Finnieston Area Guide

Why Finnieston appeals

Finnieston sits on the north bank of the Clyde, between the city centre and the West End. It has the OVO Hydro and the SEC at one end, Kelvingrove Park at the other, and Argyle Street running through the middle with one of the best runs of restaurants and bars in Glasgow.

It is one of the city's coolest places to live and go out. Visit Glasgow says Finnieston frequently tops lists of the hippest and coolest neighbourhoods in the UK and Europe, and in 2016 it ranked first in The Times list of the 20 hippest places to live in Britain.

Sources: Visit Glasgow, Finnieston · Wikipedia, Finnieston

What it feels like day to day

Most days start and end on Argyle Street, known locally as the Finnieston strip. Sandstone tenements line both sides, with bars, cafés, barbers and small shops at street level. Time Out calls the strip increasingly restaurant-dense, with everything from Michelin-listed small plates at Ox and Finch to long-running whisky bars.

Behind Argyle Street, the Hidden Lane is a cobbled lane of studios used by artists, designers and musicians. Down towards the river, Eastvale Place is lined with railway arches and huge murals around SWG3.

Sources: Visit Glasgow, Finnieston · Time Out Glasgow, The best restaurants in Glasgow for 2026 · The Skinny, Finnieston & Partick · What's On Glasgow, SWG3 Glasgow

Live music is a big part of life here. Glasgow became the UK's first UNESCO City of Music in 2008, with around 130 music events a week, and Finnieston has the OVO Hydro, the SEC and SWG3.

Sources: UNESCO in the UK, Glasgow UNESCO City of Music

Getting around

Exhibition Centre station on Minerva Street is the local station, on the Argyle Line. The train from Exhibition Centre to Glasgow Central takes about 3 minutes, and the station has step-free access to all platforms, a ticket office and 10 cycle stands.

Walking into town takes about 25 minutes. Drivers have easy access to the M8 and the Clydeside Expressway, and Finnieston Street is a major junction on the expressway, linked to the south bank by the Clyde Arc, known locally as the Squinty Bridge.

Plenty of people work locally too. Skypark, the large office complex by Elliot Street and the Clydeside Expressway, is in Finnieston, and the SEC and OVO Hydro bring a steady flow of events staff and visitors.

• About 3 minExhibition Centre to Glasgow Central by train
• 25 minwalk to Glasgow Central
• M8and the Clydeside Expressway close by
• Skyparkoffice complex in Finnieston

Sources: ScotRail, Exhibition Centre (Glasgow) Station · Urban Realm, Skypark double-up on ambitious expansion plans · Wikipedia, Finnieston

Landmarks and local highlights

Finnieston's best-loved landmark is a tree. The Argyle Street ash stands outside Franklin Terrace at 1223 Argyle Street, the only tree on the street, and it was crowned UK Tree of the Year 2025.

Sources: Woodland Trust, European Tree of The Year · Wikipedia, Argyle Street ash tree · Visit Glasgow, Finnieston · The Skinny, Finnieston & Partick

A little local history

Finnieston began as a village on the lands of Stobcross. For most of its life it was an area of warehouses and docks between the river and Argyle Street, before its change into a place to live and go out in the 21st century.

1. 1768

   A village is founded

   Matthew Orr, owner of Stobcross House, set up the village and named it after the Reverend John Finnie, his old tutor.

2. 1894

   Stobcross station opens

   Built by the Glasgow Central Railway, it closed in 1955 and reopened in 1979.

3. 1985

   The SEC opens

   Concerts, sport and conferences arrive on the old dockside.

4. 2013

   The Hydro opens

   Now the OVO Hydro, it welcomed over a million visitors a year to the venue and the area around it.

Sources: Wikipedia, Finnieston · Wikipedia, Argyle Street ash tree · Woodland Trust, European Tree of The Year

Green space

Kelvingrove Park, just beside Finnieston, is a 34-hectare Victorian park designed by Sir Joseph Paxton and open at all times. The gates off Royal Terrace lead straight onto its tree-lined paths, and Kelvingrove Museum and Art Galleries sits within it after a £27.9m refurbishment.

Renting in Finnieston

Most homes are tenement flats. Blonde sandstone runs along much of Argyle Street and Finnieston Street, and there are red sandstone tenements too, for example on Radnor Street and on Sauchiehall Street facing the bowling green. Newer blocks of flats sit closer to the river and the SEC.

St Vincent Crescent is A-listed, and the council's St Vincent Crescent Conservation Area Appraisal covers its streets. Finnieston is also part of the council's Liveable Neighbourhoods work for Yorkhill and Anderston. For the West End next door, see our Partick area guide and Hillhead area guide.

Sources: Glasgow City Council, Anderston Primary School · Garnetbank Primary, Our learning community (Hillhead) · Glasgow City Council, St Patrick's Primary School

Different parts of Finnieston

Flats on and just off Argyle Street put you right on the strip, with bars and restaurants below and the busiest evenings. South towards the Clyde, around Eastvale Place and Stobcross Road, it is railway arches, street art, SWG3 and the event venues, with newer flats nearby.

North of Argyle Street, towards Royal Terrace, Kelvingrove Street and Bentinck Street, the streets are calmer, with grand terraces, a columned church and Kelvingrove Park close by.