages.  If you want anything more specific, feel free to PM me! 

Unfortunately the Transport Museum is shut because they're moving it to a new location which will be the Riverside Museum. 

Oh, gosh!  That's the other place we'd really wanted to see, but ran out of time.  My fiance's dad used to drive a bus that was on display in the museum.   I hope it makes it to the new space!

I second Kelvingrove Museum! LOVED it! Though, their shining star piece is currently in Atlanta (where I live!) (The Dali Christ) I enjoyed walking around the city centre and along the river. It was really lovely!

I really liked the People's Palace.  I also recommend the hop-on, hop-off bus tour to get a good idea of where things are and to see the sites. 

I've only been to Glasgow twice but it's a lovely city and I would happily return! 

Oh, gosh!  That's the other place we'd really wanted to see, but ran out of time.  My fiance's dad used to drive a bus that was on display in the museum.   I hope it makes it to the new space!

It's supposed to re-open next summer and will have A LOT more room so I'd imagine that bus will be out on display along with loads of other stuff that's never been displayed before.  I can't wait for it to open! 

I also recommend the hop-on, hop-off bus tour to get a good idea of where things are and to see the sites.

Oooo good call!  I haven't been on the one here, but I know I enjoyed the ones I did in Dublin and Liverpool.

Thanks guys!  I have updated my (google) maps with your suggestions! I did the hop-on-hop-off bus in Edinburgh and really liked it. My BF and I have had better results with gardens than museums so those are definitely a plus, but it's good to know which museums are the best in case it rains. I love heeland coos they have one (poor weewhappin beastie) in the petting area of the Oakland zoo.  And anything Harry Potter is right up my alley.

Does anyone have a favorite pub or restaurant?

Ooh, I just found a yarnstore/cafe in Glasgow that hopes to open in early-mid October! If my BF needs to visit the Apple store so he can get his Jobs badge on foursquare then I get to fondle yarn 

My experience of the restaurants and pubs is on the cheaper side of things if that suits!  I'm more familiar with the West End since it's where I lived up until recently.   

For City Centre: There is a place called Bier Halle that I love.  It's on the same road as Central Station just a couple blocks down the way and just across from a TGIFridays (which I refuse to go into!) and a Barclays.  It's actually underground so you have to keep an eye out for it.  They do 2 for 1 pizzas that are pretty good and loads of different types of beer.

If you're in the West End:  My favorite pubs are all on Byres Road pretty much, which if you get off at the Hillhead underground stop you'll be plopped right into the middle of it.  For your classic shabby old man pub, there's Tennent's.  I love it in there and the pints are pretty cheap, they also do food.  Down the road a little further is The Aragon which is a smaller but just as old-mannish pub but without food.

Just across from the Botanics is Oran Mor which is a church converted into a pub and restaurant.  It's a bit nicer inside but not really posh or anything (except in the restaurant, the pub and restaurant are separate), it's still got a good atmosphere.  Also has a massive selection of whiskey and they usually have a good malt of the month on, they sometimes have live music, too.

There's also Ashton Lane which is just off of Byres Road sort of behind the Hillhead Station.  It's a nifty little street with pubs and a couple of restaurants.  If you go to the end of it and cross the street the lane continues onto Cresswell Lane.  There's an awesome Spanish Tapas place on Cresswell but it is a little pricey.

If can't think of much else worth mentioning at the moment, but since you'll only be here a few days I'm sure you'll be able to make do.    Can you tell I love Glasgow? 

We picked a posh(er?) french restaurant for one night out so the cheaper the better the rest of the time    We're in the West End (I think) so those are the best recommendations.  I see there are a couple of "mexican" places around - have you tried any of them? None of the reviews start "I've missed mexican food so much since moving to the UK and this is everything I've been longing for!" so I question their (the reviewers') claims of "authenticity."

There is a great veggie/tea place in the West End. 

http://tchaiovna.com/

Just wanted to see how your time here was!    Where did you end up going/eating?  I'm still discovering things here, so if you went somewhere really great I'm nosy and want to know!   

Tourist-wise, we did the Botanic Gardens (my BF prefered the glasshouses to the ones at Kew) and the hop-on/hop-off bus and walked around a bunch (Kelvingrove park, the University, and the city centre) and that was it. We were there less than 48hrs and just didn't have time to see anything else  

Food-wise, we had lunch at Mother India Cafe the day we arrived and that was a bit of a shame because the food was so good - certainly the best Indian I've ever had - that everything else seemed a little pale in comparison. That night we had dinner at a french restaurant, La Vallee Blanche, and the food was good but they had cramed as many tables in as they could and we were right by the door and kitchen so it was nosy and people kept rushing past us so it wasn't really worth it. Sunday we slept through breakfast and wound up getting brunch at some random restaurant (Bar One Grill) and it was fairly unimpressive. Then we had dinner at an Egyptian place called Nur which was lovely but not quite as good as the Indian the day before.

And then we walked down the street and saw Bowling for Soup and the next morning we got on the train and went home. Oh! on the way down we took a coach, Citylink Gold which our neighbour recommended and we hated it. Well, my BF hated it - I thought it was merely mediocre and less comfortable than the train, even though it was direct and taking the train meant a transfer, until we got to Glasgow and the driver yelled at us because we didn't get off the train fast enough. I have tendonitis in my hip and it locks up when I sit still for long periods of time so I can't walk right away when I stand up (usually only takes about 30 seconds) and my BF was getting out stuff together, and the driver kept yelling back at us, "please exit the bus as quickly as you can!" I mean, saying it once makes sense but he kept repeating it and it's not like we were still sitting or just standing there talking or anything