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    The Burrell Collection

    4.3 (39 reviews)
    InexpensiveMuseums, Cafes
    Open 11:00 am - 5:00 pm

    The Burrell Collection Photos

    THE BURRELL COLLECTION ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Classy
    Good for kids
    Outdoor seating
    Good for groups

    Recommended Reviews - The Burrell Collection

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    What a great museum - probably one of the best I've been to. The collection is vast and varied so there is something for everyone - and it is FREE! 1. Great for families as there are lots of places for kids to interact and get involved. 2. They had a special show of Degas (had to pay) that was stunning and so well displayed 3. Don't miss the short (3min) movie that shows on the basement outside the special exhibit - so well done. 4. Items are organized by theme, not by date, which makes the displays very interesting and gives a whole different perspective. 5. The grounds are wonderful and nice to walk and wander (dogs allowed) 6. Don't miss the "hairy coos" on the park grounds! Excellent collection of sculptures including the original "Thinker" by Rodin.

    Casey M.

    I visited the Burrell collection for the first time and was not disappointed. We got the 57 bus from the city centre to the beautiful Pollock park surrounded by highland coo's. The museum is free and the collection houses so many great pieces from sculptures like French sculptor Auguste Rodin's 'The thinker' and 'Eve after the fall. You will also find a lot of Chinese Buddhas, tapestries, potteries, furniture, religious sculptures and more which are all so wonderful and well worth a visit.

    Caroline H.

    Fantastic renovations! Loved the 90 interactive videos. Cafe was fantastic too! Loved the sculptures and paintings too.

    Chris M.

    After reading that The Burrell was closing for 4 years(!!!) on the 23rd October for an extensive refurbishment process I thought I would make the most of a hangover free Sunday and head through the trees of Pollok Park and give it a visit. Being a child of the Southside I had been to The Burrell many, many moons ago but had never visited with a more mature mind. As some folk have said you can pay £1 to park and I was impressed with how busy it was given it had only been open for about half an hour by the time I arrived. Entry is free, although the suggested donation amount of £5 is more than fair. The collection is eclectic, something I appreciated, as it gives the sense of somebody who didn't take themselves too seriously and instead revelled in his wealth. Over the past couple of years I've acquired a new interest in painting and some of the exhibits here are of a very high quality. Whilst I also enjoyed the spacious courtyard and some of the more ancient pieces. There is a cafe which sounded like my idea of hell, all screaming kids and flustered parents, but for me the big win is the location. With the glass walls all around giving the impression of a far flung highland estate as opposed to the near-middle of a big city. I'm glad I took a wander down, 4 years is a long time and I'm interested to see what the new Burrell will provide. But for now, if you get a chance before next week, give it a go.

    Burrell collection in the sunshine
    Jeevan M.

    The Burrell collection was one of the great private collections of objets d'art and historical artefacts (although you can call them knick-knacks) in the world. Thankfully, the collection is now in public ownership and can be viewed free of charge. The collection is housed in a modern building in the middle of pollok park, making it easy to spend the day wandering around nearby Pollock house too. Entering in via a church-like entrance, be sure to pick up a free guide which'll give you an idea where each part begins & ends. It's quite easy to lose track of some of the collections so the guide does come in handy. There are some fantastic Chinese, Egyptian, Greek & Roman artefacts as well as a large collection of large Islamic styled ceramics and textiles. What's astounding is that the vast majority of the pieces are in fantastic condition. William Burrell also assembled an interesting collection of paintings ranging from some of the classic artists to the Glasgow Boys. The paintings are housed in the centre of the building, but as you almost have to turn back on yourself, it can be easy to miss! If you find yourself (or the kids) weary of all that art & history, there's a cafe downstairs. You can access it via stairs or lift which are opposite the way to the paintings. I didn't visit the cafe as I was going onto Pollok house, but from what I saw it looked to be doing a decent turn in trade. The cafe area has views out across the grass and would be a nice sun trap during spells of decent weather. I was pleased to see signs encouraging folk to post photo's on social media, which'll help publicise Glasgow's great museums and keep the donations coming in to ensure this great collection stays free for the public

    Photo taken from the Burrell Collection's Website
    Katie A.

