The top 10 sights in Glasgow - according to Lonely Planet

Whether you're just visiting or live locally, if you're looking for something to do in Glasgow, sometimes it's worth seeing what the experts have to say on what is worth your time.

Glasgow City Chambers is one of Lonely Planet's recommendations for anyone visiting the city (Photo: Shutterstock)

Travel guide publishers Lonely Planet know most cities in the world like the back of their hand, and Glasgow is no exception. Here are their top 10 recommendations.

Glasgow Cathedral

A working medieval church, Glasgow Cathedral was built in the late 12th century and is stunning both inside and out.

To learn about the building’s fascinating history, you can take an hour-long guided tour.

There is no charge to visit the cathedral, but visitors can make a donation if they wish.

Visit: Castle Street, G4 0QZ - more info

Glasgow School of Art

Severely damaged in a fire in 2014, the Glasgow School of Art is currently being restored, with painstaking attention going into making sure all materials and repairs are historically accurate.

Designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh, the striking building was originally completed in the early 1900s.

Although the Mackintosh Building is currently closed for repairs, you can still visit and take a guided tour of the Reid building, as well as taking in some brilliant contemporary art, design and architecture exhibitions.

Visit: 167 Renfrew Street, G3 6RQ - more info

Riverside Museum

Showcasing more than 3,000 objects - from skateboards to subway cars - Riverside is Glasgow’s transport museum.

The interactive displays and immersive exhibitions (from a Victorian Glasgow street to an old subway train) make this a fun place to spend a day, no matter your age.

Visit: Pointhouse Place, G3 8RS - more info

Kelvingrove Art Gallery & Museum

For more than a century, Kelvingrove Museum has been entertaining Glasgow’s locals and visitors alike its 22 galleries and exhibitions on everything from animals to Ancient Egypt.

The beautiful building is also home to an organ (on which live recitals are performed), and regular tours and organised activities also happen here.

Visit: Argyle Street, G3 8AG - more info

Mackintosh House

Housed inside the University of Glasgow’s Hunterian Museum, the Mackintosh House is a meticulous reassemblage of the principal interiors from the home of Scottish architect, designer and artist, Charles Rennie Mackintosh and his wife, the artist Margaret Macdonald Mackintosh.

Decorated in Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s signature style, the space is furnished with the Mackintoshes' own furniture - all to Mackintosh's design - and decorated as closely as possible to the original home, which was demolished in the early 1960s.

Visit: 82 Hillhead Street, G12 8QQ - more info

Sharmanka Kinetic Theatre

Founded in St Petersburgh in 1989, the unique Sharmanka Kinetic Theatre has been based in Glasgow since 1995.

A collaboration between a sculptor-mechanic, a theatre director and a light and sound designer, the venue is a theatre of kinetic sculpture, where hundreds of carved figures and other materials ‘dance’ to haunting music and synchronised light.

Visit: 103 Trongate, G1 5HD - more info

Glasgow Science Centre

Making science fun, interesting and accessible for all ages, the Glasgow Science Centre is a great place to spend a day out.

Visitors can learn about everything from biology to space travel, and there are also special late night opening hours exclusively for grown ups now and again.

Visit: 50 Pacific Quay, G51 1EA - more info

St Mungo’s Museum of Religious Life & Art

Named after Glasgow's patron saint who brought the Christian faith to Scotland in the 6th century, St Mungo’s Museum is built on the site of the medieval Bishops’ Castle and is designed in its style.

The museum’s galleries are full of displays, objects and works of art that explore the importance of religion in peoples’ lives across the world and across time.

Visit: 2 Castle Street, G4 0RH - more info

City Chambers

Glasgow’s magnificent City Chambers have been the headquarters of Glasgow City Council since 1996, and before that housed all preceding forms of municipal government in the city since 1889.

Lavishly decorated inside, the imposing building is well worth a visit, and tours of the building are conducted twice per day during the week.

Visit: George Square, G2 1DU - more info

Burrell Collection

Sir William Burrell and his wife Constance gifted their collection of around 9,000 artworks and objects to Glasgow in 1944, and it can usually all be viewed at Pollok Country Park.

Unfortunately, the exhibition is currently closed until 2020 while refurbishments take place, but this Glasgow sight will undoubtedly be as popular as ever when it reopens.

Visit: Pollok Country Park, 2060 Pollokshaws Road, G43 1AT - more info