The grid-plan of streets to the east of George Square as far as the High Street form the Merchant City, where the Tobacco Lords built their magnificent Palladian mansions. The expensive designer shops, bijou cafes and style bars gift the city an air of sophistication.

They made Glasgow the most important tobacco trading city in Europe and can also take the credit for it being one of the lung cancer capitals of the world by the mid-20th century.

This part of the city was once a bustling trade centre and money has been poured into the restoration of its 18th century warehouses and homes in an attempt to revitalise and regenerate the city's old historic core.

Though many of the buildings are little more than façades, the investment has succeeded in attracting expensive designer clothes shops and a plethora of stylish bistros, cafés and bars, which are packed with the city's young professionals and media types.

It's a very pleasant and interesting area to explore, and when all that neo-classical architecture gets too much, you can pop into one of the trendy café-bars for some light relief. A good place to start is Hutchesons' Hall, at 158 Ingram Street, a distinguished Georgian building which is now the National Trust for Scotland's regional headquarters.

It was built by David Hamilton in 1805 in neo-classical style with a traditional Scottish "townhouse" steeple. It was once home of the Scottish Educational Trust, a charitable institution founded by the 17th century lawyer brothers George and Thomas Hutcheson which provided almshouses and schools for the city. Their statues gaze down towards the site of the original almshouse in Trongate.

Inside is a shop and information room with an audio-visual programme about the history of the Merchant City.

Mon-Sat 1000-1700. Free. (Tel: 5528391).

At the corner of Ingram Street and Glassford Street is the lavish Trustee Savings Bank building, designed by that prodigious talent, JJ Burnet in 1900.

Nearby, on Ingram Street, is another fine building, Lanarkshire House, designed by his father, John Burnet, along with two more of Glasgow's greatest architects, David Hamilton and James Salmon Jnr.trades

It dates from 1879 and has recently been opened as a combination of bars, restaurants and meeting rooms.

Running off Ingram Street is Virginia Street, whose name recalls Glasgow's trading links with America.

Here you'll find a rather dilapidated collection of early 19th century buildings, Virginia Buildings. Behind the southernmost of these buildings is Crown Arcade, formerly the tobacco and sugar exchange and now beautifully converted to a glass-roofed arcade of antique and craft shops.

Parallel to Virginia Street is Miller Street, where you'll find the Merchant City's oldest surviving house (No 42), the Tobacco Laird's House, dating from 1775.

You can avail a Merchant City Trail leaflet from the tourist office or visitor attractions at the place which will guide you around the interesting areas and buildings in the place.