Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games: your complete travel guide

The Glasgow Commonwealth Games venues

One of the defining features of Glasgow 2026 is its compact layout. All competition venues sit within an 8-mile corridor through the city, making it easy to attend multiple events in a single day and to explore the city in between. Here are the Glasgow Commonwealth Games venues:

Scotstoun Stadium (West End, Athletics)

Home to the track and field events, Scotstoun Stadium is in the West End of the city and well served by public transport. The athletics finals are among the most hotly contested tickets.

Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome & Arena (East End, Track Cycling and Gymnastics)

Named after Scotland’s most decorated Olympian, the velodrome is a world-class facility in the East End. The atmosphere during track cycling events is electric, even if you’re not a cycling obsessive, it’s worth experiencing.

Tollcross International Swimming Centre (East End, Swimming)

Tollcross has hosted multiple major international competitions and has a well-deserved reputation as one of the best swimming venues in Europe.

Scottish Event Campus (SEC) – (Cyldeside, multiple sports)

The SEC complex on the banks of the Clyde houses several sports across its different venues. The Hydro, the Armadillo, and the SEC Centre between them hosting netball, weightlifting, Para powerlifting, 3×3 basketball, bowls, boxing and judo. This is right in the heart of the city and easy to combine with exploring the Clydeside area.

Watching the Games for free – fan zones

You don’t need a ticket to feel part of it. Glasgow’s main free fanzone, ‘Game On‘, takes over Kelvingrove Park for the full eleven days, with three giant screens showing more than twelve hours of coverage a day, plus free activities and the chance to try sports yourself. It’s family-friendly and it’s right in the heart of the West End.

Where to Stay in Glasgow

Here’s a breakdown of the main areas to consider. [affliate links – thank you for supporting my site]

Glasgow City Centre

The most practical base and the right choice if you want to be in the middle of everything. You’re walking distance from the SEC venues, steps from the subway for everywhere else, and surrounded by bars and restaurants for the evenings.

The range of hotels here is huge from budget to luxury. My picks lean towards the places with a bit of character rather than the anonymous chain options.

Choose from Dakota Glasgow, (sleek and grown-up, great bar), Apex City of Glasgow Hotel (reliable, well-located), or voco Grand Central Glasgow by IHG (if you want a grand old railway hotel with proper atmosphere).

Clydeside

If your main events are at the SEC, staying on the Clyde makes obvious sense. Beyond the convenience, this stretch of the riverfront is genuinely worth being based in. The Riverside Museum is a ten-minute walk, the Tall Ship is moored outside it, and the Clydeside Distillery is right there for when you need a post-event dram.

The waterfront regeneration here has been dramatic, it feels quite different from the rest of the city, more open and modern, which some people love and some find a bit soulless. Worth knowing before you book.

Check into: Village Hotel Glasgow (good value, river views), or Hilton Garden Inn Glasgow City Centre, Crowne Plaza Glasgow by IHG

The West End

This is my favourite part of Glasgow, and if you want to feel like you’re actually living in the city rather than visiting it, stay here. The West End is where academics, artists, and people who care deeply about their coffee live.

Byres Road is the main artery, lined with independent shops, restaurants, and cafes. Kelvingrove Museum and the Botanic Gardens are on your doorstep. The subway gets you to the city centre in four minutes and Scotstoun Stadium (athletics) is very close.

Check into: The Sandyford Lodge (charming Victorian townhouse, great value), Kelvingrove Hotel  (small, friendly, right in the thick of it).

The Merchant City and The East End

If your schedule is heavy on velodrome and gymnastics events, the East End is the logical base, you’ll be close to the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome and can walk to Tollcross.

The Merchant City sits just west of here and is worth knowing about, it’s a handsome Georgian quarter full of independent bars and restaurants and one of Glasgow’s most favourite neighbourhoods for an evening out.

