The summit view
From the John Knox monument the whole cathedral and the old town open up below in the best picture Glasgow offers.
The best view of Glasgow Cathedral is not from inside it or from its square, but from the top of a hill of graves behind it. Some 50,000 burials and around 3,500 monuments crowd fifteen hectares of slope, laid out in 1833 on the model of Père Lachaise in Paris when the city's tobacco lords, cotton men and shipbuilders wanted somewhere worthy of their fortunes after death. The result is an open-air architecture gallery: Greek columns, Egyptian vaults, Moorish domes and Gothic crosses, several by Alexander 'Greek' Thomson and one early Celtic cross of 1888 by Charles Rennie Mackintosh. You enter from Cathedral Square over the stone 'Bridge of Sighs' of 1836, then the paths wind upward to the summit where John Knox, the Scottish reformer, stands on a column raised in 1825, before the hill was a cemetery at all. From there the whole cathedral opens up below you, with the old town and the industrial east beyond: the one picture of Glasgow you will not get anywhere else. The climb takes about ten minutes at a gentle pace; paths are paved but steep and uneven, so a pushchair reaches the top only with effort, and there are few benches and no facilities. Entry is free and the gates are open daily from 07:00 to 16:30, all year round, so do not leave the visit for a summer evening. Nothing shelters you, and the wind on the summit is stronger than you expect even in summer, so bring good shoes and a jacket. To understand who these people were rather than just look at their stones, the Friends of Glasgow Necropolis run two-hour walking tours by donation, mostly at weekends; places are limited, must be booked in advance through their website and typically sell out weeks ahead. Be honest with yourself: this is a cemetery, and not everyone in the family will enjoy it. Anyone who finds the idea uncomfortable can settle for the view from the bridge; anyone who loves history and architecture will find one of Glasgow's finest hours here. It pairs naturally with the Cathedral and the neighbouring St Mungo Museum of Religious Life and Art in a single two- to three-hour visit. High Street railway station is a five-minute walk; if you are driving, parking around the cathedral is pay-and-display, limited and fills quickly in summer.
From the John Knox monument the whole cathedral and the old town open up below in the best picture Glasgow offers.
Greek, Egyptian, Moorish and Gothic tombs of Victorian magnates, several signed by Thomson and Mackintosh.
The stone entrance from Cathedral Square, built in 1836 and the best photo spot before the climb.
Castle Street, Cathedral Square, Glasgow G4 0UZ
Paths are paved but steep, uneven and unfenced, so a pushchair gets to the top only with effort and small children need watching near the drops. It is a working cemetery with no facilities and few benches; with very young children, settle for the bridge and the view from the cathedral side and give the time to the neighbouring St Mungo Museum instead.
Wandering alone gives you the view and the architecture in an hour, which is enough for most visitors. The free-by-donation Friends walk takes two hours and tells the stories behind the stones; it rewards history lovers only, runs mostly at weekends, must be booked ahead and sells out weeks in advance, so do not build a short trip around it.