Princes Square (Shopping Centre)

Princes Square is a totally gorgeous and sumptuous shopping mall in Glasgow City Centre and is quite unlike any other I have ever visited in the UK. It is certainly the poshest and although I rarely buy anything there I always enjoy a wander around the shops. Princes Square flies in the face of the old media image of Glasgow of rough housing estates and grinding poverty - more like the new image of Glasgow - the modern city of culture.

...avoid, finding Princes Square is not an easy find for the casual shopper. The entrance to Princes Square is fairly discreet, so you have to know its location. The entrance is in Buchanan Street, towards the Argyll Street end. Although Princes Square is fairly small for a shopping mall, winding around in a sort of circle on about four floors, it makes it easy on the feet particularly as there is also a good escalator in the middle. The shops are distinguished ... more

Princes Square is a totally gorgeous and sumptuous shopping mall in Glasgow City Centre and is quite unlike any other I have ever visited in the UK. It is certainly the poshest and although I rarely buy anything there I always enjoy a wander around the shops. Princes Square flies in the face of the old media image of Glasgow of rough housing estates and grinding poverty - more like the new image of Glasgow - the modern city of culture.

Unlike many city centre malls that are difficult to avoid, finding Princes Square is not an easy find for the casual shopper. The entrance to Princes Square is fairly discreet, so you have to know its location. The entrance is in Buchanan Street, towards the Argyll Street end. Although Princes Square is fairly small for a shopping mall, winding around in a sort of circle on about four floors, it makes it easy on the feet particularly as there is also a good escalator in the middle. The shops are distinguished by the absence of large high street retailing names like Woolworths or BHS but instead has some expensive or unusual shops, especially clothes shops. There are also some shops selling interesting household goods too.

How then does this mall survive then without Woollies and friends? Well - it may be the large number of cafes around the mall. Princes Square also has music, concerts or exhibitions in the bottom part of the mall so here is often something to just sit and listen to the music. There are also several stalls that sell interesting pictures and artwork mainly of Scotland. These pictures are just about affordable, so if you are looking for an original bit of art this is a good place to go.

The multitude of cafes on every floor also make it an ultra interesting place to meet up with friends or recover from shopping outside in Buchanan Street. I often meet up with some pals in one of the Princes Square cafes called Darcy's. There is a fantastic feel good factor about this particular café (or maybe it is my friends). The food is excellent and not particularly expensive although it is not that cheap either! They have very inventive salads or upmarket hamburgers also dressed up with salads – AND - pretty yummy 'haggis, neeps and tatties’ too. But - you can just have a coffee at Darcy's or a cake - the coffee is always excellent.

One of my favourite things about this particular mall (if you can call it anything as common as that) is the lift. Its one of those 'see through' lifts but its a bit more ‘see through’ than many others and feels more like a fairground ride. I know these sort of lifts are quite common in department stores these days but this one is particularly scarry as there is so much open space around, that it magnifies the feeling of height.

Although Princes Square reeks of luxury and is mostly out of my price range for shopping, the feeling of opulence is pleasant once in a while. So if you are visiting Glasgow, visit Princes Square for the crack, if nothing else – that is if you can find it.
 

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