THOUSANDS of tourists are flocking to the City Chambers each year as part of their stay in Glasgow - and they love it.

New figures show that between April last year and July this year, a massive 13,500 people visited the dramatic city centre building.

They went on more than 700 organised tours carried out by council staff.

One of the guides is receptionist Anne Maxwell, who has worked at the City Chambers for 18 months.

She said: "We get people visiting the building from literally every corner of the world."

Language seldom proves a problem as the council has prepared fact sheets for anyone who has little or no English.

Anne said: "At the beginning of the tour I always establish if everyone understands me and if not we have tour notes available in most of the common foreign languages including French, German, Spanish, Italian, Polish, Chinese, Japanese and Portuguese.

"Almost without exception, the visitors are thrilled and delighted by the tour because they absolutely love our building.

"It is very grand and wouldn't be built now because of the cost but also because many of the skills have been lost.

"Almost everyone I meet is very grateful and there are some lovely comments about the tours in the visitors book."

The City Chambers, which was designed by Paisley-born architect William Young, was completed in 1890 and was opened by Queen Victoria.

Neil Baxter, development director of Glasgow Building Preservation Trust, said: "The City Chambers was built as what was effectively the city's greatest marketing tool.

"What is a great civic building of the highest quality was built following the bank crash of the early 1880s as a statement that Glasgow was a dynamic place to invest in.

"City ceramic manufacturer Henry Doulton was so impressed with the use of terracotta in the building that he gifted the Doulton Fountain, which is now in Glasgow Green, to the city."

Tours of the City Chambers are held Monday to Friday at 10.30am and 2.30pm.