Merchant City Music Walking Tour of Glasgow

Overview

Available languages

English

2 hours

Mobile ticket

Explore Glasgow's music scene with this two hour guided walking tour of iconic venues in the Merchant City and East End.

Entertaining and informative, this tour has all the stories about the legendary performers who have stayed, played and made music in Glasgow.

The city has an unrivalled reputation for producing brilliant bands, making memorable music and putting on unforgettable shows. This tour will show you how and why.

Our guides are enthusiastic music fans and writers who are immersed in Glasgow’s cultural life.

The tour finishes at the hip and happening Mono Café Bar where customers can enjoy a 20% discount on food.

You don't need to be a music expert to enjoy the tour and even if you are, you may still learn new things. Jam-packed with anecdotes, the tour is designed to show a different side of Glasgow to both visitors and locals.

Additional Info

Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller

Service animals allowed

Public transportation options are available nearby

Suitable for all physical fitness levels

Please contact us to discuss any mobility issues.

Operates in all weather conditions, please dress appropriately

Please be at departure point 10 minutes prior to scheduled departure time

Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

What‘s Included

Includes voucher for 20% discount on food at Mono Cafe Bar.

Food and drinks, unless specified

What To Expect

The Clutha Bar

One of Glasgow's best loved live music pubs, this Clydeside bar is covered with murals which showcase the diversity of the city's music scene through the years.

10 minutes • Admission Not Applicable

Britannia Panopticon Music Hall

Britain’s oldest surviving music hall, the venerable Britannia Panopticon is still a working venue. As well as hosting legendary Scottish performers such as Harry Lauder, this atmospheric, hidden gem has seen stage stars ranging from Cary Grant to Stan Laurel. At present, due to Covid, we do not have access to Britannia Panopticon although we can still tell you all its great stories.

20 minutes • Admission Not Applicable

Options

Saturday Tour

Two hour guided walking tour of the Merchant City's music scene, past and present. Tour departs Victoria Bar/The Clutha on Stockwell Street at 11am.

Reviews

4.95

94 reviews

Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor

Highly Recommend!
Rebecca H,
Sep 15, 2025
- Review from Viator
5.00
The history of music in Glasgow is rich and fascinating. You'll walk about two hours with one comfort break. Our guide, Fiona, was impressive in her breasts and depth of knowledge. She's an arts journalist and clearly has a love for Glasgow and it's musiciand. I take walking tours all over the world, and this was one of the best!
Fantastic!
E9708FHstevenl,
Aug 23, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00
Really enjoyed the tour! It was a great experience and a good walk around Glasgow for first time visitors. Super knowledgeable and wasn’t rushed at all.
Excellent experience
Charlatan 13,
Aug 16, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00
A fantastic way to spend a couple of hours in Glasgow. Phil was incredibly knowledgeable and engaging. Time flew by and we learned a lot about Glasgows rich history and contribution to the world of music.
Fantastic tour
aliC2700EY,
Aug 11, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00
What a fantastic tour. We were greeted by Phil,and joined the rest of the group at the Clutha bar. Phil was so interesting and knowledgeable and made the whole experience fun and informative. The tour was just over 2 hours and the visit to the panopticon was fascinating. I would highly recommend this tour and will be joining the King Tut's tour soon.
Not to be missed
95tamc,
Aug 9, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00
Glad I booked those music city tours before ending my trip in Glasgow. Had a really pleasant moment with Phil and the group. I highly recomend doing this experience ! Hopefully I'll be able to come back for the winter tour :).
Fabulous walking music tour
ClaireyT1974,
Aug 4, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00
We had the most fantastic experience with Phil (p6) on our 2 hour walking music tour starting at the Clutha and ending at MoNo - great value for money and incredibly entertaining. Thank you x
A wonderful tour…
W1293CCgrahamm,
Aug 2, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00
Went on the Merchant City tour today and really enjoyed it. Our guide, Phil, was incredibly knowledgeable and provided all sorts of information. The tour lasted almost 2 1/2 hours and was really good value. Would highly recommend and hope to go on their other tour before too long.
For the love of music
Janet S,
Jul 27, 2025
- Review from Viator
5.00
Nice enthusiastic guide, heard a lot about past and well-known artists of today. The Scots love live music, that has become more than clear
A must do tour for anyone who loves their music.
Ronnie D,
Jun 21, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00
Had a brilliant late morning tour around Glasgows music heritage, even the rain couldn’t dampen the experience. Phil was great, unbelievably knowledgeable and informative, funny and very entertaining. Everything knitted in superbly in relation to the venues, history, bands and characters. Had done a similar tour last summer in Liverpool which was also brilliant and this was on par with that one.
Great day out
Sadie H,
May 3, 2025
- Review from Viator
5.00
Phil our guide was full off information not only about the music culture but also our beautiful city of Glasgow. Visiting the Panopticon Music Hall was the highlight of the tour. Definitely will do the afternoon tour.