STAYING IN GLASGOW

Once a bustling centre of the Industrial Revolution, Glasgow's streets and architecture still echo with the industry and largesse of merchants, shipbuilders and the city's 'tobacco lords', who gentrified the city and left behind some of Glasgow's grandest buildings. Fast-forward over 200 years and Glasgow is once again undergoing an urban transformation, this time as a city known for its live music and arts scene, boutique breweries and distilleries, Scottish Gothic architecture, and emerging foodie scene.

And it's more than mere bluster from Glaswegians keen to talk up their city's credentials. Glasgow is consistently voted one of the UK's top food destinations, with more than the average amount of award-winning dining venues for a city of its size. Time Out ranked Glasgow's Dennistoun eighth in its 2020 index of the world's coolest neighbourhoods for its offbeat independent streak, street art and burgeoning cafe scene. Step out the door of your Glasgow serviced apartments, and you're close to many of the top things to see and do in Scotland's cultural capital.

CITY OF SOUND

Love music? You'll love Glasgow. Music seems to run through Glasgow like blood through a vein; the city's vintage record shops, bars, theatres, clubs and cafes serve as a kind of circulatory system pumping energy into the city's nightlife and attracting budding artists from across the UK. Some of the top live music venues are within easy walking distance of your apartment in Glasgow. The 13th Note on King St features live music almost every night of the week in its basement venue, while upstairs you can grab flavourful vegetarian grub and an exceedingly decent Bloody Mary.

Glasgow's clubbing scene is also second-to-none. The Sub Club is regularly voted one of the world's best nightclubs, pandering to house music lovers of all creeds. SWG3 is less a single venue than an artistic complex, with four distinct values offering an absolutely jaw-dropping variety of musical styles for Glasgow's partygoers to devour.

LUNCH BY A LOCH

A mere one-hour journey by train from your apartment in Glasgow you'll find Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park, a breathtakingly beautiful and wild region known as the gateway to the Highlands. The loch's proximity to Glasgow makes it an ideal day trip out of the city and to get a dose of nature. Activities on Loch Lomond and surrounds include cruises, kayaking, fishing, hiking, and camping, but even a simple picnic by the shore is enough to enliven the soul.

ART FOR ALL

There are few more obvious signs of Glasgow's rise as a cultural hub than the wealth of high-quality street art adorning some of the most prominent walls throughout the city centre. The Glasgow City Centre Mural Trail is a collaboration between a collection of the city's top street artists and the local government - a way to bring colour and vibrancy to the city no matter the weather. The trail is easy walked and conveniently close to your serviced apartment in Glasgow. Start at the Strathclyde University mural, a massive 200-metre long mural depicting the achievements of the university's brightest over its many years of operation. The closest murals to your apartment in Glasgow are numbers five, six and 10 on the trail. On nearby Wilson St, you'll find the large street mural entitled 'Badminton' (No.5), which was installed as part of the promotion for Glasgow's inclusion in the Commonwealth games. Right onto Trongate, and after a block you'll come to the aptly entitled 'Spaceman' mural, depicting a slightly psychedelic astronaut. The trail is worth a day all on its own, and it's categorically one of the best ways to get to know Glasgow from the ground up.

GETTING TO AND GETTING AROUND GLASGOW

Glasgow Airport is the main international hub when arriving by air to Glasgow. The Glasgow Express bus will take you from the airport to the western side of the city centre in about fifteen minutes. Alight at the Waterloo Lane stop and transfer onto the Motherwell train line from Glasgow Central Station to Argyle St Station. A walk of around 200 metres will see you to the door of Fraser Suites Glasgow on Albion St.