Check into: The Social Hub Glasgow (lively, social, good for solo travellers), Babbity Bowster(a Merchant City institution, tiny, characterful, proper pub downstairs), Moxy Glasgow Merchant City (fun, affordable, central).

What it costs (roughly) to stay in Glasgow

A quick, honest word on accomodation in Glasgow. In a normal week, a mid-range double room in the city centre runs somewhere around £70-£110 a night, with budget chains from about £45 and hostel dorms from £20. During the Games fortnight, though, expect all of that to climb steeply – the same room can easily double.

Beyond hotel costs, Glasgow is a reasonably priced city. Many of the best museums are free. A subway day ticket is only a few pounds. Dinner with a drink in Finnieston is around £30-£45 a head at the small-plates places, less if you go casual, and a pint is around a fiver.

Getting Around Glasgow During the Games

The Glagow Subway

Glasgow’s subway is the quickest and most enjoyable way to get around the city. Affectionately known as ‘the Clockwork Orange’ thanks to its circular route and orange trains. It connects the city centre, the West End, and the Southside. It’s cheap, simple, and has a certain vintage charm. Get an SPT Subway Day Ticket if you’re planning multiple journeys.

Glasgow Buses

Glasgow’s bus network fills in the gaps the subway doesn’t cover, including routes to the East End venues. The First Glasgow app is useful for planning journeys. Expect some delays around event days, build in extra time.

Glasgow City Sightseeing Bus

Running every 15 minutes from George Square, from 9.30am till 4.30pm the hop on hop off Glasgow sightseeing bus takes you east to west across the city with 21 stops from the Kelvingrove Museum and People’s Palace. Buy city sightseeing tickets online.

Walking and cycling

Glasgow 2026 has actively invested in active travel routes between venues, and the compact layout means a lot is walkable. If July is being kind weather-wise (it does happen), walking between the city centre venues is a genuinely pleasant experience.

Avoid driving

Seriously. Road closures, congestion, and parking difficulties make driving in the city centre a misery.

Accessibility at Glasgow 2026

Glasgow 2026 is being billed as the most inclusive Commonwealth Games yet, and with six Para sports and the largest Para-sport programme in the event’s history, accessibility has been designed in rather than bolted on.

Every competition venue has step-free routes, accessible seating, accessible toilets and dedicated assistance on the day. Personal assistant tickets are free when booked alongside a paying ticket, and sensory-friendly accommodations are available on request.

What to do in Glasgow beyond the games

Glasgow once had a bit of an image problem, people have heard of Edinburgh and assume Glasgow is the gritty industrial afterthought.

Those people are wrong – forget everything you thought you knew about Glasgow. Emerging fresh from decades of urban regeneration, Glasgow has a lively music scene, brilliant restaurants, a huge art community and people who can make a party out anything. Here is what to do in Glasgow:

Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum

One of the finest free museums in the UK, full stop. The building alone, a stunning red sandstone Victorian palace in the West End, is worth the visit. Inside there is a Salvador Dalí, a stuffed elephant called Sir Roger, suits of armour, natural history, Scottish Colourists, and so much more. Genuinely brilliant for all ages and easily worth three hours of your time.

GOMA, the Glasgow Gallery of Modern Art

Inside, the gallery exhibits works from modern masters such as Hockney, Goldsworthy, and Beryl Cook, but outside GOMA is arguably Glasgow’s most popular piece of art.

The Duke of Wellington might have defeated Napoleon at Waterloo, but the battle to keep a cone atop his statue outside the Glasgow Gallery of Modern Art is as close to a literal representation of Glasgow as you can get – it has a certain persistence, humour and total disrespect of anyone in charge.

The Glasgow Mural Trail

A self-guided walk through the city centre taking in some spectacular street art, from enormous photorealistic portraits to bold abstract pieces. It’s free, it’s surprising, and it takes you through parts of the city you might not otherwise explore. Pick up a map from the tourist information point or download the trail online before you go.