    This art gallery is a little like some kind of giant Aladdin's Cave. The story behind the collection is a great one - Sir Burrell was a Glasgow businessman in the first half of the 20th Century and had so much money that he just didn't know what to do with it. So he spent copious (and we're talking COPIOUS) amounts of money on buying artwork, sculptures, rugs, furniture, ceramics and in fact whole rooms. On his death, he bequested the whole collection to the city of Glasgow - with the proviso that it had to be displayed to the people of Glasgow on a permanent basis. And so this is where we come in. On any given day you can head to the building that houses the Burrell Collection (custom designed and built for the purpose, obviously) which is right in the middle of Pollock Country Park. Inside you'll find an amazing collection of, well, everything. Instead of just sticking to collecting one genre of art work, Burrell splurged on anything and everything. The gallery itself is very bight and airy, and you will find youself viewing stained glass windows, sculptures, medieval furniture, ancient Chinese ceramics, ancient Grecian pottery and an incredible selection of Persian rugs as well as the expected impressionist artwork. With a nice little cafe to boot, I highly recommend a visit to the Burrell Collection.

    One of the many large tapeteriies

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    Review Highlights - The Burrell Collection

    We got the 57 bus from the city centre to the beautiful Pollock park surrounded by highland coo's.

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    Riverside Museum - Inside view toward the back wall

    Riverside Museum

    4.1(57 reviews)
    2.4 miWest End

    A friend recommended this place and her elevator pitch was simple "it has a wall of vintage cars"…read more A very interesting museum that has transportation displays but also a recreation of a classic Scottish main street, glasgow punk vinyls, and old toys. It was one of the most unique museums we've been to and like all the museums in Scotland it was free! The architecture is interesting and was done by one of my favorite architects, Zaha Hadid. The roofline is undulating and angular and the whole form is extruded backwards toward the river to form the museum. From the back you get a very interesting view with the restored old ship and the modern museum juxtaposing each other. The interior is also distinctly Zaha, with curved lines that seem to guide you and your eyes through your space. The only jarring thing is it feels a bit disorientating, especially when trying to take photos and videos and looking for horizontal and vertical lines to help line you up. The wall of motorcycles and cars are visually stunning though the ones high up are really hard to see so I enjoyed the vehicles on the floor more because you could see everything much better. There is a second floor you can get to with all the interactive displays and a hypnotizing carousel of giant model ships that move in a continual loop.

    What a fun, big and FREE museum! We spent four hours here and probably could've stayed a bit…read morelonger. We got licky and made it just in time for a FREE guided tour. The tour guide took us around the whole museum highlighting the more Scottish items. The museum is mostly transportation but also has a section that is a recreation of a 1920's street complete with shops you can walk into. I highly recommend coming solo, with friends, or family! Donations are asked to help keep this amazing museum free to the public and there is a parking lot for a fee

    Photos
    Riverside Museum - Back of museum, so cool with the old ship contrasting the modern building

    Back of museum, so cool with the old ship contrasting the modern building

    Riverside Museum - Outside front, designed by Zaha Hadid

    Outside front, designed by Zaha Hadid

    Riverside Museum

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    Hunterian Museum - Building housing The Hunterian on the University of Glasgow campus.

    Hunterian Museum

    4.5(22 reviews)
    3.0 miWest End

    We happened to come across the museum while walking around Glasgow University. It's free, so we…read moredecided to check it out. It's the oldest public museum in Scotland. There were some interesting artifacts.

    I visited The Hunterian, located on-campus at the University of Glasgow, for the first time on…read moreWednesday 17 July 2019. I was following a geologist on Twitter who worked/collabed with the museum (I have since deleted my account - in the first half of 2021) and decided it would be fun to check the exhibits out. The building was straightforward to find and was marked for The Hunterian. The entrance was located up some stairs and had posted hours just outside the entrance. The admission was free. I enjoyed the different exhibits overall. Workers were friendly, but not nosy. The artifacts were well labeled and contextualized. As well as items of historical significance, such as stone altars from the Romans, exhibits also highlighted different people and their contributions to social and scientific development in Scotland. As a woman who is part Scottish by ancestry, I still find it neat that the term "scientist" was coined for female Scotswoman Mary Fairfax Somerville. I found the informational placards accompanying the displayed items to be easy to understand.

    Photos
    Hunterian Museum
    Hunterian Museum - Entrance and hours posted, Wednesday 17 July 2019.

    Entrance and hours posted, Wednesday 17 July 2019.

    Hunterian Museum - Hedgy the Hedgehog (a plush) with an Altar to the Spirit of the Land of Britain from the Romans.

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    Hedgy the Hedgehog (a plush) with an Altar to the Spirit of the Land of Britain from the Romans.

