I returned my student hometown and was astonished by how it had changed

Some may say Glasgow doesn’t have the same gravitas as Scotland’s capital of Edinburgh, but Fiona Whitting took a trip to this vibrant city where she studied as a student to discover why it’s deserving of just as much love as its more popular sister city.

On a walking tour of the city she met an American tourist who said:‘‘Edinburgh is like Disneyland – everything’s geared towards the tourist. Glasgow, however – there’s a real city.”

Fiona couldn’t have agreed more – although having studied there as a student, she admitted her own bias.

She said: “Back then the city council had conjured up a clever branding tag – Glasgow’s Miles Better – aimed at boosting its image. Locals knew it was really a veiled dig at its glitzier ­neighbour Edinburgh.”

On the of Glasgow’s street murals, guide Caron couldn’t agree more. She said:“Glasgow is full of unique charm. And, of course, the people are amazing.”

The tour covers some of the striking paintings that adorn various buildings, like St Mungo – a depiction of Glasgow’s founder and a patron of the city holding a robin on his finger, painted by a prolific artist called Smug.

There are also two huge murals of comedian Billy Connolly, who hails from the city, and one of an embracing couple falling through the air painted by The Rebel Bear – known as Glasgow’s Banksy because of their secret identity.

Being relatively new, it was a side of Glasgow Fiona had never seen.

Another new side of Glasgow is the stunning River Clyde regeneration.

Once the Clyde was world-renowned for shipbuilding prowess, but with the industry’s decline in the 1960s came dereliction.

More recently the river banks have been revamped and are now brimming with leisure venues and swanky flats.

To explore this, Fiona and her friend Beth took the on a RIB Boat. She said: “The trip sped us past sights like Finnieston Crane, a huge disused cantilever crane that remains a symbol of Glasgow’s engineering heritage, and the modern “squiggly bridge” – a pedestrian river crossing so named because of its lazy S shape.”

Once they were back on land they explored the Riverside Museum, a shrine to transport and technology celebrating Glasgow’s role in shipbuilding and engineering.

The eye-catching building, opened in 2011, was designed by the famous architect Dame Zaha Hadid with a glass front and a zig-zag roof emulating a wave.

Highlights included a wall stacked with full-size cars, including a Rolls-Royce Phantom II, a cobbled street straight out of old Glasgow and the Clyde-built tall ship Glenlee docked outside.

Having worked up an appetite the pair popped into the Prancing Stag, a tucked-away restaurant with great food, friendly staff and a pleasantly unpretentious atmosphere.

Fiona said: “Menus were based around seasonal Scottish produce, with starters like west coast fish, crab and sweetcorn cakes, smoked salmon with smoked trout rillettes, and Loch Fyne scallop with pea and ham hough (the Scots equivalent of hock) pancake.

Mains included saddle of Cairngorm roe deer and fillet of red gurnard with langoustine and caviar in a shellfish bisque.

Believe me, they all tasted as good as they sound.”

They stayed at the city centre Radisson Blu, handily situated close to Central Station where they had arrived by train.

“The journey takes just four-and-a-half hours from London – and two hours 20 from Preston where Beth had joined me – with services every hour. It certainly beat driving.”

As both had studied in Glasgow, Beth and Fiona couldn’t resist exploring the West End, home to the University of Glasgow.

Fiona said: “The Gothic buildings of the university itself – said to be the inspiration for Hogwarts – remained impressive, while newly transformed Finnieston proved to be a new gem.

Once run-down, it’s now home to art and craft studios, cafes and , a cool street food market where we tucked into baked mackerel with potato salad, chicken bao buns and watermelon daiquiris”

Back in the city centre the pair enjoyed yet more amazing Scottish food. 

“At the stylish  in Merchants Square mall we chatted with friendly staff while tucking into plump and juicy Shetland mussels in a delicious cider and sriracha broth and pan fried salmon in a silky Mangalore curry sauce with black mustard and curry leaf potatoes.

And at by Glaschu, a suave French brasserie on Princes Square, I had the biggest hulk of seared tuna ever on a salad nicoise while Beth polished off fresh tagliatelle in a chicken and butter sauce. The shellfish tempura went down a treat too.

“New and old, we’d had a fine taste of Glasgow’s delights. Who says you should never go back?”

Book the holiday

• Avanti West Coast fares from London Euston to Glasgow start at £33 one way; Preston starts at £12.50.

• Rooms at the Radisson Blu hotel in Glasgow start at £126 a night B&B.

• More info at ,