The Riverside Museum

Glasgow’s transport museum sits dramatically on the banks of the Clyde, in a Zaha Hadid-designed building that’s an attraction in itself. Inside there are vintage cars, trams, locomotives, and a recreated 1900s Glasgow street. Right next door is the Tall Ship Glenlee, which you can board. Great for kids, great for everyone.

The Burrell Collection

One of Scotland’s great art collections, housed in a beautiful pavilion in Pollok Country Park in the Southside. Sir William Burrell’s eclectic collection spans medieval tapestries, Chinese bronzes, Impressionist paintings, and ancient Greek artefacts. The park itself is lovely, there are Highland cattle grazing in it, which is a very Glasgow thing to discover while looking for a world-class art museum.

The Necropolis

Glasgow’s Victorian garden cemetery sits on a hill above the medieval cathedral, and it’s one of the most atmospheric places in the city. Wander among the extraordinary monuments and mausoleums, it’s peaceful, historic and oddly beautiful. Completely free, and best combined with a visit to Glasgow Cathedral next door.

Charles Rennie Mackintosh

Glasgow’s greatest architect and designer left an extraordinary legacy across the city. The Mackintosh at the Willow (a recreated tearoom on Sauchiehall Street) is a good introduction, while the Scotland Street School Museum gives you a fuller sense of his style. The Mackintosh House, reconstructed inside the Hunterian Museum, is also worth a visit if you’re a fan.

The Clydeside Distillery

Right on the Clyde waterfront near the SEC, the Clydeside Distillery is a working single malt whisky distillery with excellent tours and a very scenic setting. A great option if you find yourself with time between events at the SEC venues.

Day trips from Glasgow

The Games run for eleven days, and even the most dedicated spectator will end up with a gap in the schedule. The joy of Glasgow is that some of Scotland’s best days out are less than an hour away by train, no car required.

• Loch Lomond is my recommended day trip. Trains from Queen Street reach Balloch, at the southern tip of the loch, in around 50 minutes, and you’re straight into the national park – cruises, lochside walks, and the pretty village of Luss.
• Stirling is barely half an hour away and punches far above its size: a castle every bit as dramatic as Edinburgh’s, the Wallace Monument on its crag, and the Bannockburn battlefield nearby. An easy, history-packed half day.
• The Kelpies and the Falkirk Wheel make a brilliant outing, especially with kids. Falkirk is about 30 minutes by train, and the two thirty-metre horse-head sculptures at Helix Park are jaw-dropping in person. The Falkirk Wheel, a rotating boat lift and the only one of its kind in the world, is a short hop from there.
• Edinburgh is under an hour by train and, yes, it’s the rival city, but if it’s your first time in Scotland it would be daft not to. The castle, the Royal Mile, Arthur’s Seat and the National Museum easily fill a day. Just don’t tell anyone in Glasgow I sent you.

Where to Eat and Drink in Glasgow

Glasgow takes food seriously, and it has done for longer than it gets credit for. The city invented the cafe bar and it has more Michelin-recognised restaurants per head than almost anywhere else in Scotland.

Glasgow’s pub culture is warm, unpretentious, and genuinely fun in a way that is very hard to manufacture. Here’s where to go.

Finnieston

This is the epicentre of cool in Glasgow, and if you only have one evening to eat well, come here. Finnieston is a stretch of Argyle Street that went from post-industrial neglect to one of the best restaurant strips in Scotland in about a decade. It’s also directly next to the SEC venues, which makes it the obvious choice before or after events.

Ox and Finch is the one I send everyone to first, small plates, endlessly inventive, the kind of place where you order too much and don’t regret it. The Gannet does the best modern Scottish cooking in the city. Bothy is brilliant for something more casual and comforting.

The West End

Byres Road on a Saturday morning is one of my favourite things about Glasgow. Grab a coffee at Papercup (tiny, brilliant, always busy) and watch the West End wake up.

