glasgow city centre, george square with the city chambers and other buildings

George Square Glasgow - Glasgow visitor guide showing a virtual tour of 'George Square Glasgow' linked to an interactive map with local and travel information. 360° panoramas from Strathclyde.

George Square is the most important civic square in Glasgow. Located at the northern end of Queen Street and next to Queen Street Station, the square was laid out in 1781 and named after King George III. It forms part of the Georgian grid plan for the center of Glasgow that runs from Stockwell Street east to Buchanan Street.

Though used at first for slaughtering horses, George Square was eventually lined with Georgian houses and became part of a fashionable district supporting various rich merchants and hotels. The status of the square was boosted by the opening of Queen Street Station in 1842 and the construction of Central Hotel.

George Square - Statues and Monuments

• At the eastern side of George Square is the Cenotaph, built in 1922 by Earl Haig Fund as a memorial to Glaswegians killed in the First World War.
• In the middle is a statue of Walter Scott, a famous author, who stands on top of a 24m high column.
• Within the square is an equestrian statues of a young Queen Victoria and her consort Prince Albert are at the west side of the square.
• Other statues include statues of chemist Thomas Graham, generals Sir John Moore, Lord Clyde, inventor James Watt, poets Robert Burns and Thomas Campbell and politicians William Ewart Gladstone and Robert Peel.

Around George Square

The most dominant building on George Square is the Glasgow City Chambers which sits on the east side and was built in 1888. This is also flanked by two lawns and the Cenotaph. On the north side is Queen Station, North British Railway Hotel (now the Millennium Hotel) and George House. On the west end are the Scottish Chamber of Commerce and the Merchants House of Glasgow.

Bus: George Square (11, 19, 36, 38, 42, 42A, 213, 500, N36), Queen Street (20, 41, 64, 66, 241, 500, 901, 906)
Train: Glasgow Queen Street Rail Station