The Glasgow Necropolis is a Victorian cemetery on a prominent hill immediately east of the Cathedral, containing the graves of around 50,000 people and some 3,500 monumental tombs ranging from austere headstones to elaborate neo-Gothic mausoleums. It was opened in 1833 following the design principles of Père Lachaise in Paris — a garden cemetery for public enjoyment and improving reflection — and quickly became a showcase for Glasgow's Victorian wealth and architectural ambition.
The monumental tombs of merchants, industrialists, and civic figures include work by the city's finest architects and sculptors, making the Necropolis an outdoor museum of Victorian funerary art. The hilltop location offers one of the best views over Glasgow — the cathedral below, the industrial city stretching west, and on clear days the hills of the Campsies and Kilpatrick visible to the north. Free and open daily.