Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Exchange. He added an imposing classical portico to the front and a matching
“newsroom” to the back. The building sits squarely in the middle of the square,
surrounded by cafes with outdoor seating and shops.
WALKING TOUR 2:
THE COMMERCIAL CENTER
START:
17
Royal Exchange Square.
FINISH:
Charing Cross.
TIME:
About 1
1
⁄
2
to 2 hours.
BEST TIME:
Daytime.
WORST TIME:
Late at night.
There is no definitive route to see Glasgow city center. For some visitors, it may be
better to simply wander. Given the grid system, anyone with a map would be hard-
pressed to get completely lost. The pride of the city is its Victorian architecture.
Many—indeed most—of the city's stone facades have been cleaned of decades of
grime. This stroll includes buildings by the city's two greatest architects: Charles
Rennie Mackintosh and Alexander “Greek” Thomson.
This walk begins at the west side of:
1
Royal Exchange Square
At the west end of the square, behind the Gallery of Modern Art, are two
archways, both leading to Buchanan Street. Just past the southern one is a
restaurant landmark: The Rogano. Its Art Deco interiors were fashioned after
the
Queen Mary
ocean liner in 1935. The building between the arches is the
former Royal Bank of Scotland (from Charles Wilson's 1850 designs), which
faces Gordon Street, leading to Central Station.
Go through one of the arches, and north (right), walking up Buchanan Street to:
2
St. Vincent Street
Buchanan Street was turned into a car-free pedestrian zone in the mid-1970s,
although it has long been a primary shopping street. At the intersection with
St. Vincent Street is a bronze, table-high scale model of central Glasgow's
streets and buildings. To the east (toward George Square) runs St. Vincent
Place and its handsome late-19th- and early-20th-century buildings. Mid-
block, the former Anchor Line office includes some maritime-themed interiors
by the same designer who worked on rooms for the ill-fated SS
Lusitania.
Run-
ning west is St. Vincent Street. Its commercial architecture, which replaced
terraced houses in the mid-1800s, has been rightfully called “monumental.”
Continue north up Buchanan Street to:
3
Nelson Mandela Place
Just before St. George's Tron Church, on the left (west) side of Buchanan
Street, is the attractive sandstone and Gothic facade of the former Stock
Exchange by John Burnet in 1875. Roundels commemorate the contributions
of Science, Art, and Engineering. The slender square (formerly St. George's
Place and renamed in honor of the South African leader while he was still
