"Glasgow Do

There are many nightclubs, concerts and festivals in Glasgow.

Music

Glasgow's been famous for its music scene(s) for at least 20 years, with venues such as the legendary Barrowland Ballroom and King Tut's Wah Wah Hut now garnering world acclaim. There's plenty of venues where you're likely to see a good band (and lots of bad bands too); on any day of the week there should be at least several shows to choose from throughout the city, with the number increasing to a even greater variety on Thursday, Friday & Saturday. In no particular order, here follows some pop/indie/rock-orientated venues:

* Nice 'n' Sleazy on Sauchiehall St.

* King Tut's Wah Wah Hut on St Vincent St.

* ABC on Sauchiehall St.

* 13th Note on King St (just off Argyle Street/Trongate).

* The Cathouse on Union St (around the corner from Central railway station).

* The Riverside Club (33 Fox Street - behind St Enoch Square) Glasgow's top ceilidh (Scottish country dancing) venue on Friday and Saturday nights.

* Barfly on Clyde St.

* Mono restaurant and record shop.

* Stereo City centre venue with regular indie gigs downstairs, bar and cafe upstairs.

* The Barrowland Ballroom in the East End.

* Carling Academy Glasgow (now called the O2 Academy) on Eglinton St (south of the Clyde near Bridge Street Subway).

* The Arches on Argyle St (beneath Central Station). Running one of the UK's best techno nights, recently celebrated 10 years.

* Subclub on Jamaica St (Near to Central Station). Recently celebrated 20 years, rated one of the best clubs in the world from house to techno to whatever takes your fancy.

* The Vale on Dundas St (next to Buchanan Street Subway station).

* QMU at University Gardens (in the West End of the city).

The The Scottish Exhibition & Conference Centre is the city's premier music venue for major headline acts, even if the acoustics of the halls have always been questionable. More intimate gigs are held in the neighbouring Clyde Auditorium (or Armadillo). SECC Tickets sells tickets for these.

The Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, Sauchiehall Street (nearest Subway: Buchanan Street). This is the home of The Royal Scottish National Orchestra, one of Europe's leading symphony orchestras. It also produces the world famous Celtic Connections Festival every January.

The Glasgow International Jazz Festival is held every year in June.

Other music festivals or music orientated fesivals of note include The West End Festival, the Merchant City Festival and numerous others. As always, consult the listings magazine The List for further details.

Comedy

There are two main venues for stand-up comedy in Glasgow.

* The Stand on Woodlands Road (West End)

* Jongleurs in the City Centre

Although other pubs and clubs frequently hold comedy events: see the listings magazine The List for details.

CF also the Magners Glasgow International Comedy Festival held yearly thoroughout March/April.

Cinema

The most interesting films in Glasgow are shown at:

* Glasgow Film Theatre (GFT), 12 Rose St, 332 8128. Excellent choice of classics, also art and foreign-language movies.

* The Grosvenor, Ashton Lane (just off Byres Road in the West End).

* CCA, on Sauchiehall St. Shows films, though it's primarily an art gallery.

Mainstream films can be seen at the Cineworld on Renfrew St, which is the tallest cinema in the world

Football

Glasgow also has the 3 biggest football stadia in Scotland. The major events in the football season are the clashes between the two Premier league clubs, Celtic and Rangers. Known as the "Old Firm" matches, these 90 minute competitions produce a profound effect on the city, occasionally, but less frequently in recent times, resulting in violent clashes during or after the game. Cup ties between these two giants are quite frequent, raising the tensions further. Be aware that getting tickets for "Old Firm" games can be difficult and cup ties near impossible. If you do go to one of these matches it is advised that you do not wear team colours (blue and red for Rangers, green for Celtic) after the match.

* Hampden Park (Home of Football) (5 star) The national stadium. Hampden hosts many large sporting events and concerts and also houses the Scottish Football Museum. The Scottish national football team plays its home games here. Is also home to Queen's Park Football Club.

* Celtic Park, Home to The Hoops (Celtic Football Club).

* Ibrox Stadium, This is the home of Rangers Football Club.(Champions of Scotland).

* Firhill, - Home of Partick Thistle Football Club, also known as "the Jags". It has a capacity of 14,538.

Parks

For a large city, Glasgow has a surprising number of parks and green spaces; there is more parkland here than in any other British city. The most famous of these is Glasgow Green. Founded by Royal grant in 1450, Glasgow Green has slowly been enclosed by the city and evolved from grazing land into a modern public park. The highlights are:

If you should fall in

Glasgow Green is the home of the Glasgow Humane Society. The Society was founded in 1790 and is the world's oldest practical life-saving body. Until June 2005 the society volunteers were responsible for rescuing those unfortunate to fall into the River Clyde. Unfortunately modern heath and safety regulations require two life boat men on duty and a lack of volunteers has forced the sole lifeboat man, George Parsonage, to stand down the service after 215 years. The rescue service is now performed by the Strathclyde Fire Brigade.

* Nelson's memorial - an obelisk or needle: built to commemorate Nelson's victory at the battle of Trafalgar

* The Peoples Palace Museum - displaying details of Glasgow life (including one of Billy Connolly's banana boots)

* The Templeton carpet factory - with its ornate brick work; now a business center

* The Doulton fountain - recently renovated, it's the largest terracotta fountain in the world

"The Green" as its known to the locals is also one of the major venues for concerts and open air events in Glasgow. The best way to get there is on foot from either Bridgeton or Argyle Street railway stations or from the bus routes along London Road. There is limited official parking in or around the green and the area is notorious for car crime. Be aware the council will tow away illegally parked vehicles and charge you up to £250 pounds to get them back!