Hidden Scotland
Sign in
The Tolbooth Steeple at Glasgow Cross, its crowned clock tower rising between curved sandstone blocks.
Glasgow

Merchant City

The grid of eighteenth-century streets east of Buchanan Street where Glasgow's tobacco merchants traded, now restaurants, bars and shops, with the Tolbooth Steeple of 1626 at its edge.

Welcome

East of Buchanan Street, between George Square and the Trongate, lies the grid of streets Glasgow's eighteenth-century merchants built for themselves.

Virginia Street, laid out in 1752 by Andrew Buchanan of Drumpellier, was the first finished street of the new town, and its name says where the money came from: the Virginia tobacco and West Indies sugar trades that made the Tobacco Lords.

The old heart was the Trongate, one of the eight original streets of Glasgow. Goods were weighed at the Tolbooth on their way to the merchants' warehouses, the Tobacco Lords gathered on the paving called the plainstanes, and the Merchants' Steeple served as a lookout for ships coming home from Virginia and the West Indies. In the 1780s the Tontine rooms became the social and business headquarters of the city.

The Tolbooth Steeple of 1626 still stands at Glasgow Cross. The warehouses around it are now flats, restaurants, bars and small shops.

The Daily

Arrives at 5am every day.

A free morning email to see what’s on this week, catch up on what’s happening in Scotland and find somewhere new to go.

The Daily for 1 November, from Scotland with love. A misty lane runs past slate-roofed cottages toward a wooded hillside.
Round the cornerSpitfire EspressoA coffee roaster's café on the corner of High Street and Bell Street, pulling its own Gunnerbean coffee on a red La Marzocco.1 min by roadSee itSpitfire Espresso
Before you go

The streets are open at any hour; the restaurants and bars keep their own.

Walk it from George Square down to the Trongate and Glasgow Cross.

Where
East of Buchanan Street, between George Square and the Trongate.
Getting there
Queen Street station at the top, Argyle Street station at the foot.
Look for
Virginia Street, the Trongate and the Tolbooth Steeple.

Been here? Tell others what you know, and the best go on this page with your name.

Add your review
Where it is

The east of Glasgow city centre, between George Square, the High Street and the Trongate.

Close byIn the Merchant City or at its edge.
  1. The bar at Babbity Bowster, dark wooden tables and booths below tall windows.Babbity BowsterA pub in an old tobacco merchant's house.Under a mile 1 min by road
  2. Cafe GandolfiCafe GandolfiA cafe on Albion Street, on the site of the old cheese market.Under a mile 1 min by road
  3. Gallery of Modern ArtGallery of Modern ArtThe city's free gallery of contemporary art, in a tobacco merchant's mansion.Under a mile 2 min by road
  4. Ornate lamp posts glow on a wet, foggy city street at nightGeorge SquareThe civic square of 1781, with Sir Walter Scott on his column.Under a mile 3 min by road
  5. Glasgow Mural TrailGlasgow Mural TrailThe city centre's giant murals, from St Mungo to a floating taxi.Under a mile 4 min by road
  6. Glasgow Green from the air at golden hour, tree-lined paths crossing the grass to the People's Palace.Glasgow GreenThe oldest of Glasgow's parks, given to the people in 1450.1 mile 4 min by road
Directions
Corner building with wooden benches and planters on a Glasgow streetCafeSpitfire EspressoA step away
A server at the white counter with bowls ready to fill.CafeSpriggA step away
The Wilson Street Pantry's tall windows in a red sandstone building.CafeThe Wilson Street PantryA step away
A waiter carrying copper dishes through the busy dining room.RestaurantsDakhinA step away
The Dhabba's long dining room with plants and booths.RestaurantsThe DhabbaA step away
A chef plating a dish with tweezers.RestaurantsSwadishA step away
Through the House on High Street, its glass front under an old painted sign for Complete House Furnishers.CafeThrough the HouseA step away
Two focaccia sandwiches, one of ham and mozzarella, with a bowl of soup on metal trays at Sister Midnight.CafeSister Midnight0.2 miles
The long room at Outlier, with tables down one side and the open kitchen and counter on the other.CafeOutlier0.2 miles

Recommend to a friend

Stay nearby

Places to stay near the Merchant City, and when each is next free.

A grey sofa with cushions sits before a black and white kitchen, a framed print on the wall to the left.Moment Blythswood Street
  • Sleeps 2
  • In Glasgow
  • Under a mile from the Merchant City
Check datesA grey corner sofa with cushions and a sheepskin throw sits before a shelf of books and a round mirror, a wood burning stove and log store to the right.Talli House
  • Sleeps 4
  • In Dunlop
  • 12 miles from the Merchant City
Free 11–13 JanPlaces to stayEvery stay in GlasgowAll our places to stay nearby, to search by date and by who is coming.See them all
Hidden Scotland, the magazine

Scotland, in print.

We want to show you the best that Scotland has to offer. The makers and the creatives, the enduring experiences, the evocative tales, the concealed corners. The roads less travelled that take you to places that matter. The adventures that gather you up and sweep you away. The blend of the wild and the artistic that makes Scotland what it is. We’d love for you to join us.

Get Issue 13Read it here
Read on

What we have written about it and more in Glasgow.

ArticleBest Places for Brunch in Glasgow
More in Glasgow
Find out more

For further reading, before you go. The details on this page were checked on .