On our recent trip to Glasgow Jess and I were both impressed by the amount and quality of the street art in Glasgow. So much so in fact, that of course we wanted to share it with you.
In today’s post I’m going to take you on a tour of some of our favourite pieces of the street art in Glasgow. These range from murals depicting the sporting history of the city, through to some famous Glaswegians, and even a variety of wildlife. Something for everyone! Let’s get started with the:
Street Art in Glasgow
Definitely one of our favourite pieces of street art in Glasgow, this is by the street artist “Smug”, and it depicts a modern day St. Mungo – Glasgow’s patron Saint who happens to be buried in the Cathedral a few hundred yards from this piece.
Glasgow is home to Tennents Lager, and if you wander down near the Tennents factory, there’s a wall full of murals paying homage to both the beverage…
…and some of the advertising they’ve done over the years.
If you take a tour of the Tennents factory, you’ll see that it’s not just the walls where you can find murals – Tennents actually hired street artists to paint the sides of their factory. Which we think is pretty cool.
Sometimes you just want a pint.
This “Tiger” piece by James Klinge looks out over the banks of the River Clyde, and is one of many animal themed murals that we found.
This Panda was another one (note, this has been defaced since we visited unfortunately).
Glasgow hosted the Commonwealth Games in 2014, and a number of street art murals were commissioned to celebrate this, including the badminton players above, and the swimmers below.
I’m a big fan of space, so obviously I was excited to find a number of space themed murals, including the spaceman.
This huge telescope and satellite was also impressive.
There’s a whole mural dedicated to some famous Glaswegians, including Stan Laurel, of Laurel and Hardy fame.
This mural definitely reminded me of the famous street artist Banksy, and whilst there are some old pieces by Banksy in Glasgow, this isn’t actually one of them.
This street art show a gallery with interpretations of various classic painters and paintings. Personally I just loved the giant purple tentacles coming out of the wall!
Ever felt like you’re just a puppet on a string? This street art is for you!
Just because you’re in the city centre doesn’t mean you can’t imagine yourself out in the countryside, as this impressive piece of street art challenges you to do.
I actually met a fox up in the Glasgow Necropolis, so particularly liked this piece of street art.
Of course, it’s not all giant murals on the sides of buildings. You can find all kinds of fantastical scenes like this one we found tucked away down an alleyway.
And finally, this giant mural of a musician is found in one of the cities most popular spots for watching live music, around Sauchiehall Lane.
Where to Find Street Art in Glasgow
I’m reluctant to share with you the exact locations of all these pieces, not because I’m the secretive kind, but because street art is by it’s very nature somewhat transient. Whilst I would like to think that these murals will all be here for years to come, there’s always the chance that they’ll be painted over or replaced – or new murals will be added!
Instead, I’d like to direct you to the official Glasgow City Centre Mural Trail website. This has information on where to find the majority of the pieces above, as well as a great many more, with a handy walking guide to get you to all of them. It’s also kept up to date with any changes – even since our visit there have been new additions to get excited about!
Further Reading for Your Visit to Glasgow
Hopefully these photos have helped inspire you to include Glasgow in your travel plans! If so, here’s a bit more reading to help you make those plans.
- There’s more to Glasgow than the street art! To help you plan your stay, here’s our 2 Day Glasgow & Loch Lomond itinerary, which covers the highlights of the city and the nearby Loch Lomond area
- We also have a guide to the best day trips from Glasgow if you want to get out of the city, which includes many highlights in the Glasgow surroundings and beyond, including the Devil’s Pulpit.
- If you’re visiting Glasgow, we’re sure you’re also thinking of visiting Edinburgh too. Check out our guide to spending two days in Edinburgh, as well as getting off the beaten path in Edinburgh.
- If you’re a Harry Potter fan, you’ve got to check out Jess’s Guide to the Best Edinburgh Harry Potter locations.
- If you were thinking of taking a trip around the UK and want to include Glasgow as part of that itinerary, we have both a one week itinerary of the UK and a two week itinerary of the UK for you to give you some ideas for what’s possible in those timeframes..
- Heading further out of the city? How about a trip to the Scottish Borders or a tour of some Whisky distilleries?
Or, if you want to get further afield, check out our five day Isle of Skye and Highlands itinerary - If you’re interested in getting better photos when you travel, take a look at my online photography course, where I’ll teach you everything you need to know about getting better photos – whatever camera you have!
- And finally, if you want a guidebook, either physical or digital here’s a Rick Steves guide to Scotland as well as this Insight Guide to Glasgow to help get you started!
Chelsea says
Hi, I am doing a school photography project and your blog has been used as one of my influencers, I am just wondering if you were able to share with me your influencers and who inspired you both to take your photographs. Thank you
Laurence Norah says
Hi Chelsea,
That’s awesome 🙂 My influencers are quite varied, but primarily when I was growing up I used to love looking through old copies of National Geographic. The photos in those magazines certainly inspired me, and set me down my path of being a travel photographer. As you can imagine, the day one of my photos was featured on the homepage of the National Geographic website was quite exciting for me as a result!
I hope this helps a bit, good luck with the school project!
Laurence
Chelsea says
Perfect!!Thank you so much for the response,I love your photographs and having great fun analysing them haha!
Thank you very much again
Katie Featherstone says
This is an absolutely awesome collection of artwork. I love Glasgow!
Laurence says
So did we 😀