Updated in October 2026, this Riverside Museum guide covers ticket prices, opening hours, parking or transport, accessibility and what to see.
The Riverside Museum is Glasgow‘s award-winning free transport and technology museum, at the junction of the Rivers Kelvin and Clyde. Car park capacity is now reduced to about 100 spaces, and a footbridge links the museum to Govan Subway station. This guide was last updated in October 2026 and confirms the free entry, the opening hours, the car park charges and the route from the Subway.
Quick facts: the Riverside Museum
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Opening hours | Monday to Thursday and Saturday 10am to 5pm. Friday and Sunday 11am to 5pm. |
| Ticket prices | Free entry. Donations welcome. No booking needed. |
| Address | 100 Pointhouse Place, Glasgow G3 8RS |
| Nearest transport or parking | Govan Subway station, a 5-minute walk over the footbridge. Car park from £3 per hour. |
| Typical time needed | About 2 hours |
The Riverside Museum opening hours
The museum is open every day. It opens at 10am on Monday to Thursday and Saturday, and at 11am on Friday and Sunday. It closes at 5pm every day. The hours are the same all year, and there are no seasonal changes.
The museum has a café, and a Changing Places facility is open during opening hours. Check the museum’s website for the café menu.
5 top experiences to book in Glasgow
- 🥃 Taste local whisky on a tour of the Clydeside Distillery.
- ⚽ Discover Glasgow’s fierce footballing rivalry on stadium tours at Celtic Park and Ibrox.
- 👻 Brave ghosts and gore on a walking tour focused on Glasgow’s dark side.
- 🍽️ Enjoy premium, locally-sourced food and drink on a gourmet walking tour.
- 🏰 See Loch Lomond, the Trossachs and Stirling Castle on a packed day tour.
The Riverside Museum ticket prices
Entry to the Riverside Museum is free. There is no need to book. Just drop in. Donations are welcome and can be made at the venue or online.
- General admission: free.
- Cloakroom: available for small items.
- Car park: up to 1 hour £3, 1 to 2 hours £5, 2 to 3 hours £7.50, and 3 hours or more £10. The overnight flat rate from 6pm to 8am is £3. The maximum stay is 10 hours.
- Payment: the parking machines take cash and contactless payments. Cashless parking is also available through the RingGo app.
Opening hours and ticket prices were checked on the official website and last updated in October 2026.
How to get to the Riverside Museum
The museum is at 100 Pointhouse Place, on the north bank of the River Clyde. If you use a satnav, enter “The Riverside Museum” instead of the postcode.
- By Subway: Govan station is 0.3 miles away. Take the Govan Road exit, cross at the lights and cross the Govan–Partick footbridge. It is a 5-minute walk.
- By train or Subway at Partick: Partick Interchange is 0.6 miles away. Take the exit facing Morrisons and follow the signposted footpath.
- By bus: the City Sightseeing tour bus stops at the museum. Services 2, 3, 34, 77 and 90 are within a 15-minute walk.
- By bike: the museum is on Sustrans Route 7, with cycle parking on the west side and a Voi bike pick-up point outside.
- By taxi: a drop-off point is beside the car park. Disabled visitors can be dropped off at the front door via the slip road barrier.
- From Kelvingrove: the walk takes about 25 minutes, or about 3 minutes by taxi.
Parking at the Riverside Museum
The car park has about 100 spaces, which is fewer than before. It fills quickly, especially at weekends and during school holidays. The museum strongly recommends public transport.
The car park has an EV rapid charging station. Alternative parking is on Bunhouse Road, next to Kelvin Hall. The reduction is part of the Glasgow Waters riverside regeneration project on the neighbouring land.
Cycle parking is on the west side of the museum.
How long to spend at the Riverside Museum
Plan about 2 hours for the museum. The museum holds more than 3,000 objects, so allow longer if you explore every gallery.
Visitors who also tour the Tall Ship Glenlee, berthed beside the museum, should allow about 3 hours in total.
Accessibility at the Riverside Museum
There is wheelchair and pram access to all public areas using the lifts. A Changing Places facility is on the ground floor near reception. No key is required, and it is next to the male and female toilets.
Guide and assistance dogs are welcome. Baby changing and baby feeding facilities are available. The AccessAble and Euan’s Guide websites have detailed access information.
