Celtic Park

They call it Paradise, and the nickname stuck the moment Celtic moved here in 1892 - when a sportswriter quipped that converting the rough East End wasteland into a football ground was "like leaving the graveyard to enter Paradise." The club itself was founded four years earlier, in 1888, by Brother Walfrid, an Irish Marist who wanted to raise money to feed poor Catholic children in the slums of Calton and the Gallowgate. That mission still rumbles underneath everything that happens here.

The ghosts are everywhere. The Lisbon Lions Stand commemorates the 1967 side who became the first British team to win the European Cup - all of them born within 30 miles of the stadium, managed by the great Jock Stein, whose statue stands outside the north stand named after him. Walk past on a matchday and someone will be touching it for luck.

But Celtic Park isn't a museum. On European nights - and there have been a fair few under Brendan Rodgers in his second spell - the noise is genuinely unhinged. Flares, flags, the whole north end bouncing. The Green Brigade ultras occupy Section 111 in the North Curve, and despite ongoing rows with the board over banners, safe standing and away ticket allocations, they remain the loudest organised support in British football. When 60,000 people sing You'll Never Walk Alone before kick-off, with the scarves up and the floodlights catching the rain, you understand why grown men cry at football.

It's loud, it's tribal, it's occasionally a bit feral. That's the point.

Parkhead and the surrounding East End are not pretty. This is post-industrial Glasgow at its rawest - boarded-up tenements, betting shops, the Forge shopping centre, the Barras market a mile west. Gentrification has barely touched it and locals would mostly prefer it stayed that way.

That said, you're only about two miles from George Square and the city centre proper, where Glasgow does its glossier business - Merchant City bars, the Gallowgate's music venues, Sauchiehall Street. The contrast between the two is part of the deal.

Train: Dalmarnock is the closest station (about a 10-minute walk to the ground) on the Argyle Line from Glasgow Central - trains every 15 minutes, journey time under 10 minutes. Bridgeton is the alternative, slightly further out but often less rammed on matchdays.

Bus: First Bus services 64, 65, 240 and 255 all run from the city centre along the Gallowgate or London Road and drop you within a few minutes' walk. The 61 and 62 are useful too. Reckon on 20-25 minutes from Argyle Street.

Walking: It's a genuine option - about 35-45 minutes from the city centre, straight out along the Gallowgate past the Barras. Plenty of fans do it pre-match for the pub crawl element. Wear decent shoes; the pavements are uneven.

Taxi: A black hack from Central Station runs roughly £10-14 depending on traffic. Surge after the final whistle is real - expect £15-20 and a queue. Uber operates but drivers often won't come near the ground straight after Old Firm games.

The pub situation needs care. Bairds Bar on the Gallowgate and The Brazen Head are hardcore Celtic strongholds - brilliant atmosphere if you're in green, deeply uncomfortable if you're not. The Hoops Bar on London Road and the Lisbon Lions on Forge Street are the same story. If you're a neutral or a visiting fan, drink in the city centre (try The Horseshoe Bar or Sloans in Merchant City) and head over closer to kick-off.

Do not wear red, white and blue. Do not wear a Rangers shirt anywhere near the East End on any day of the week. Even Liverpool kits get sideways looks on Old Firm weekends. A neutral jacket is your friend.

Get to your seat 15 minutes before kick-off for the You'll Never Walk Alone moment - scarves above heads, the whole ground belting it out. It's the bit that even hardened away fans admit is special. For Old Firm games, expect heavy police presence, segregated transport, early pub closures and a 1pm kick-off. Don't hang around after the final whistle if it's gone badly for the home side.