Glasgow Cathedral

Until the 18th century Glasgow consisted only of a narrow ribbon of streets running north from the river past the Glasgow Cross and up the High Street to the cathedral. Then came the city's rapid expansion west and the High Street became a dilapidated backwater. At the top of the High Street stand the two oldest buildings in the city, Glasgow Cathedral and Provand's Lordship.

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The rather severe-looking early Gothic structure is the only complete medieval cathedral on the Scottish mainland.

It was built on the site of St Mungo's original church, established in AD 543, though this has been a place of Christian worship since it was blessed for burial in AD 397 by St Ninian, the earliest missionary recorded in Scottish history.

Most of the building was completed in the 13th century though parts were built a century earlier by Bishop Jocelyn.

The choir and crypt were added a century later and the building was completed at the end of the 15th century by Robert Blacader, the first Bishop of Glasgow.

During the Reformation, the city's last Roman Catholic Archbishop, James Beaton, took off for France with most of the cathedral treasures, just ahead of the townsfolk who proceeded to rid the building of all traces of "idolatry" by destroying altars, statues, vestments and the valuable library.

The present furnishings mostly date from the 19th century and many of the windows have been renewed with modern stained glass.

The most outstanding feature in the cathedral is the fan vaulting around St Mungo's tomb in the crypt, one of the very finest examples of medieval architecture in Scotland.

There's also fine work in the choir, including a 15th century stone screen, the only one of its kind left in any pre-Reformation secular (non-monastic) church in Scotland.

Behind the cathedral looms the Western Necropolis, a vast burial ground overlooking the city from the top of a high ridge.

It's the ideal vantage point from which to appreciate the cathedral in all its Gothic splendour and many of the tombs are wonderfully-ornate.

Interred here are the great and the good (and not so good) of Victorian Glasgow, overseen by a statue of John Knox, the 16th century firebrand reformer.

Apr-Sep Mon-Sat 0930-1800, Sun 1400-1700, Oct-Mar Mon-Sat 0930-1600, Sun 1400-1600. Free. (Tel: 5526891).

Cathedral Precinct

In front of the cathedral is the weetabix-coloured St Mungo Museum of Religious Life and Art, which features a series of displays of arts and artefacts representing the six major world religions, as well as a Japanese Zen garden in the courtyard outside - great for a few moments of quiet contemplation.

Highlights include Salvador Dalí's astounding painting Christ of St John of the Cross, purchased by the city from the artist in 1951.

Don't miss the extremely interesting comments on the visitors' board. There's also a bookshop and café serving hot meals, snacks and drinks.

Mon-Thu and Sat 1000-1700; Fri and Sun 1100-1700. Free. (Tel: 5532557).

Across the street the Provand's Lorship, the oldest remaining house in Glasgow, built in 1471 as part of a refuge for the city's poor and extended in 1670. It has also served as an inn of ra ther dubious repute in its time.

Behind the Provand's Lordship is the Garden of St Nicholas, a small herb garden contrasting Renaissance and medieval aesthetics as well as approaches to medicine. You can relax on the stone walkways which border the garden. Many tag the garden as an "aromatic and peaceful haven"

Now it's a museum devoted mainly to medieval furniture and various domestic items.

Same phone number and opening hours as above.