Considered the UK’s best place to shop outside of London, Glasgow is a shoppers paradise where you can buy just about anything from clothing to antiques and everything in-between!
The city centre has 3 main shopping streets - Argyle Street, Buchanan Street and Sauchiehall Street. Between them they have literally hundreds of shops and no less than 5 shopping centres/malls either on them or nearby. On the city’s outskirts you will find a number of larger shopping centres such as Braehead and Glasgow Fort.
On the fully pedestrianised Buchanan Street you will find Buchanan Galleries, which is one of the UK’s largest city centre shopping centres and Princess Square, where you can buy the latest in fashion from the many stylish stores and fashion outlets followed by a tea or coffee in one of its restaurants or cafes.
Where Argyle Street and Buchanan Street meet you will find the Argyle Arcade, built in 1827 and one of the countries oldest covered shopping areas. This is an Aladdin’s Cave of jewellery with some of the biggest names in the trade having shops here. Nearby is the St. Enoch Centre in St. Enochs Square, just off Argyle Street. Once the site of a railway station it is now the site of Europe’s largest glass roofed shopping centre and home to a number of high street shops.
At the other end of Buchanan Street is Sauchiehall Street with its own shopping centre, the Savoy Shopping Centre. At the city centre end the street is mainly shops but the further along it you walk the more cafes and pubs you will see, with a few clubs sprinkled among them.
The West End of the city is more laid back and out of the ordinary where you wont find many of the normal High Street retailers. Instead there is a multitude of smaller, independent shops where you can buy second hand books, clothes, designer jewellery, and more quirky items.
To find the biggest shopping centres you will have to travel to the outskirts of the city. Dont worry though as transport links are excellent with easy motorway access and frequently bus routs. You can even travel to Braehead form the city centre by water taxi!
To the southwest is Braehead Shopping and Leisure Centre which plays host to many retail stores offering a distinctive mix of top quality of shopping and leisure activities. In addition to the shopping centre there is a retail park with such big names as B&Q, Halfords, Currys and Ikea.
At the other side of the city on its eastern outskirts is Glasgow Fort, just off the M8 motorway. With over 60 major high street names and qualified staff to look after children of all ages while you shop this is an ideal place to come for a relaxing shopping spree!
Whatever you are looking to buy, Glasgow has it. If you would like to shop till you drop have a look at our list of Glasgow shops or find out more information on Glasgow’s shopping highlights and how to get there with our Glasgow shopping guides.