Tour the park and arboretum with century-old trees, have a picnic on the lawn, watch a concert, or admire the design of the impressive 19th-century glasshouses.

Discover tropical plants, stroll along the banks of the River Kelvin and picnic on the bright green lawns at the Glasgow Botanic Gardens. Glaswegian Thomas Hopkirk, a botanist, founded the gardens in 1817 with a core of 3,000 plants. The gardens moved to its current location in 1839 and opened in 1842 as a members-only garden. Today, this public park attracts almost half a million visitors per year.

Check the website of the park to see if you can join a free guided tour, or explore the park at your own pace. Start at the Kibble Palace, the glasshouse dominating the 42-acre (20-hectare) gardens. Inventor and engineer John Kibble designed the impressive structure in the 1860s for his private residence.

Enter the glasshouse to see the collection of Southern Hemisphere fern trees as well as sculptures and statues, including King Robert of Sicily by the famous Scottish sculptor George Henry Paulin. Find orchids, begonias and tropical plants in the Main Range houses, which are old Victorian buildings from the 1880s.

Pick up a map of the Heritage Trail inside the Kibble Palace and set aside two hours to complete it. Admire the 30 historical sites, including bridges and train stations. Check out the tall black oak and 200-year-old weeping ash tree in the arboretum. Enjoy a picnic on the lawns in front of the glasshouses or buy lunch in the garden’s café.

Come during the weekend to enjoy public events, such as crafts markets, theater, book fairs or concerts. Check the official Glasgow Botanic Gardens website for the calendar of events and live performances.

The Glasgow Botanic Gardens in West End is open daily, but closes at dusk. Entrance is free and there are public toilets. The glasshouses, the Visitor Centre and the Tearoom open mid morning and usually close earlier than the park grounds.

The site is a 40-minute walk from the city center. The Hillhead Underground Station is a five-minute walk away and you can also get there by bus or car from the city center. Free and metered street parking is available nearby.

Plan a trip to see Botanic Gardens

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Best Western Glasgow Hotel

Glasgow Westend

￥246,761

per person

Mar 26 - Mar 27

found 22 hours ago

Roundtrip flight included

Osaka (OSA) to Glasgow (GLA)

7.6/10 Good! (960 reviews)

Staff was great. The bathroom was very narrow and awkward to utilize.

Reviewed on Jan 10, 2026

The Belhaven

Glasgow Westend

￥253,612

per person

Mar 26 - Mar 27

found 22 hours ago

Roundtrip flight included

Osaka (OSA) to Glasgow (GLA)

8.4/10 Very Good! (651 reviews)

Used to be better. We have stayed in the Belhaven before (over 20 years ago the first time) and loved it. I have also recommended it many times to visitors to Glasgow. So, it saddens me to say that this visit wasn't so great and they really need to do some work if they intend to be around in another 10 or 20 years. When we arrived, we got upgraded from a standard double to the suite. Sounds great. And getting up there it's an beautiful big room and seems very nice at first look. But further time spent revealed that it needs work and repair. Just a few of the issues: Huge room but little furniture. No wardrobe at all, just a rail (which feels more like an Ibis than a decent hotel suite). Massive great double bath - jacuzzi. I thought "great" and proceeded to fill it, which was fine, but then turns the jacuzzi jets on and it started to fill with particles and a few flakes of mould, so clearly the pipework has not been cleaned for quite some time (no point having a jacuzzi without maintenance!). The sink was chipped and the plug no longer went down. Best throw away and buy a new one. Should be less than £300 at a plumber's merchant and an hour of labour! Wiring for the lights above the paintings was wrong - you needed to switch both the switch by the door and the one by the bed. This is not how to wire a two-way switch! Half an hour of an electrician's time would sort it. They have to spend some real money to get this room back up to its potential!

Reviewed on Nov 17, 2025

The Spires Serviced Apartments Glasgow

City Centre Glasgow

￥250,267

per person

Mar 26 - Mar 27

found 22 hours ago

Roundtrip flight included

Osaka (OSA) to Glasgow (GLA)

8.6/10 Excellent! (255 reviews)

Excellent location to all sight seeing. Very clean and comfortable

Reviewed on Oct 29, 2025

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