Glasgow's civic museums are free, and two of them are genuinely world class. You could do Kelvingrove in the morning and the Riverside Museum in the afternoon and have spent nothing but the bus fare between them.
The city is also generous with parks, which is where the name comes from.
Free things to do in Glasgow with children
- Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum — A Spitfire hanging from the ceiling, an elephant, Dali's Christ of St John of the Cross and daily organ recitals. Free, and the building alone is worth the trip.
- Riverside Museum — Glasgow's transport museum, with a recreated old street, trams, cars stacked up a wall and locomotives. Free. The Tall Ship moored outside is also free to board.
- Glasgow Botanic Gardens — The Kibble Palace glasshouse with its tree ferns and carnivorous plants. Free.
- Glasgow Green and the People's Palace grounds — The oldest park in the city, with the Doulton Fountain and plenty of space. Free.
- Pollok Country Park — Highland cattle, woodland and the Burrell Collection, which is free to enter.
Worth paying for
Not free, but cheap enough to be worth it, and all reachable without a car:
- Glasgow Science Centre — Charges, but three floors of interactive exhibits plus a planetarium make it a full day rather than an hour.
- The Subway — A small circular underground line. A day ticket is cheap and small children consider the orange trains an attraction in themselves.
Getting to Glasgow by train
Glasgow Central sits in the city centre, with the Subway running out to the West End for Kelvingrove.
Going by train also means nobody has to find a parking space, and children can move about, look out of the window and eat crisps for the whole journey.
Click here to book train tickets to Glasgow
Opening hours, admission prices and booking requirements change, and some attractions close on certain days or for refurbishment. Always check the attraction’s own website before you set off. This page was written in August 2026.
Disclosure: the train ticket link on this page is an affiliate link. If you book through it I may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.
