Riverside Museum

Glasgow’s free transport and technology museum where the Kelvin meets the Clyde, with trams, cars, a recreated old street and a tall ship outside.

Free entryOpening times and prices checked 8 November 2026

Why go

The Riverside Museum is Glasgow’s transport and technology museum, standing where the River Kelvin flows into the Clyde. It was the first purpose-built museum Glasgow Life created this century, in a zigzag building by the architect Zaha Hadid, and it holds the city’s large collection of trams, buses, cars, bikes, locomotives and ship models. Entry is free, it is easy to spend two hours here, and it works for every age, from toddlers to anyone who remembers the old Glasgow trams.

What to see

The old Glasgow street. A cobbled street scene with shop fronts, houses and even a subway station, recreating the city of the past. You can step inside several of the shops.
Trams, buses and trains. Climb aboard historic vehicles from the city’s transport history, including a subway carriage that has found a new home in the museum.
The car and bike walls. Vehicles are stacked up the walls, and there is plenty on Scotland’s car makers and shipbuilders.
The river view. The glass end of the building looks straight out over the Clyde, with the Tall Ship Glenlee moored alongside.

Glasgow Life offers a free downloadable trail about how transport affects the environment, and an autism-friendly storyboard to help plan a visit.

Plan your visit

The museum is open Monday to Thursday and Saturday from 10am to 5pm, and Friday and Sunday from 11am to 5pm. Entry is free with no need to book. There is a Changing Places toilet on the ground floor near reception, available during opening hours with no key needed.

Parking is the main headache. The car park has been cut to about 100 spaces and fills quickly, especially at weekends and in school holidays. Charges run from £3 for up to an hour to £10 for more than three hours, and there are rapid electric vehicle chargers. Glasgow Life strongly recommends public transport.

Christmas and New Year

Over the 2026 festive period the museum closes on 24, 25 and 26 December, 31 December and 1 and 2 January. It is open 27 December (11am to 5pm), 28 to 30 December (10am to 5pm), 3 January (11am to 5pm) and 4 January (10am to 5pm). The museum’s Christmas Market runs on Saturday 28 and Sunday 29 November 2026, and there is festive storytelling on 19 and 20 December.

Getting there

The easiest route is the Subway to Govan. Take the Govan Road exit, cross at the lights and walk over the Govan to Partick Bridge: the museum is on the north bank, about five minutes away. From Partick interchange, which has both Subway and train services, take the exit facing Morrisons and follow the signposted footpath for 0.6 miles. The City Sightseeing tour bus also stops at the museum, though PlusBus rail add-on tickets do not cover it. Taxis can drop off beside the car park.

Nearby

The Tall Ship Glenlee, a Clyde-built sailing ship of 1896, is moored right outside and makes an easy add-on of around 40 minutes. Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum is about 20 minutes’ walk away, and the Glasgow Science Centre sits across the river on Pacific Quay.

Tips before you go

The car park has only about 100 spaces and fills quickly at weekends, so come by Subway to Govan and walk over the bridge.
Parking is charged by the hour: £3 for up to an hour and £10 for more than three hours.
The recreated old Glasgow street, with shops, houses and a subway station, is the part children remember.
The Tall Ship Glenlee is moored outside; it is run by a separate charity and charges admission.
Free autism-friendly storyboards and a transport trail can be downloaded from the Glasgow Life page before you go.