Glasgow Mural Trail: a 90-minute tour of the city’s best street art

Glasgow has a sense of humor and absolutely no interest in being told what to do. And between cone-headed statues and the Glasgow Mural Trail, they can prove it.

During the Tartan Army’s time in Boston during the World Cup, they enthusiastically imported their irreverent habit of placing traffic cones on the heads of civic statues, which has been a staple in Glasgow since the 1980s.

When Glasgow’s city council proposed spending £65,000 to deter cone-placers, locals gathered 10,000 petition signatures in 24 hours. The cone stayed.

So it’s not a coincidence that the same city has become one of the great street art destinations in the world, which has been the genesis of the very popular Glasgow Mural Trail.

An open-air gallery that covers the whole city

The huge murals on city buildings grew out of a grassroots street art scene that had been building since 2008, when artists started claiming blank walls across the city centre.

Today the city has over 200 large-scale murals, and the trail draws visitors specifically to see the murals.

My first encounter with the murals was from an open-top tour bus — and even from that distance, passing at speed, they stopped me mid-sentence. Jackie and I kept pointing at walls. The colors, the scale, and the craftsmanship said that these weren’t decorations. They were statements.

I’ve seen outdoor murals in Halifax, in Hillsborough and New Bern, in North Carolina, and photographs of other murals in cities across Europe. Glasgow’s murals are different — not just in scale, but in ambition and quality.

What you’ll find on the walls

The murals range from intimate to overwhelming. Some are quiet neighborhood pieces — a young woman in a hoodie cradling a small house in her hand, birds lifting from a chimney, warmth in the windows. Others cover entire building facades, four or five stories of photorealistic detail that you almost don’t believe was painted by human hands.

Around one corner you find “Smug’s Giant” — a woman peering through a magnifying glass from four stories up, her gaze fixed on the street below. Stand at the right spot and it looks like she’s examining the people walking past. It’s playful and slightly unsettling in equal measure, which is exactly the point.

The Wind Power mural on Mitchell Street (the featured photo at the top of this post), shows a child planting wind turbines in a Highland landscape with mountains rolling away behind. It covers a full building wall and hits you when you round the corner onto the street. The colours are muted and earthy, the scale enormous. It was created by artist Rogue One as part of Glasgow’s Doors Open Days and celebrates Scotland’s commitment to renewable energy.

Under stone arches along the city railway tracks, a series of murals fill each opening like giant circular canvases: a riot of color and references, each one different in style, and framed by Victorian stonework. It’s the kind of juxtaposition Glasgow seems to revel in naturally.

The Billy Connolly murals

Glasgow doesn’t do anything quietly when it comes to Billy Connolly.

The city’s most beloved son — comedian, musician, storyteller, and deeply Glaswegian human being — has three large-scale portrait murals dedicated to him in the city. They were commissioned for his 75th birthday.

Based on original portraits by Scottish artists Rachel MacLean and Jack Vettriano, and executed by street artists Rogue One and the Art Pistol collective, the Connolly murals rise three stories or more on the sides of old Glasgow tenement buildings.

One shows him arm raised, head back, against a saltire sky — triumphant, defiant, completely himself. The scale and the setting together create something that feels less like a mural and more like a monument.

As you turn the corner, the sheer size and artistry of these murals just stop you cold. I think it’s safe to say that Glasgow is very proud of Billy Connolly.

Watch Billy see the murals for the first time.

Seeing the Glasgow murals

When to go The murals are there year-round. Glasgow’s weather being what it is, a dry day makes the colors vibrant. Overcast light actually works well for photography — no harsh shadows.

• Most city centre murals are within a 30-minute walk of each other.
• It rains in Scotland, so bring a rain jacket just in case.
• Add comfortable shoes and a charged phone camera, and that’s all you need.

And the Duke of Wellington statue is at Royal Exchange Square, a short walk from Glasgow Central Station. The cone is almost certainly on his head. A smaller one is usually on his horse.

Click the thumbnails to see larger versions of the images

The guided tour — worth it

The murals are so scattered across the city centre that a guided tour genuinely adds value. There are several walking tours available (see below). They run about 90 minutes and run daily, starting on Mitchell Street at the Wind Turbines mural. But book ahead — they fill up.

A local guide covers the murals themselves and the context: the artists, the commissioning process, the stories behind specific pieces, and the broader character of Glasgow’s street art scene.

It’s one of those tours where you finish knowing the city better than when you started.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Questions we’re typically asked about Glasgow murals:

Glasgow’s character, painted large

What strikes you after a few hours with the murals is how well they reflect the city itself. Some are funny. Some are political. Some are quietly beautiful. Some are all three at once. There’s no single tone or message — just a city using its walls to say something the way it always has.

Have you walked the Glasgow Mural Trail or is it on your list?