    The Lighthouse - The Lighthouse Building

    The Lighthouse

    4.1(43 reviews)
    2.8 miCity Centre
    £

    It took me an embarrassingly long time to actually visit The Lighthouse, and I'm even more…read moreembarrassed to admit that I *still* haven't been up the top to look at the view over Glasgow! Next time, I promise! The Lighthouse is tucked down Mitchell Lane and has a wonderful gift shop on the ground floor. I am a certified museum-gift-shop addict and this one is nearly as good as the one at GOMA. At the moment, they're selling some great stuff to accompany the "Hello My Name is Paul Smith" exhibition and I couldn't resist getting a couple of the pencils, an eraser as well as a nice card from the range. There's a lot of nice Scottish stuff if you're looking for a gift so it's worth a browse even if you're not planning on going to an exhibition. We were there to see the Paul Smith exhibition which is on the first floor and ticketed at £6 per adult. While I think the price is a little steep, it's a fab exhibition which was really interesting, stimulating and thought-provoking - I think we were only there for half an hour or so, but really enjoyed it. I'll definitely be back sooner rather than later for a visit to the viewing platform so I'll update accordingly! But for now, I'm already a massive fan so I can't expect the rating to change for this lovely gallery.

    The Lighthouse is a lovely museum that you'd probably never find, and I genuinely didn't even know…read moreabout until about 6 months ago! It's a lovely hidden museum, with free entry, and has all your museum-y needs, from general Glasgow goodness to a lovely Mackintosh exhibition. There's a 6th floor viewing platform, but you can also go to the 3rd floor and climb to the top of the viewing tower - which gives you phenomenal views of all of Glasgow. It really is something you must see! There's a cafe, a bar and a gift shop all included, and I genuinely can't believe I hadn't discovered this sooner! Go see it if you haven't already!

    Photos
    The Lighthouse
    The Lighthouse - Tower stairs, from official website

    Tower stairs, from official website

    The Lighthouse - Doocot Cafe

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    Doocot Cafe

    The Anatomy Museum - The Anatomy Museum

    The Anatomy Museum

    4.8(4 reviews)
    2.9 miWest End

    The Anatomy Museum is like nowhere else in the city that I have ever been to. Where else could I…read moresee the most surreal collection of pickled human remains from the past? I think we both know the answer. If you like science or you are just interested in the human body that gets you from A to B then this is a must. The most famous item is the 100 year-old pickled penis which is worth seeing and will make you question the science of evolution. On saying that, some of the items are quite hard to look i.e. the pickled, deformed feotous. However if you have a strong stomach and an inquisitive mind then stop by. It's a free museum with a world class of collection. If you have a weak stomach then give it a miss!

    Concealed in a corner of one of the university's faculties, the Anatomy Museum is designed as a…read morestudy tool for scientific students (I'm guessing biology) but it looks like it's existed since the Victorian period. It's perfectly preserved - much like the pickled heads and penises of people long deceased. If you've got a weak stomach and easily weirded out then I wouldn't recommend coming here. It's not anatomical models - you will be looking at real remains in various shapes, sizes and forms. There are a number of deformed fetus that may disturb some people. But, I've got to say, it fascinates me. It's a dusty, Frankenstein style lab full of unnerving specimens but you can't say it's not interesting! And it must be useful for biology students because you really get a close up, exact representation of the human body. I took my boyfriend here on a date - shows you what kind of people we are(!) - and he loved it. But if you're a bit of a shrinking violet stick to the art galleries!

    Pollok House - From website

    Pollok House

    4.3(3 reviews)
    0.4 miSouth Side

    Love it! This is a regular haunt for me in the winter, when it's free, but it's included in the…read moreNational Trust membership if you're there for a summer visit. This is a stately Georgian home that was maintained in the spirit of stewardship--like the earl of Grantham on Downton Abbey. The Maxwell family lovingly and carefully curated the place so that every addition, change, piece of art and situation of the furniture would compliment and reflect upon what already exists. Each room is rich with detail and a wonderful combination of magnificent beauty that still feels like the kind of place you'd want to come home to. The cafe is quite good, if a wee bit pricey. There's also a regular and a food-only gift shop. Definitely make your way over to this other fabulous bit of art, history and architecture when you're in Pollock Park.

    As a member of The National Trust for Scotland, my recent trip to Pollok Park inevitably included…read morePollok House. That being said, it is free this time of year anyhow and this was reflected in the high number of people there. It was a gorgeous house, with a maze of rooms and an impressive garden that has been very well kept. Some of the paintings and art inside were suitably impressive, with recent pieces and some vintage paintings on huge canvasses. I couldn't help but feel like I was navigating my way around the house in Cluedo, looking for a candlestick and corpse in the Library. There were some really elegant pianos. The books in the Library were numbering in the thousands, and all concerning historical Scotland. The highlight for me was standing in the very room where initial meetings were held that ultimately led to the formation of The National Trust for Scotland. There was also a packed cafe and funky giftshop that included paper made out of elephant dung. Never seen that before. Not sure if I wanted to though, to be fair. It wont be on MTV Cribs, but it's a nice big house that offers a nice addition to a stroll around Pollok Country Park.

