A new way to give cityscapes a colourful new look, street art is also providing extra appeal to visiting tourists and Glasgow has just been named one of the best cities in the UK to see some world-class murals.
Street art is a major pull for tourism around the UK thanks to our painted, colourful towns and cities full of world-class urban art. Since the 1970s right up to today, there’s an abundance of artists constantly at work crafting new pieces around every street corner waiting to be discovered.
The research by South Western Railway investigates the best places to see street art in the UK by tallying up Instagram hashtags, TikTok views and Google search data of each town and city to award a score out of 100. Scotland's biggest city finished in the top 5 in 4th with only London, Bristol and Manchester coming higher.
The Scottish city is the third-most viewed city on TikTok for its street art, only beaten by London and Manchester, with its vibrant street art scene, which took off in 2008, seeing the creation of a hugely popular mural trail across the city.
Read More: A guide to Glasgow's mural trail after High Street's St Mungo mural hits heights on Instagram
It has over 31K Instagram posts associated with its street art and beats Edinburgh across all metrics, though the capital also places well as the UK’s 10th best city.
The Colinton Tunnel is one of the most iconic spots for Edinburgh’s street art where Chris Rutterford and a team of fellow artists transformed a derelict Victorian railway into the biggest mural in all of Scotland, full of colourful street art.
Head of marketing at South Western Railway, Calli Ward, said: “It’s important to acknowledge and celebrate everything that street art has and continues to do for tourism here in Britain. Often making headlines when new statement art and murals appear, we have a rich culture of urban art in the UK.
“While we’re familiar with London and Bristol’s credentials in this space, it’s great to discover all the other places we can explore equally amazing street art such as Manchester, Liverpool and Belfast. With plenty of walking tours and workshops available across the UK, we hope that by putting a spotlight on all of these locations you can get inspired to visit and immerse yourself in the UK’s street art scene.”
The UK’s 10 best cities for street art
Don't miss the top culture and heritage stories from around Scotland. Sign up to our twice weekly Scotland Now newsletter here.
Read more:
Meet Scotland's marvellous Shetland Ponies a miniature but hardy breed
Hiker wakes up to 'biblical' cloud inversion while camping at the top of Ben Lomond
Luxury wedding venue Myres Castle up for sale for £3.5million
