Worth getting out of bed for...

Viewpoint

The Glasgow Necropolis is a creepy but fascinating Victorian garden graveyard in the grounds of Glasgow Cathedral, with a spectacular city vista (www.glasgownecropolis.org). Kelvingrove Park is another excellent vantage point from which you can survey the west of Glasgow by the banks of the river Kelvin.

Arts and culture

Don’t miss the Victorian-era Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum (www.glasgowmuseums.com), which houses works by Dalí, Rembrandt, Monet and Van Gogh. Check out the unrivalled collections of Whistler, the Glasgow Boys, and Charles Rennie Mackintosh at the Hunterian Museum & Art Gallery on the Glasgow University campus (www.hunterian.gla.ac.uk). Theatre buffs can catch new writing and dynamic reinterpretations of the classics at the Tron (www.tron.co.uk). Glasgow’s SECC is a huge venue that stages concerts, events and international pop acts from Rihanna to Red Hot Chili Peppers (www.secc.co.uk).

Something for nothing

All of Glasgow’s museums (www.glasgowmuseums.com), from the Museum of Transport to the excellent St Mungo Museum of Religious Life and Art, offer free entry to their permanent collections.

Shopping

Princes Square (www.princessquare.co.uk) in Buchanan Street is Glasgow’s most civilised shopping centre. Fashionistas shouldn’t skip a trip to the Italian Centre: as well as Versace and Armani boutiques, there’s Cruise (+44 (0)141 572 3232), packed with rails of Prada, Fendi and D&G. For bold, stylish jewellery, Brazen at 58 Albion Street (+44 (0)141 552 4551) in Merchant City is worth a look. Vintage-lovers can rummage through the rails in Saratoga Trunk at 61 Hydepark Street (+44 (0)141 221 4433), and you’ll find knockdown Gucci et al at the Designer Exchange off Royal Exchange Square. Bargain-hunters will love browsing at the Barras Market, a vast, weekend fleamarket on Gallowgate, open Saturday and Sunday 10am–5pm.

Daytripper

Hire a bike and cycle to the gorgeous shores of Loch Lomond. Follow the directions from Bell’s Bridge, by the Scottish Exhibition & Conference Centre, over 20 miles of easy terrain, before getting the train back from Balloch Station (www.firstgroup.com/scotrail). Borrow your set of wheels from West End Cycles on Chancellor Street (+44 (0)141 357 1344). City folk might prefer to venture across to Edinburgh, which is less than an hour away by train: the First ScotRail shuttle service departs from Glasgow’s Queen Street station approximately every 15 minutes (www.firstscotrail.com).

Perfect picnic

The Botanic Gardens is the place to sunbathe, chill and recharge your batteries. Pick up a hamper from Heart Buchanan (+44 (0)141 334 7626) on nearby Byres Road. Leafy Pollok Country Park on Glasgow’s South Side is another top alfresco spot, with a bluebell wood, cycle paths and a Victorian tearoom. The park is also home to the world-famous Burrell Collection, which showcases a rotating display of treasures, including Cézannes and Rodins and loot from all over the world.

Walks

There’s no shortage of meandering canal paths and disused railway lines around Glasgow, and they’ve been redeveloped into urban walkways. The pleasant Kelvin Walkway takes in parkland, former industrial sites and a wildlife corridor; pick it up from Kelvingrove Park.

Children

Spend a morning at Grounds for Play, a playground attached to Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s House for an Art Lover in Bellahouston Park (www.houseforanartlover.co.uk), where the little tykes can develop their aesthetic sensibilities on bug-shaped wrought-iron swings and freestanding cloud-shaped slides.

Activities

Take a powerboat ride from the city centre along the famous river Clyde down to Dumbarton Rock and Kilcreggan with Seaforce (www.seaforce.co.uk); or hover across the cityscape and spot the sights from above – a helicopter tour of Glasgow costs £75 with Lothian Helicopters (www.lothianhelicopters.co.uk).

And

Remember the scene in Trainspotting that’s subtitled to help sassenachs interpret the strong Glasgwegian accent over the din of the nightclub? The city’s distinctive dialect is a rich and wonderfully wry vernacular; gen up on the finer points of Glesga’s patter from Aye to Zebadeed with Michael Munro’s amusing guide, The Complete Patter.