Paisley
Paisley is Renfrewshire's largest town, a lively place with a wonderful legacy of Victorian and Edwardian architecture. In the town centre popular high street retailers sit alongside specialist independent shops and parking is easy with over 2,000 spaces available in, or close to, the town centre - visit the Paisley Vision website for more information.
Throughout the year the town is the venue for an exciting calendar of events including twice monthly farmers’ markets, the largest real ale festival in Scotland, Sma’Shot Day on the first Saturday in July when the town celebrates its weaving heritage, and Voices in Paisley, Scotland’s only choral festival at the end of October.
Walking Opportunities
The town is well worth exploring on foot. The streets are lined with fine buildings, a result of the wealth generated by the textile industries of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Two walks around the town are available in leaflet form from Paisley Visitor Information Centre, 9a Gilmour Street, or can be downloaded here. There are also children's versions of these walks. If you would like to receive the printed version of the leaflets, email the This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
Places to Visit
The medieval Paisley Abbey is the jewel in Paisley's crown. It is known as the birthplace of the Stewart royal house. The Abbey is often the venue for music and performances of all sorts.
Paisley Museum has the largest collection of Paisley shawls and patterns in the world. Paisley's skilful weavers became world leaders in producing copies of the fashionable shawls imported from India in the late eighteenth century. The shawls soon became known as "paisleys" in the English speaking world. The Museum also has fine collections of British studio ceramics, and Scottish and French 19th and 20th century paintings. Also in the Museum complex is Coats Observatory, a unique attraction with astronomical equipment including a large telescope.
The Paisley Central Library's local history unit is a first stop for family history researchers.
The lively Paisley Arts Centre programmes a wide range of entertainment from drama and dance to comedy and film. Paisley Town Hall provides an impressive venue for live music, exhibitions and events.
Sma' Shot Cottages, run by the Old Paisley Society, tell the story of the daily life of the town's weavers and later mill workers.
Paisley Threadmill Museum, also run by a group of enthusiastic volunteers, has a wonderful collection of photographs, promotional material and machinery from the town's largest industrial complexes, the thread mills of J & P Coats and the Clark dynasty.
More information on the town's heritage and historic buildings is available on the Renfrewshire Council website.
Getting here
Paisley has superb rail links with Glasgow, Ayrshire and the Clyde coast. Trains run every few minutes from Glasgow Central Station. There are frequent bus services from Glasgow and surrounding towns. Getting here by air couldn't be easier - Glasgow International Airport is just over 2 miles (3.6 kilometres) from Paisley town centre!
Staying here
Information on where to stay is available from Paisley Visitor Information Centre, 9a Gilmour Street, 0141 889 0711 or e-mail This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
