r/Glasgow Tools

All options considered (as there are quite a few), in terms of maximising what you can see the Riverside Museum and Kelvingrove Art Gallery & Museum are the two I'd recommend prioritising. A couple of hours in each would be a good use of time, and they're a very short distance from one another.

The Riverside Museum is basically the city's Transport Museum. It tells the story of the city in quite a bit of detail through trams, trains, buses, ships etc. It has a full-scale replica of an early 20th Glasgow street and subway station, complete with old style subway car. Quite a variety of things to see all told. Strongly recommended. Also you can go onto the old cargo sail ship docked next to the museum.

Kelvingrove art gallery and museum is a bit more of a mix. Art and sculpture from different eras, some social history and natural history exhibits. Feels a bit more geared for children, but there is a lot of good stuff to see. There's an exhibition of 20th century photos of Glasgow on the ground floor as well. It's quite hidden so you might need to ask for the exact gallery location, but it's worth seeing.

You could probably visit both of these in one morning or one afternoon. Maybe 1.5 hours each and 30 mins walking between the two.