What is there to do in Glasgow during the Glasgow International Comedy Festival?

Things to Do in Glasgow: Glasgow Comedy Festival

The short answer

Between shows, Glasgow has Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, Glasgow Cathedral, The Mackintosh House at the Hunterian and The Burrell Collection, Pollok Country Park, and five more picks across the city and around it. Opened in 1901, with 22 galleries running from art to animals and Ancient Egypt to Charles Rennie Mackintosh, a free organ recital every day and an audio tour by Sir Billy Connolly.

Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum

Opened in 1901, with 22 galleries running from art to animals and Ancient Egypt to Charles Rennie Mackintosh, a free organ recital every day and an audio tour by Sir Billy Connolly. Free entry; open 10:00 to 17:00, from 11:00 on Fridays and Sundays. Restoration work means some areas may be scaffolded, but the museum stays open.

Plan your visit ↗

Glasgow Cathedral

Scotland's finest surviving medieval cathedral, with the tomb of St Mungo, the city's founder, in its 13th-century Lower Church, and the Glasgow Necropolis next door. Free, with donations welcome: choose an entry slot online. From October to March it opens 10am to 4pm Monday to Saturday and 1pm to 4pm on Sunday, last entry 45 minutes before closing. It is a working church, so services can change the hours.

Plan your visit ↗ · The cathedral ↗

The Mackintosh House at the Hunterian

The main rooms of the home Charles Rennie Mackintosh and Margaret Macdonald Mackintosh designed together, reassembled at the Hunterian Art Gallery: his only surviving home interior in Glasgow. Open Tuesday to Sunday, 10:00 to 17:00 (last admission 16:15), with an entry charge; tickets from reception on the day. On Friday and Saturday mornings general admission starts at 11:00, after the guided tours. Take the Subway to Hillhead or Kelvinbridge.

The Mackintosh House ↗ · All Hunterian venues ↗

The Burrell Collection, Pollok Country Park

The Art Fund Museum of the Year 2023, in Pollok Country Park: Chinese ceramics, medieval stained glass and Impressionist paintings from Sir William Burrell's collection. Free entry; open 10:00 to 17:00, from 11:00 on Fridays and Sundays. Trains from Glasgow Central to Pollokshaws West take about 10 minutes, and a free electric shuttle bus runs through the park to the museum.

Plan your visit ↗

The Mackintosh Tearooms

Tearooms opened by Miss Cranston in 1903 and designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh with Margaret Macdonald, the Salon de Luxe among them. Tables for lunch and afternoon tea can be booked from 11:00, the last booking at 17:00; book ahead. Guided tours, at 10am and 11am, must be booked too.

The tearooms ↗ · Book a table ↗ · Address and opening times ↗

Glasgow Science Centre

Hands-on science and a Planetarium across the Clyde from the SEC. Until 25 March 2027 it opens Wednesday to Sunday: 10:00 to 15:00 midweek and 10:00 to 17:00 at weekends. From 26 March 2027 it opens every day, 10:00 to 17:00. Book tickets online.

Opening hours ↗ · Book tickets ↗ · How to get here ↗

Sub Club

A basement club on Jamaica Street, founded in April 1987: one of the longest-running underground dance clubs in the world and home of Subculture, its weekly house and techno night. Two minutes from St Enoch Subway, with a taxi rank right outside. The basement is down 15 steps and has no wheelchair access.

What's on ↗ · Getting there and access ↗

Stirling Castle

A day out from Glasgow: one of Scotland's greatest stone castles, on a hill in Stirling's Old Town, with the Great Hall and the Royal Palace, childhood home of Mary Queen of Scots. From October to March it opens daily 9.30am to 5pm, last entry an hour before closing. Book a dated, timed ticket online; the castle is about half a mile uphill from Stirling's train and bus station.

Plan your visit ↗ · The castle ↗

Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park

A day out by train: ScotRail runs direct from Glasgow Queen Street to Balloch in about 50 minutes, roughly every 30 minutes, and from the station it is a short walk to the loch's cruises or Balloch Castle Park. Entry to the national park is free. On the West Highland Line, Tarbet and Ardlui connect with waterbus services to the loch's eastern shores.

Getting to the park ↗