City Breaks And Cultural Glasgow
October 15th, 2009 by Karl FraserEdinburgh many be Scotland's capital, and it may also be Scotland's number one vacation destination but the sad fact is that many of the annual visitors to this fine city are missing the opportunity of visiting the fantastic nearby city of Glasgow.
Glasgow is a lively and vibrant city attracting more and more visitors annually. While most folk visit to enjoy the vibrant nightlife that the city offers more people are becoming aware of the many artistic and cultural elements of this fascinating city. Below I introduce the reader to three such places to visit in Glasgow.
The Mackintosh House: The Mackintosh House is a central feature of the University of Glasgow's, Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery. The Mackintosh House is a modern concrete building, part of the gallery/library complex, which stands on the site of one of two rows of terraced houses, that were demolished in the 1960s to make room for the University's expansion. One of the buildings lost, was 78 Southpark Avenue (formerly 6 Florentine Terrace), home of the Mackintoshes from 1906 to 1914. As much as possible was salvaged of the original fittings, and put into storage, to enable the future reassembly of the hall, dining room, studio, drawing room, and bedroom. The University rebuilt the form of the house comprising the reassembled interiors.
The Willow Tea Rooms: It was Charles Rennie Mackintosh, who designed the world famous Willow Tea Rooms, in Glasgow. The tea rooms were a collaboration between Mackintosh and Catherine Cranston, a local business woman, whose father was a Glasgow tea merchant. The tea rooms were located in Sauchiehall Street, and opened for business in October 1903. The name for the tea rooms was derived from Sauchiehall; 'saugh', being the Scots word for a willow tree, and 'haugh', the Scot's word for meadow. The tea rooms were the only building where Mackintosh had complete control over every aspect of the design. Mackintosh designed the exterior, all the interior decorations, the waitresses' uniform, furniture, cutlery, and even the menus.
The Peoples Palace: The People's Palace and Winter Gardens are a museum and glasshouse situated near Glasgow Green. They were opened on 22nd January 1898 by the Earl of Rosebery, and were intended to provide a cultural centre for the people of Glasgow. The ground floor originally provided reading and recreation rooms. However, since the 1940's, it has been Glasgow's social history museum, and tells the story of the people and the city from 1750 to the present day. Attached to the People's Palace is the Winter Gardens, an elegant Victorian Glassghouse where on can relax among the tropical plants, or enjoy the cafe.
Of course there are a great many more cultural attractions in Glasgow so when you are next planning a Scottish vacation you should investigate this stimulating city further. One final word is that you may have difficulty finding hotel vacancies at times so it is well worth booking your accommodation at the earliest opportunity.
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categories: Charles Rennie Mackintosh,Glasgow,city break,weekend break,travel,travel and leisure,vacations,destinations,destination,vacation destinations,travel tips,recreation,holiday,holidays
