PRESTIGIOUS media company Condé Nast has named a Scottish city as its top UK city break destination for 2021.
The award-winning Condé Nast Traveller website selected Glasgow as its number one pick – writing that ahead of the upcoming COP26 climate conference there is a “hopeful feeling in the air”.
It comes after Glasgow was named one of the world’s friendliest cities by travel specialists Rough Guides, and Dennistoun was branded the eighth coolest neighbourhood in the world by Time Out.
READ MORE: Cail Bruich: Glasgow gets first Michelin star for nearly two decades
According to Condé Nast Glasgow may not have Edinburgh’s “chiselled profile”, but its “wide-open outdoor spaces, architecture and full-throttle nightlife could steal your heart”.
The editors picked out events complex SWG3, street mural trails, Michelin-star restaurant Cail Bruich and brunch spot Kelvingrove Café as some of the best reasons to plan a trip there.
SWG3's plans for street art studios
“Glasgow was built to survive hard knocks, even Covid-shaped ones, and continues to flourish with some wildly creative plans in the works,” they wrote, citing SWG3’s plans for a multimillion-pound project including a rooftop restaurant, sculpture garden and graffiti district by the Clydeside.
With the future of live events uncertain, the site recommends waiting until 2022 to catch performances at the Kelvingrove Park bandstand and other popular venues.
READ MORE: Dennistoun is named eighth coolest neighbourhood in the world by Time Out
In the mean time, they note that food and drink are “taking centre stage”. Artisan bakeries, coffee shops, Ka Pao, Six by Nico, Luchador and Kelvingrove Café are all worth putting on the list, they say.
Glasgow beat Belfast, Bristol, Cambridge, Manchester, Newcastle and Birmingham to take the top spot this year.
Dundee also made it onto the list at number 11, the only other Scottish destination to do so. Described as the “Scottish renaissance city” by the site, they recommend visiting for the V&A, life performances and cuisine.
“Dundee’s ascendance as one of the UK’s must-visit cultural destinations continues unabated after the opening of the dramatic waterside V&A, Scotland’s first design museum,” the editors say.
“As for food, there's exciting Scottish cuisine by Masterchef winner Jamie Scott at waterfront restaurant The Newport, where you can see beautiful sunsets over the River Tay from its windows (and stay the night in one of its four bedrooms).”
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