Lomond Auditorium: 624 seats/5,274 square feet for exhibits
Alsh Room: 220 seats
Boisdale Room: 220 seats
receive all the help they require. Three hotels within the convention-center complex, plus freeWi-Fi, a business center, and many restaurants, cafés, and bars, enhance attendee con- venience and productivity. Other amenities include a medical center, an ATM, an on-site railway station, and parking for 2,865 vehicles. Once meetings are over, attendees can choose from a varied
roster of attractions,manyofwhichare conveniently situated near theSECC.KelvingroveArtGalleryandMuseum,Scotland’s most- visited attraction, isamagnificent buildingwith22themed, state- of-the-artgallerieswhose 8,000objectscovernatural history,arms andarmor,andart frommanymovementsandperiods of history. For a look at Glasgow’s great shipbuilding tradition, there’s no better venue than theTall Shipmoorednext to theSECC.Athree- mast formerVictorian cargo carrier, theTall Ship hosts interest- ing nautical exhibitions. Justafewminutes’walkfromtheSECC, visitorswill discover theGlasgowScience Centre. Its hundreds of interactive exhibitsmake science fun,andthere is alsoanIMAX cinemafor the ultimatemovie-going experience. Largewindows offer stellar city and river views. Avisit toHousefor anArtLover and Bellahouston Park are also well worth the trip. Charles Rennie Mackintosh designed
IDEAL VENUE: The SECC (below), Scotland’s largest exhibition center, is suited to host any event. The center has two purpose- built auditoriums and an additional 31 meeting rooms, and fea- tures technical facilities of the highest standard. Only a few min- utes’ walk from the SECC, the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Muse- um (below right) is one of Scotland’s most-visited attractions. The building hosts 22 themed, state-of-the-art galleries.
House foranArt Lover in1901foraninternationalcompetition, but his stunning plans remainedonthe drawingboards until 1989,when Glasgow City Council provided the cash to bring it to reality; itwas eventually completed in 1996.Muchof its interiors were designed by Mackintosh’s wife, Margaret Macdonald, and today it is a pop- ular tourist attraction and great place to have lunch, followed by a stroll in BellahoustonPark.Mackintosh didnotcompleteadetailed blueprint forHouse for anArtLover, allowing visitors tocompare his designs with the finished building. Elsewhere inGlasgow, theEastEndis theheartof theoldmedieval city. Glasgow Cathedral, whose origins date back to590A.D., is one of the few medieval churches in Scotland to have survived unscathed the vandalism unleashed by the Protestant Reformation of 1560. The St Mungo Museum of Religious Life and Art, built on the site of the bishops’ medieval castle, features exhibitions on all the world’s great faiths. Across the road lies Glasgow’s
oldest house, Provand’s Lordship. Built in1471,it is the only surviving house from the medieval city, and is open to the public. As the largest, best retail center in the U.K. outside of London,
Glasgowisahaven for shoppingaficionados.Thevibrant shopping district in the heart of the city is focused around the pedestrian areas of Buchanan, Argyle, and Sauchiehall streets. Other highlights include the refurbished StEnochCentre, the Designer Exchange off Royal Exchange Square,andPrinces Square, situated inarenovated 1841 square. There also is an Italian Centre that combines Italian designer excellence with stylish cafés and restaurants.