Things To Do in Glasgow: Hampden Park Stadium tour

Whether you live in Glasgow or are coming to visit, we want to highlight the biggest, best and no-to-be-missed spots around the city. 

For our next stop in the series, we dropped by Hampden Park and the Scottish Football Museum in the Southside of the city. 

What is Hampden Park? 

Hampden Park is the national stadium of football in Scotland. 

Residing in the Mount Florida area of Glasgow, the 51,866-capacity venue is the home of the Scotland national football team, Queen's Park (the oldest club in Scottish football) and the Scottish Football Museum and Scottish Football Hall of Fame. 

Though there were two 19th-century stadiums called Hampden Park built on different sites, which was the first football stadium in the world, the present site was first opened on October 31, 1903.

But you don't have to love the beautiful game to enjoy this tour.

With the famous stadium also operating as a buzzing hub for events, shows and concerts, attendees will get the chance to walk not only in the footsteps of footballing heroes but also musical greats like Beyonce, Rod Stewart and Coldplay.

Where can you find Hampden Park? 

Hampden Park is located on Letherby Drive in the Mount Florida area of Glasgow. 

The stadium is a five-minute walk from Mount Florida and King's Park train stations, a five-minute drive from Junction 1a of the M74 and a 45-minute walk from the city centre. 

The stadium is open 7 days a week (subject to events) from 10am until 5pm, according to Tripadvisor. 

Parking is available on-site and is free of charge on non-event days.

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What can you expect from the Hampden Park tour?

During the Hampden Park tour, you will learn about the history of the famous venue, hear inside stories of celebrities who have visited, and go inside the facilities used by footballing legends past and present. 

Starting off underground, you will begin your touring experience by jumping into Sky Sports on match day and seeing where the coaches and players pull up.

From there, you will get the chance to visit the East and West changing rooms (East is away and West is home) and gaze at old Scotland strips and international player shirts, check out the shower and manager facilities, and learn some pretty interesting facts. 

Such as how there is a metal strip on the door of the Away changing room as the German FA worried about Scotland players' spying on them before their 2003 match at Hampden. 

And also how when Celtic and Rangers are playing, Celtic are always in the East and Rangers are in the West due to the 'typical' demographic of the fanbases. 

You will also get the chance to check out the referee and officials' room, see the indoor warm-up pitch (where you can 'score a goal at Hampden), and walk through the tunnel, out onto the pitch.

You will have plenty of opportunities to take pictures, videos and even walk on the platform where winning teams accept their medals. 

All in all, it is a pretty special experience that I doubt you'll forget any time soon. 

From the pitch, you will then have the opportunity to check out the Scottish Football Museum, where you can see the Scottish Football Hall of Fame, play a game of FIFA on the Xbox, see the original turnstiles of Hampden and check out some old and even signed football shirts from Rangers and Celtic, to Liverpool and Real Madrid. 

How long does it take to explore Hampden Park?

The Hampden Park tour lasts around one hour but sometimes can stretch to about an hour and a quarter (as was the case with my group). 

But with quirky stories and things to explore around every corner, an extra few minutes is nothing but a blessing. 

Unlike the tour of the stadium, the visit to the museum is not guided, and you are free to look around for as long as you like. 

Tickets for the tour start at around £14, with a child ticket costing £8. (Prices include access to the museum too). 

Tickets can be purchased HERE and you must ensure to book in advance as spaces fill up quickly. 

What are the highlights? 

Every time you turn a corner with tour guide, Tom Kelly, you will discover something completely new, quirky and worth telling everyone you know about. 

Though learning the history of Hampden was intriguing, it was the inside stories like Rod Stewart and Robbie Williams using the indoor warm-up pitch to play 5-aside before their shows and Alistair Reid MacLeod not remembering his wife's name but naming all 11 players on his team when seeing his old Blackburn Rovers strip that I found the most interesting. 

This tour is a chance to learn about your favourite players, Scotland and Glasgow's role in shaping the future of football, and discover why Hampden is still so culturally significant hundreds of years later. 

The football museum was also one of the biggest highlights of the tour too. Getting to see old football shirts, Scottish cups and clips of previous Scotland matches from decades ago, was a treat, to say the least. 

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How do we rate it? 

The Hampden Park tour is something that should not be missed. 

Whether you love football, quirky facts about singers or deep diving into historical artefacts, there is something for everyone on this exciting tour. 

You will be entertained thoroughly throughout, as will the wee ones, and you are guaranteed to learn something you never knew before. 

Whether you live in the country or elsewhere and support Scottish football, you could not ask for better than this tour.