Botanic Gardens
Yes, this favourite sunny-day place is a great rainy-day place too.
The Kibble Palace Glasshouse contains towering tree ferns that grow
like a primitive forest next to soft circular pathways. The fish pond
at the Kibble Palace entrance is always popular with toddlers, and the
many side benches give welcome rest to parents. Park Rangers may ask
you to remove your toddler from the inevitably tempting metal grates
that line the walls. You can bring coffee and food inside. The Main
Range of glasshouses contains several different environments to
explore, including a room filled with fragrant flowers, a lily pond
with fish and a lush 'jungle' in the central room.
Free
Address: 730 Great Western Road, Glasgow G12 0UE
Opening hours: 10am-4:45pm daily in summer, 10am-4:15pm daily in winter
Botanic Gardens website
Burrell Collection
The Burrell Collection museum is blessed not just with 9,000 works of priceless art, but also — and more importantly, to us — with a great, child-friendly cafe, a fantastically fun playground by the car park, and acres of surrounding woodland walks. (See Pollok Park in the Sunny Days section.) Toddlers must be supervised carefully within the museum (so they won't grab antique weapons, for instance), but they can enjoy a very small play pagoda for under-5s and wander through the wide corridors of the light, airy building. Most artworks are well out of reach, inside glass cases.
Free
Phone: 0141 287 2550
Address: Pollok Country Park, 2060 Pollokshaws Road, Glasgow G43 1AT
Opening hours: Monday-Thursday and Saturday 10am-5pm, Friday and Sunday 11am-5pm
Burrell Collection website
Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA)
The Library at GOMA, located in the basement, is child-friendly, with a
small cafe and general library that holds many children's books. The
art galleries upstairs house changing contemporary art exhibits, some
of which welcome toddlers (with a special children's play area, for
instance), and some of which don't (with guards actively discouraging
wanderers). If you're in the area, it might be worth a visit.
Free
Address: Royal Exchange Square, Glasgow G1 3AH
Opening hours: Monday-Wednesday and Saturday, 10am-5pm, Thursday 10am-8pm, Sunday 11am-5pm
GOMA website
Glasgow Science Centre
This impressive silver building by the River Clyde contains dozens of fun, interactive exhibits that show scientific laws in action. Babies and toddlers love all the bright lights, colours, sounds and wide open spaces in the museum. Older toddlers enjoy pressing buttons, turning wheels and pushing levers, then watching what happens next. The first floor has a Wendy house, soft mats and games for young children, plus the ever-popular walk-on piano. If you plan to visit more than four times a year, a season ticket gives great value.
Free for child under 3, Adult ticket £7, Season ticket (year) £32
Phone: 0871 540 1000
Address: 50 Pacific Quay, Glasgow G51 1EA
Opening hours: Daily 10am-6pm
Glasgow Science Centre website
Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum
This is the most-visited museum in Scotland, and it's no wonder. With more than 8,000 objects on display, including world-famous paintings, arms and armour, ancient Egyptian artifacts, Scottish wildlife, Mackintosh furniture, a bee hive, costumes, an elephant and a Spitfire, it truly has something for everyone. Best of all, its 3-year refurbishment has given it dozens of fun hands-on displays with buttons and levers and puzzles, ideal for young children. It even has a Mini Museum section on the ground floor, full of playful exhibits intended for under-5s. An excellent child-friendly restaurant in the basement and coffee shop on the ground floor, plus several baby-changing rooms, take care of your other needs. The museum can be crowded on rainy Saturdays and Sundays - many parents come here first!
Free
Phone: 0141 276 9599
Address: Argyle Street, Glasgow G3 8AG
Opening hours: Monday-Thursday and Saturday 10am-5pm, Friday and Sunday 11am-5pm
Kelvingrove Museum website
Museum of Transport
A new, more modern Museum of Transport will open at the intersection of the River Clyde and the River Kelvin in a few years' time. (No firm date has been set yet.) Until then, take your child to this old favourite museum, which is packed with shiny (and mostly untouchable) cars, trains, buses, bicycles, motorcycles and model ships. Toddlers love the climb-on prison bus and (unfortunately) the video car games near the entrance. You can now "hire" push-along ride-in cars at the front desk by the hour, for free. The shop sells lots of great model cars, trains and airplanes for older toddlers.
Free
Phone: 0141 287 2720
Address: 1 Bunhouse Road, Glasgow G3 8DP
Opening hours: Monday-Thursday and Saturday, 10am-5pm, Friday and Sunday, 11am-5pm
Museum of Transport website
People's Palace
Kids may enjoy some of the exhibits on the history of Glasgow's people in the People's Palace, particularly the hands-on dance hall exhibit with the mystery drawers to open and shut. The 'cheese shop' on the first floor is also popular with older toddlers, who will enjoy playing with the aprons, scales, and till. The main attraction for many toddlers, though, is the attached Winter Gardens, a Victorian glasshouse containing tropical plants and a cafe. The People's Palace hosts some events for under-5s, such as a "Jungle Fun" session in the Winter Gardens that encourages kids to hunt for banana and coconut trees, with jungle stories.
Free
Phone: 0141 271 2962
Address: Glasgow Green, Glasgow G40 1AT
Opening hours: Monday-Thursday and Saturday, 10am-5pm, Friday and Sunday, 11am-5pm
People's Palace website
Pollok House
The joy of taking your baby to Pollok House lies not in the house itself, which is filled with dozens of priceless, untouchable objects within toddler reach, but in the basement's lovely Kitchen Restaurant, and in the toddler-height hedge maze outside. The Kitchen restaurant serves tea with homemade cakes and scones, and delicious lunches. The hedge maze overlooks acres of gardens and the stone bridge over the White Cart River. Clydesdale horses live in the stables nearby, and farriers give demonstrations on special event days (call 0141 636 6920 for times).
Fees (to view house interior): November-March Free, April-October £8 per adult
Opening hours (Kitchen Restaurant): Monday-Sunday, 10am-4:30pm
Pollok House website
Tall Ship at Glasgow Harbour
Though primarily of interest to older birthday kid pirates, the Tall Ship does have a well-stocked soft play area for toddlers and babies, filled with a Wendy ship, soft toys, books, seafaring dress-up clothes, puzzles and games. The ship itself is difficult to explore with a pram, and its staircases are steep for toddlers. The ropes-and-pulleys display on the lower deck, however, is great fun if you can reach it.
Fees: £4.95 per adult, free child entry with every adult ticket
Phone: 0141 222 2513
Address: Stobcross Road, Glasgow G3 8QQ
Opening hours: November-February 10am-4pm, March-October 10am-5pm
Tall Ship website