    Photos
    Pollok House
    Pollok House
    Pollok House - Baked Camembert with onion relish and homemade toast

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    Baked Camembert with onion relish and homemade toast

    Hunterian Art Gallery and The Mackintosh House

    Hunterian Art Gallery and The Mackintosh House

    4.4(7 reviews)
    3.2 miHillhead, West End
    £

    For a real flavour of how Mackintosh and his wife Margaret McDonald so radically transformed the…read moreart scene, I would recommend a visit to The Tenement House in Garnethill (which will show you what Glasgow tenements were like in Victorian days) before coming here. It is near-impossible to imagine that this interior started out as a typical Glasgow tenement on nearby Southpark Avenue, such is the transformation that they wrought on it. Moving from the typical dark Stygian Victorian décor to this wonderful temple of light that they created was a quantum leap in interior design that still resonates even today. The actual house was demolished as it was thought to be unstable when the University were building next to it - however it turned out to be not as bad as was originally thought and could have been saved, which leaves the University in something of a questionable position to say the least. It is rather ironic then that this specially-built extension to the Hunterian Art Gallery, constructed solely to house the interiors of the Mackintosh house, is now in such a parlous state of disrepair itself that it is going to have to be dismantled and moved to the new Kelvin Hall museum extension where it is not going to enjoy the wonderful natural light and east-facing views that it currently has. Mackintosh's interiors are all about the light - how it can be introduced and channelled into the space. He installed extra windows in the south wall of the house and in the hallway used a mirror to spread the light around the otherwise dark wooden walls. Little arrays of square stained glass pieces (something of a Mackintosh trademark) catch your eye when the light is behind them. In the main living area, the transom in front of the bay window is dropped to just above head height, which seems very counter-intuitive until you see how this matches up with the height of the doors, the dropped picture rail, the new side window, and the opening knocked through to the back room (yes, this is not a modern idea!). It completely changes the proportions of the space and focuses the light where it is needed. The house contains the Mackintoshs' own furniture - all to their design of course - and there are some wonderfully quirky pieces, such as the small wooden chair with the heart- (or buttock-) shaped depression on the seat that looks so inviting. The large high-sided box chair (surely inspired by Orkney chairs) looks as though it would be very cosy on a draughty winter's day. I also loved his personal writing cabinet in the rear space, which with its doors open looks almost like a small Japanese lady in a kimono; Mackintosh, along with several other of his fellow artists, at the time, was heavily influenced by Japanese design that was just starting to make an appearance in the West. I could continue to wax lyrical about the Mackintosh house as I love it so much, but there is also the main Hunterian Art Gallery to consider. Personally I find this rather overshadowed by the Mackintosh house, yet it is a fine collection and there are some notable works by Rubens, Rembrandt and Chardin as well as the Scottish Colourists and Glasgow Boys. It also has the largest collection anywhere of works by American artist James McNeill Whistler. The Art Gallery is free, although they sometimes charge for special exhibitions, but there is a small charge (£5) for entry to the Mackintosh House. Get there early on a sunny morning (it opens at 10am, 11am on Sundays) for the best experience.

    I visited today to see the excellent Ingenious Impressions, an exhibition of some of the earliest…read moreprinted books from the 1400s onwards. It's on until 21st June 2015 and I think I'll be back again because it was fascinating and there were so many books to look at. The University of Glasgow has an outstanding collection of paintings, books, artefacts and many many other things. Much of it is from William Hunter's collection hence the Hunterian Art Gallery and Museum but there are many other collectors who have sold or gifted amazing things to the uni. And now we get to see it all FOR FREE! This is what blows me away about the art galleries and museums in this fine city. The Hunterian Art Gallery has a wonderful collection of paintings with many works by Whistler. I'm not very knowledgeable about Art History but I love wandering round here in the afternoon, it's peaceful and interesting. It doesn't attract many children or families in the way that Kelvingrove does so you can get around without dodging hectic toddlers! The Mackintosh House is a must see and they run regular short tours throughout the day. I would quite like to live in the White Room if that could be made possible?! The only thing I don't like about the Hunterian is that the building is a bit dated, I think it opened in the 80s and hasn't changed much since. Other than that it's a great place to visit if you're in the area and interested in art and painting.

    Photos
    Hunterian Art Gallery and The Mackintosh House - Ingenious Impressions exhibition April 2015

    Ingenious Impressions exhibition April 2015

    Hunterian Art Gallery and The Mackintosh House
    Hunterian Art Gallery and The Mackintosh House

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    The Burrell Collection - museums - Updated June 2026

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