Buchanan Street in Glasgow

Glasgow has never been a parochial city, even if it is the home of the Krankies and a battery of banter so couthy you could almost chew it. Glasgow is a bona fide, glass, stone and concrete city and nowhere is this more apparent than on Buchanan Street.

From the stark grandeur of the Royal Concert Hall to the tallboy office buildings teetering on their narrow foundations to the gleaming glass and chrome of Princes Square, this wide street is an impressive testament to the waves of money and self-assurance that swept the city in the 19th century, and again in the late 20th. Such was the cocky confidence of the city's architects that none thought to build a stolid office block when a vertiginous tower would do, or a humble arcade in place of a bejeweled Aladdin's cave. And the result is one of the quirkiest, most mixed-up architectural delights in Europe. And that's without even mentioning the shops. Like Bond Street and the Rue St Honoré, Buchanan Street is pretty enough even for window-shopping, though no self-respecting Glaswegian would be seen dead without at least three of those giant, logo-emblazoned carry-alls to show for their Saturday afternoon.

The primary magnet for seekers of retail therapy is Frasers, with its cruise-liner interior of plushly carpeted floors arranged around the magnificent, top-lit gallery saloon. It is the only such interior left in Glasgow and is worth a visit for the central lobby alone, though prepare to be hopelessly tempted by the goodies from Gucci, the perfumes wafting from the Origins and Aveda counters, not to mention the magical colour box of MAC cosmetics. Like Jenners and Harvey Nichols, Frasers is a world unto itself, a centrally heated paradise reminiscent of a grander, more formal age.

Look out for fur-coated grande dames and tea served in proper teapots as you navigate your way through the endless vaults of designer clothes and glittering glassware.

Princes Square, directly across the street, is an altogether more modern take on shopping heaven. Like Frasers, it is a series of tiers around a central space, though where Frasers is warmth and richness, Princes Square is light and dynamism. Like an Italian piazza, it teems with young, beautiful, self-conscious life.

And no wonder. With its alluring shops - Whistles, Karen Millen, Morgan, Sheila Miller, Calvin Klein and the newly-opened Phase Eight - and terrace cafés, it is by far the best place in town to be seen. Which is why visitors so often find themselves sidling past outside broadcasts and photo opportunities, or waylaid by a Chinese New Year dragon and a children's Christmas choir or two.

Buchanan Street doesn't keep all her treasures tucked away. Outside you'll find all the ingredients that combine to make Glasgow the most popular shopping centre after London.

Office, the must-have shoe store that all fashion editors are in love with, Jigsaw, Monsoon, Hobbs and the fabulously hip Press & Bastyan, stand shoulder to shoulder with a giant Warner Bros emporium, Habitat, John Lewis and the American-style bookstore Borders, where you can sip a latte while leafing through the world's newspapers or simply watching the browsers drift by.

If you prefer your tea a little fancier, call in at the Willow Tea Rooms across the street. Tearooms were a Glasgow innovation, created for Temperance League gents and fashionable ladies seeking respectable surroundings for their scone-taking, and the Willow Tea Rooms epitomise everything that was special about those early institutions. This beautifully rendered restaurant is not Miss Cranston's orginal but its Mackintosh flourishes, not to mention its lemon meringue pies, are wonderful to behold.

If this whets your appetite for Mackintosh, take a walk down Mitchell Lane, at the side of Frasers, where you'll find The Lighthouse. Built in 1893, this is a relatively early work by the man who stamped his signature very firmly on Glasgow, and formerly housed the Herald newspaper. It lay disused for many years but, as part of the UK City of Design and Architecture 1999 project, was extensively renovated and is now one of the city's architectural highlights. Not least because you can climb to the top of the tower and look out across the weird and wonderful rooftops that give the city centre its uniquely international character.

As darkness begins to fall, allow yourself to be mesmerically drawn to the sparkling opulence that is the Argyle Arcade, a crook-arm tunnel leading from lower Buchanan Street to Argyle Street. This is the heart of Glasgow's jewellery trade as you will see at a glance, your eyes dazzled by diamond watches, pearls and platinum rings laid out on bolts of swirling velvet. Built in 1827, this arcade is a marvel of heavy-duty Victoriana and worth a lingering stroll, even if you're not in the market for a diamond solitaire.

Finally, when you're fit for nothing but a sumptuous banquet and a glass of chilled Chardonnay, make for Royal Exchange Square and the most famous Art Deco oyster bar in Scotland, the Rogano. This elegant period piece, complete with black bow-tied waiters and silver salvers, looks like a 1930s film set and somehow persuades its every visitor that this is where they belong.

In fact, you'll probably find its atmosphere so seductive that you may as well sit back and order dinner. The oysters, by the way, are damn good.

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