Glasgow

Glasgow's coat of arms is a riddle. It shows a tree that never grew, a bird that never flew, a fish that never swam, and a bell that never rang.

Each image comes from a story about St. Mungo, the 6th-century monk who founded the city. The most famous is the fish. When a queen was accused of giving her ring to a lover, Mungo had a monk catch a salmon in the River Clyde, cut it open, and found the ring inside. That ring-bearing salmon is the fish you see on the crest today.

Mungo built his church where Glasgow Cathedral stands today, the oldest building in the city. He called the spot Glas Ghu, meaning "dear green place."

The University of Glasgow followed in 1451, one of the oldest in the English-speaking world. For centuries Glasgow stayed a modest cathedral town.

Then came tobacco. In the 1700s, Glasgow merchants known as the Tobacco Lords grew enormously rich importing tobacco, sugar, and cotton from the Americas, wealth tied closely to slavery, which the city now openly examines. They built grand mansions in what is still called the Merchant City.

The real transformation came on the water. After the Clyde was deepened, Glasgow became the greatest shipbuilding center on Earth. At its peak, up to a fifth of all the world's ships were built on the river, from ocean liners to warships.

By the late 1800s, with a population near 800,000, Glasgow called itself the Second City of the British Empire.

The shipyards faded in the 20th century, but the city reinvented itself around culture and design. Its signature figure is Charles Rennie Mackintosh, the architect whose elegant, geometric style still defines Glasgow.

See the medieval Glasgow Cathedral and wander the Victorian tombs of the Necropolis behind it. Explore the free Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, then tour the Mackintosh-designed interiors around the city.

Ride the small circular subway, the world's third-oldest underground system. Eat a Scotch pie, try square sausage on a morning roll, and finish with a can of Irn-Bru, the bright orange fizzy drink Scots love more than cola.