It's no accident that Glasgow was chosen as both City of Culture and, more recently, UK City of Architecture and Design. Its main attractions are its magnificent Victorian buildings, its museums and art galleries (most of which are free).

Sir John Betjeman, Poet Laureate and architectural enthusiast, described Glasgow as the "greatest Victorian city in Europe" and many examples of its rich architectural legacy can be found in the commercial centre (from George Square west to the M8).

To the east of George Square is the Merchant City, where the Palladian mansions of the Tobacco Lords have been cleaned up and reclaimed by the professional classes as a fashionable place to eat, drink and play.

Further east, in almost surreal contrast, is the East End, a traditional working-class stronghold, and to the north is the oldest part of Glasgow, around the medieval cathedral.

West of George Square is Buchanan Street, one of the city's principal shopping thoroughfares, along with Sauchiehall Street, at its northern end, and the more downmarket Argyle Street, at the southern end. From here the streets rise towards Blythswood Square, a much quieter area of elegant late Georgian buildings filled with office workers.

Beyond Charing Cross, across the ugly scar of the M8, is the city's West End, an area of grand Victorian townhouses and sweeping terraces and home of some of the city's best museums.

On the city's South Side, across the River Clyde, is Pollock Country Park, home of two of Glasgow's finest museums, the Burrell Collection and Pollock House.

The River Clyde itself has been added to the list of visitor attractions. The Clydeside Walkway, running from Victoria Bridge in the east to the River Kelvin in the west, is an attempt to direct Glasgow's great river towards a post-industrial future of leisure and tourism.

Perhaps not surprisingly, given the origins of its name, Glasgow boasts quite a few green spaces - more per head of population than any other city in Europe.

There are more than 70 parks in all, from Glasgow Green in the East End to Kelvingrove Park in the West End, and Queen's Park and Pollock Country Park, both in the South Side.

{flickr-album}Type=Search, Keywords=Glasgow Visitor Attractions, {/flickr-album}