An autism-friendly visual storyboard can be downloaded from the museum’s website. Quiet openings for families are held on selected days.
What to see at the Riverside Museum
The Riverside Museum opened in 2011 and was designed by Zaha Hadid. It is the first purpose-built museum created by Glasgow Life in the 21st century. Its transport and technology collections reflect Glasgow’s role in shipbuilding, train manufacturing and engineering.
Main Street is a recreated Glasgow street from the 1890s to 1930. Visitors walk over cobbles and into shops, with genuine historic interiors, a bar and a Subway station.
The Car Wall shows 31 cars at a glance. They include Sir William Burrell’s Rolls-Royce Phantom II, an Isle of Arran postal van, a Porsche 911 and a BMW Isetta bubble car. The Motorbike Wall shows 21 motorcycles from over 100 years of design.
South African Loco 3007 is the largest object in the museum. It was built in Glasgow in 1945 and ran in South Africa until 1987. The display also covers how apartheid affected South African railways.
A ship conveyor carries a selection of ships past visitors. The tram dancing display tells stories of Glaswegians who used trams to reach dance halls.
The Audrey Hepburn dress and Mini display shows a Paco Rabanne chain mail dress beside a Morris Mini. The Granada police car is a 1985 Ford Granada used by Strathclyde Police, known as the “Jam Butty”.
The Dorothée Pullinger display tells the story of the engineer who trained and employed record numbers of women. It includes a 1924 Galloway coupé.
Outdoors, the museum has a 3×3 basketball court, the first purpose-built one in Glasgow, and an urban skate spot with five built-in obstacles.
Practical visitor tips
| Topic | Tip |
|---|---|
| Timing | The museum opens at 11am on Fridays and Sundays. It closes at 5pm every day. |
| Crowds | The car park fills quickly at weekends. Take the Subway to Govan and walk over the footbridge. |
| Layout | Main Street, the Car Wall and the Motorbike Wall are in the main gallery. The Changing Places toilet is near reception. |
| Entry process | No ticket is needed. Cloakroom space is for small items only. |
| On-site logistics | The café overlooks the Clyde. Satnav users should enter “The Riverside Museum”, not the postcode. |
Frequently asked questions about the Riverside Museum
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Is the Riverside Museum free to enter? | Yes. Entry is free, and no booking is needed. |
| Is the Riverside Museum suitable for children? | Yes. It has interactive displays, hands-on activities, trams to board and an outdoor skate spot. |
| Do you need to book tickets in advance for the Riverside Museum? | No. Just drop in. |
| Is the Riverside Museum open on Sundays? | Yes. It opens at 11am on Sundays and closes at 5pm. |
| Is there parking at the Riverside Museum? | Yes, but limited. The car park has about 100 spaces, from £3 per hour. |
Things to do near the Riverside Museum
- Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum: a free museum with 22 galleries in the West End, about a 25-minute walk or 3 minutes by taxi.
- Glasgow Botanic Gardens: a 27-acre garden with the Kibble Palace glasshouse in the West End, about 10 minutes by taxi.
- The Tenement House: a National Trust for Scotland home in Garnethill, about 10 minutes by taxi.
- The St Mungo Museum of Religious Life and Art: a museum beside Glasgow Cathedral, about 15 minutes by taxi.
- The Burrell Collection: an art museum in Pollok Country Park, on the south side of the city, about 20 minutes by taxi.
Alternative attractions
- Tall Ship Glenlee: a three-masted barque launched in 1896 and berthed beside the museum, one of only five Clyde-built ships still afloat.
- Glasgow Science Centre: a science museum on the south bank of the Clyde, across the river.
- Govan Stones: a collection of early medieval carved stones at Govan Old Parish Church.
- Clydeside Distillery and Whisky Museum: a distillery visitor centre on the Clyde, to be linked by a planned riverside walkway.
- Kelvingrove Park: an 85-acre Victorian park in the West End.
More Scotland travel
Other Scotland travel guides on Planet Whitley include:
- Guide to Glasgow’s West End for first time visitors.
- What to expect when visiting Glasgow Cathedral.
- The 8 best attractions and experiences in Edinburgh – including the Dean Village and the Royal Yacht Britannia.
- How to get to the National Monument of Scotland on Calton Hill.
- Guides to Edinburgh Old Town attractions: Dynamic Earth, the Palace of Holyroodhouse and St Giles’ Cathedral.
