Mackintosh at the Willow (Salon de Luxe)
About
The most complete Charles Rennie Mackintosh interior open to the public anywhere, since both the Glasgow School of Art's Mackintosh Building (badly damaged by fires in 2014 and 2018, not currently open to visitors) and The Lighthouse (closed since 2020 and being converted to a climate-tech hub) are off-limits. Mackintosh designed the Willow Tea Rooms for the entrepreneur Kate Cranston in 1903, right down to the furniture and cutlery, and the restoration on Sauchiehall Street has reopened the building as a working tea room with a small ground-floor exhibition on Mackintosh's design work. The Salon de Luxe on the first floor, with its high-backed silver chairs, leaded glass and gesso frieze, is the room to see; you can look around the exhibition without eating, or book a table for tea to actually sit in the Salon de Luxe.
Photos
Highlights
- ✓The Salon de Luxe, Mackintosh's 1903 high-backed chair room
- ✓Leaded glass and gesso frieze designed down to the last detail
- ✓A small ground-floor exhibition on Mackintosh's Glasgow work
- ✓The only fully public Mackintosh interior while the Art School and Lighthouse remain closed
Tips
- →Book a table for tea if you want to actually sit in the Salon de Luxe rather than view it from the exhibition walkway.
- →Pair with a walk down Sauchiehall Street towards the Glasgow School of Art building (exterior only; it is not open inside).
- →See our Eat & Drink listing for booking and current opening hours; both cover the same building.
Best Season
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