📌 Clyde Waterfront, Glasgow
★★★★
Glasgow has no shortage of excellent indoor attractions. But how many are big enough to hold your attention for an entire day? As long as you’re interested in science, Glasgow Science Centre is large enough to spend several hours in – we were there from open til close. This huge, titanium and glass-clad cavern is at the heart of Glasgow’s Digital Media Quarter on the up-and-coming Clyde Waterfront; the attraction is multi-faceted, including three interactive floors of themed zones, large planetarium, IMAX cinema and Glasgow Tower – a 417 foot-tall structure supported by a ball-bearing 65 cm in diameter. You definitely don’t have to be a child to have fun here, though with some of the zones it helps a little if you’re young at heart! We imagine it must get quite busy in the holidays, but we pretty much had the place to ourselves on a June weekday after a couple of early school groups had left. As for the tower: it’s the world’s only structure capable of rotating into the prevailing wind and gives superb views of city and country from the top. Ironically wind is also the tower’s thorn in the side, and it closes whenever gusts exceed 25 mph at the top, which is quite often.
🌍 Location
📌 50 Pacific Quay, 2 mi west of George Square, Glasgow
🧭 O.S. Grid Reference: NS 565652
🛰️ GPS coordinates: 55.858572,-4.293821
🚌 Pacific Drive | 🚇 Cessnock (0.5 mi) | 🚆 Exhibition Centre (0.5 mi)
🚗 Car park (charge) – some free street parking nearby
📝 Key info
⌚ Science Centre open daily, 29 March to 1 September 2024; Wednesday to Sunday, 2 September to 28 March. Glasgow Tower: summer only (probably April to October)
🎫 Science Centre: £13.40 adult / £10.45 child. Small surcharges for tower, planetarium & IMAX cinema (separate tickets also available)
