The first thing that may strike you about Kelvingrove Museum is that it appears to have been built backwards. The museum’s main entrance faces the River Kelvin rather than Argyle Street, where most pedestrians will approach from. While this was always intended to be the case, there is an urban myth that the architects, Sir John. W. Simpson and E.J Milner Allen, leapt to their deaths upon seeing the error.

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This is, to borrow a local phrase, utter mince.

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Officially opened in 1901, the late Victorian building is the most popular free museum in all of Scotland. A century after opening, it received a £25 million refurbishment between 2003 and 2006. Tourists flock here to see one of the most impressive collections of arms and armour in the entire world, including an actual Spitfire. It boasts an exquisite European art collection from various eras. It also features work from homegrown talents and graduates of the Glasgow Art School.

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One of its most famous pieces is Christ of Saint John of the Cross by prominent Spanish artist Salvador Dali. If you wish to see some Scottish artwork, check out The Glasgow Boys gallery. It features works from a group of radical Scottish artists who created a substantial body of work between 1880 and 1895. This movement sowed the seeds of modern Scottish painting.

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In 2022, Glasgow band Twin Atlantic shot the music video for their song One Man Party in the museum. The video was shot in one night by Scottish director Nicholas Afchain.