With world-class museums and attractions, an iconic arts and music scene, and a vibrant food and drink offering, the Scottish city of Glasgow comes alive in 2025.
If you’ve always wanted to visit Scotland, there’s no better time than 2025, when Glasgow, Scotland’s largest city, celebrates its 850th birthday with a yearlong programme of events and activities.
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The year will kick off in style with a spectacular concert as part of the world-renowned Celtic Connections festival in January, with special content also being added to more of the city’s much-loved festivals and events throughout the year, including the Glasgow Film Festival and the Glasgow Comedy Festival at the beginning of the year, as well as TRNSMT, Glasgow Mela, Piping Live! GLASglow next winter.
Follow Your Taste Buds
With the 2025 Michelin Guide ceremony for Great Britain and Ireland being hosted in Glasgow, the city is firmly on the foodie map and there are plenty of ways you can snack and sip your way across the city.
Taste the Place, a free self-guided digital trail will launch this April and will include over 40 eateries from across the city, taking foodies on a cuisine heritage journey through exciting stories and experiences shared by locals and businesses alike. Highlights include a 100-year-old ice cream parlour, an Italian bistro housed within the UK’s only remaining tram shelter, and an Ottoman-style coffee ceremony.
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The Scottish National Whisky Festival (25 January) brings together exhibitors from across the whisky industry on Burns’ Day, with hundreds of whiskies and spirits available to sample throughout the day and night. Guests will also enjoy live music and entertainment from celebrated Scottish artists.
From 6-8 June, Glasgow will welcome the famous barbeque festival Meatopia. Taking place in SWG3, the festival will see world-famous chefs showcase specially crafted dishes, cooked over flames. There will also be drinks to go along with the dishes and a host of live musicians and DJs will be bringing the entertainment.
Other annual foodie events to add to your calendar are Glasgow Cocktail Week and with Glasgow’s very own B-corp-certified, Dear Green Coffee recently named ‘best in the world’ by Roast Magazine, the Glasgow Coffee festival is a must-visit.
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There are also a host of new eateries opening across Glasgow. Located in boutique shopping mall Princes Square, Zibibbo is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Here, delicious small and large plates such as monkfish ceviche and braised beef with parmesan polenta are served alongside an extensive wine list. There is also also an onsite lifestyle shop, perfect for picking up picnic essentials.
Meanwhile, New York-style dive bar Lucky Strike offers guests American eats, including smash burgers, loaded fries and hot dogs, as well as up to 12 beer taps and a great cocktail menu. There will also be live music every weekend at the dedicated event space downstairs, making it the perfect place to see some of Glasgow’s best local talent perform.
The hottest new brunch spot housed in one of Glasgow’s most iconic buildings Hutchesons’ Hall, a former hospital and library, has recently opened. Serving up deluxe breakfast and brunch dishes, including sirloin steak and eggs, pancakes and truffle potato scones. In early 2025 Saints of Ingram will open into the evening making it a great day-to-evening venue.
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Also, look out for the Clydeside Whisky Bar, located at The Clydeside Distillery (above), which boasts fantastic views across the river and will be the perfect spot for whisky lovers when it opens its doors in spring 2025, while Celentano’s, a local favourite, has also recently launched pasta making classes with Michelin Bib Gourmand awarded chef and owner Dean Parker.
Time for Music & Art
If you’re looking for good music, The Clyde Chorus will be a multi-venue, multi-genre music event, taking place in various established and bespoke venues along the River Clyde in May 2025, celebrating Glasgow’s musical talents. The Clyde Chorus will shine a light on the considerable music offering that the city has to offer.
On until 31 January 2025, look out for Enlightenment, a spectacular sound and light show set to the music of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons. The show takes place at the iconic Merchant’s House where you will see mesmerising visual projections taking you on a journey through spring, summer, autumn and winter.
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Running until 31 August 2025, John Akomfrah’s Mimesis: African Soldier at Gallery of Modern Art (GoMA) is a film installation which is shown across three screens, reflecting on the experience of soldiers from across the Commonwealth in World War 1, and designed to highlight the significant contribution of over six million African, Caribbean and South Asian people from across former colonies who fought, served, and died in the war.
Also at GoMA, Ciara Phillips’ Solo Show will run from 22 March – 26 October 2025. Internationally recognised for both her individual and collaborative work through print, Phillips is developing a new body of work for GoMA that foregrounds the creative process itself.
Tramway will host the works of artist Solange Pessoa (April-September), who lives and works in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, and whose expansive practice takes inspiration from many different sources, including archaeology, prehistoric cave paintings, traditional craft, Brazilian Baroque and poetry; as well as Rae-Yen Song (October 2025-April 2026)
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This year also sees the return of the Glasgow Film Festival in February, showcasing the best of Scottish and world cinema, while the Glasgow International Comedy Festival is back in March, celebrating Glasgow as ‘the funniest city in the world’.
As an UNESCO City of Music, Glasgow has an abundance of music festivals and performances. Highlights for 2025 include Celtic Connections, Glasgow’s annual celebration of Celtic music from home and afar; Counterflows, a festival dedicated to unusual underground, experimental music from the UK and beyond; and Country to Country, Europe’s biggest country festival will be hosted at the OVO Hydro.
Making use of Glasgow’s many green spaces will be TRNSMT festival at Glasgow Green. Glasgow’s summer celebration of Scottish contemporary folk music, Reeling Festival will be back at Rouken Glen. Plus, new for 2025 is Big Nights Out, a concert series taking place at both bandstands in Kelvingrove Park and Queens Park, with acts such as Arab Strap and Camera Obscura performing.
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