Getaway in Scotland: Glasgow or Edinburgh?

Sept. 09 2013
by Laurence Ogiela / TÊTU

edinburgh is the capital of Scotland. Glasgow is the industrial heart of the region. edinburgh is chic and aristocratic. Glasgow is cool and trendy. The two cities are less than 100 kilometers apart, a journey of only 45 minutes by train. The ideal is to discover these two cities with their own character during the same trip. But if you're short on time and have to decide which one to visit, here are five tips to help you decide.

Looking for a romantic kilted getaway?

Advantage Edinburgh.

Classified as a Unesco World Heritage Site, Edinburgh is one of the most beautiful cities in Europe. Known as the Athens of the North because of its many historical monuments, it is dominated by the silhouette of its imposing medieval castle which houses the Scottish crown jewels and the Stone of Destiny.
From the top of the ramparts, you have the most beautiful view of Edinburgh. Just below, the Royal Mile, the ancient thoroughfare lined with historic houses, leads down to the Palace of Holyrood, home of the British royal family.
All the streets of the Scottish capital echo with the legends and adventures of characters such as Dr. Jekyll (and Mr. Hyde), Sherlock Holmes and Harry Potter, whose authors were all inspired by the city. Enough to make the one you love shiver to better pamper him later.

Fancy a weekend away?

Glasgow is the place to be.

If there is one man you can follow in Glasgow, it is the most famous of its architects: Charles Rennie Mackintosh (1868-1928). He invented the Scottish Art Nouveau, also called the Glasgow Style: a mixture of Japanese art, Scandinavian design and Scottish traditions. To appreciate his design, visit the Glasgow School of Art (167 Renfrew St), his major work. The school still has students who give tours of the building. Each piece of original furniture is unique.
Continue to the Mackintosh House (Hunterian Art Gallery, 82 Hillhead St.) which displays a reproduction of the architect's house. And, to keep with the theme, have lunch at the Willow Tea Rooms (217 Sauchiehall St.), a restored tea room by the designer.
In terms of contemporary architecture, Glasgow has been rehabilitating the banks of the River Clyde and its former industrial docks for several years now. The abandoned shipyards have given way to the Riverside Museum, the transport museum designed by the Anglo-Iraqi architect Zaha Hadid, which opened in June 2011. Not far away, The Hydro, the new futuristic theater designed by Sir Norman Foster, should open at the end of 2013. With its 12,000 seats, it aims to compete with Madison Square Garden in New York and the O2 Arena in London.

Looking for culture?

Tie.

edinburgh hosts the world's largest arts festival every summer. For three weeks in August, the Edinburgh International Festival and its offshoot, the Fringe Festival, offer concerts, literary workshops, exhibitions, theatre, dance, music and theatre arts.in other words, the city is literally packed and you have to book your place a year in advance.
Glasgow has a huge number of art students and artists living there. The Scottish creative genius is everywhere! The Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum is a kind of catch-all museum in a magnificent Victorian building. Contemporary art rubs shoulders with the dinosaur gallery, and a World War II fighter plane hangs between two monumental staircases.

In terms of festivals, every autumn, Glasgow becomes a "queer city" with its LGBT festival Glasgay! This cultural and crazy festival welcomes more than 35 000 spectators and many Scottish and international LGBT artists, recognized in fields as varied as literature, theater, cinema, music or visual arts. In June, the bohemian and trendy West End has its own festival with concerts, plays and a carnival.

Want to go out?

Match made in heaven.

All the LGBT life of Glasgow is concentrated on one block in Merchant City, the hype district. Delmonica's is the ideal place to warm up in the early evening. The bar is big and often crowded. Ideal for meetings. Then, head to the Riding Room, just next door, a retro bar with a 1940s vintage decor. It proposes burlesque shows and we cross there waiters with muscular bodies dressed in a simple apron(see photo below), as well as tens of looked guys who sip elaborate cocktails.

Later, we join the dance floors of the Polo Lounge, a former bank converted into a club that attracts all the hype gay youth. Club chairs and vintage sofas furnish the main bar and you can sway to techno in the basement at Club X. Finally, change the street to Speakeasy. With its elegant red decor, it welcomes a rather overexcited 30-something clientele who often end up dancing on the tables. A staircase covered with collages of gay icons leads to the floor that used to house FHQ, the lesbian bar where scenes from Lip Service, the BBC lesbian series, were filmed. Finally, The Arches club organizes monthly gay-friendly techno nights with renowned DJs. The location alone - former warehouses under the train station - is worth a visit.

Edinburgh's gay scene is a bit more limited, with a few venues clustered in New Town around Broughton Street. The café Nom de Plume is a good option to start the evening. Friendly and cosy atmosphere. Then, we join the Café Habana which welcomes on two floors a rather mixed clientele around a crazy karaoke. Its more trendy neighbor, CC Blooms, attracts all the gays of Edinburgh, including many guys who go out in authentic kilt. After checking, they don't wear anything underneath...

Feel like shopping?

Advantage Glasgow.

After London, Glasgow is the most famous city in the UK for shopping. To find your happy hour, stroll the Style Mile between Buchanan Street, the city's commercial center, Sauchiehall Street and Argyle Street. These streets are crowded and the stores are open until 8pm. The other option is to browse the many independent stores in the West End on Byres Road. Vintage Circus (100 Byres Rd) and Vintage Guru (195 Byres Rd) are temples of retro fashion from the 1950s and 60s. You can find all kinds of clothes, shoes and accessories to play Mad Men.
To buy a kilt or a bagpipe, head to the Barras (London Road), Glasgow's flea market with more than a thousand stalls. as long as you can decipher the very pronounced Scottish accent - or rather the Glasgow slang - of the sellers.

Scottish gays soon married?
Scotland was to be the first of the four nations making up the United Kingdom to legalize gay marriage. With devolution, the province is independent of London in many areas, including legislation. It was therefore committed to gay marriage in July 2012. It was finally beaten to the punch by the British Parliament, which voted in favour of marriage for all at the initiative of David Cameron.
Scotland will once again follow the UK's progress on LGBT rights. Indeed, the province only decriminalized homosexuality in 1980, thirteen years after England and Wales. "We want Scotland to be a fair and equal nation, which is why we are going to legalize marriage for gay people and allow civil partnerships to have religious ceremonies," said Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.
As in the rest of the U.K., the reform will allow same-sex couples to marry civilly. But it leaves it up to the various denominations to decide whether or not to celebrate same-sex religious unions, with the exception of the Anglican Church, which has a majority in the country and where same-sex marriage will remain illegal.

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