For lunch, Ox and Anchor does excellent burgers, and Crabshakk on Argyle Street is worth the queue for the seafood. In the evening, Ubiquitous Chip has been a Glasgow institution for over 50 years, go for a special occasion and sit in the courtyard if you can. The Hillhead Bookclub for a drink in one of Glasgow’s most characterful bars, it used to be a cinema.

The Merchant City

The Merchant City has beautiful Georgian architecture, candlelit restaurants, a slightly more polished atmosphere than the West End. Saints of Ingram is a good option for a more formal dinner. If you prefer things more traditional Glasgow, Guido’s Coronation Restaurant is a Glasgow classic – proper fish and chips, paper wrapping optional. La Lanterna has been doing traditional Italian since 1970 and is beloved for good reason.

Street Food and Markets

Dockyard Social is Glasgow’s indoor street food market, a big, converted industrial space with a rotating cast of vendors and a reliably good atmosphere. Good for a casual lunch, great for a group where everyone wants something different.

Don’t miss Glasgow’s pubs

Do not leave Glasgow without spending proper time in a pub.

The Horseshoe Bar on Drury Street is a Victorian masterpiece, ornate, enormous, and with the longest continuous bar in the UK. It opens at 9am, serves food all day, and has been doing so since 1884.

The Pot Still on Hope Street is where you go for whisky: over 700 malts, knowledgeable staff, and the kind of atmosphere that makes an hour disappear.

If you want the full Glasgow local experience, walk away from the centre and into any neighbourhood pub. Order a pint and a pie and chips.

Practical tips for your visit to Glasgow

Getting to Glasgow

Glasgow Airport (GLA) serves direct flights from many European and North American cities. It’s around 15 minutes from the city centre by taxi or the frequent Glasgow Flyer bus service. Edinburgh Airport is also a viable option if you can’t get a direct flight to Glasgow, the bus or train connection takes around 1 hour 15 minutes.

Arriving at the venues: bags and security

Expect airport-style security and bag checks at every venue. Large bags generally aren’t allowed and there’s no storage at the venues themselves, so travel as light as you can. Bring an empty refillable water bottle to fill up inside (tap water in Scotland is safe and free), and arrive at least an hour before your session to get through the queues comfortably.

If you’re arriving or leaving on an event day and need to stash luggage, there’s a paid left-luggage facility at Buchanan Bus Station, and left luggage at Glasgow Central station too.

The weather

Late July and early August is Scotland’s best time for weather, long days, and a genuine chance of sunshine. But this is Glasgow, so pack layers, always carry a light waterproof, and don’t let a grey morning ruin your plans. If it does bucket down, you’re spoiled for indoor options: Kelvingrove, the Riverside, the Burrell and GOMA are all free and easily worth a few hours, and there’s always a warm pub with your name on it.

Money and practicalities

Scotland uses the British Pound (£). Card payments are accepted almost everywhere and you’ll rarely need cash, but it’s worth carrying a little for the odd traditional pub, market stall and the Barras market in particular is still a cash sort of a place. Glasgow is a safe, welcoming city. Tipping is appreciated but not obligatory; 10% in restaurants is standard. The emergency number is 999; for non-emergency police, call 101.

Book accommodation now

I’ll say it one more time: accommodation in Glasgow during the Games will be in high demand and prices will rise as we get closer to the event. If you have confirmed tickets and travel plans, book your accommodation today.

Tickets and the official Glasgow Commonwealth Games app

Head to glasgow2026.com for all ticketing information and to register for updates. Popular events such as athletics finals, swimming, track cycling will sell quickly. The official Commonwealth Games app will be your friend during the event for schedules, transport info, and venue navigation.

The Commonwealth Games bring athletes and visitors from 74 nations to one of Europe’s most exciting cities, and I genuinely hope you fall for Glasgow the way so many visitors do. It’s a city that surprises people.

Come for the Commonwealth Games. Stay for Glasgow.

Kate, love from Scotland x

You might also like my complete guide to things to do in Glasgow and free things to do in Glasgow.