Ireland's Festival City
Galway has a reputation that precedes it: the most Irish of Irish cities, a place where traditional music spills out of pubs onto cobbled streets, where the food scene has quietly become one of the best in the country, and where the backdrop of Connemara mountains and Galway Bay gives everything an epic quality. It is also a university city, which keeps it young and alive year-round.
The city itself is small enough to walk end-to-end in 20 minutes, which makes it extraordinarily easy to navigate. But it punches well above its size in terms of what is available: internationally rated restaurants, galleries, theatres, a brilliant weekend market, and a pub culture that is genuinely world-class.
Top Things to Do in Galway
1. The Latin Quarter
Galway's medieval heart, a tangle of narrow streets centred on Shop Street and Quay Street, is one of the most atmospheric city-centre areas in Ireland. Street performers, artisan shops, historic pubs, and the smell of fresh bread from Goya's bakery. The Spanish Arch at the end of Quay Street is a remnant of the 16th-century city walls, and the walkway beside it along the River Corrib is lovely on a sunny afternoon.
2. The Claddagh
Just across the river from the city centre, the Claddagh was once a fishing village with its own king and laws, entirely separate from the walled town of Galway. Today it is a quiet residential area, but the promenade along the bay offers fine views back to the city and out to Connemara. The Claddagh ring, symbolising love, loyalty, and friendship, originated here.
3. Galway Cathedral
Completed in 1965, Galway's Cathedral of Our Lady Assumed into Heaven and St. Nicholas is a surprisingly striking building, its dome visible from across the city. The interior is large, cool, and elaborately decorated with Irish limestone and Connemara marble. It sits on the banks of the Corrib and makes for a peaceful stop away from the busy streets.
4. Aran Islands Day Trip
The three Aran Islands, Inis Mor, Inis Meain, and Inis Oirr, sit at the mouth of Galway Bay and are one of the last strongholds of the Irish language. Inis Mor is the largest and most visited. Hire a bike at the ferry pier and cycle out to Dun Aonghasa, an Iron Age fort perched on a 100-metre cliff with no barriers between you and the Atlantic below. Ferries run from Rossaveel (45 mins by bus from Galway) or the shorter crossing from Doolin in Clare.
5. Connemara
The wild and boggy hinterland immediately to the west of Galway is Connemara: a landscape of quartzite mountains, dark lakes, turf bogs, and small Irish-speaking communities. Kylemore Abbey, a Victorian neo-gothic castle on the shore of a lake, is the most visited landmark. The Sky Road around Clifden, the bog roads of the Joyce Country, and the Twelve Bens mountain range are all worth exploring. A car or guided tour is essential.
6. Galway City Museum
A free, well-curated museum covering Galway's history from medieval trading port to modern city. The permanent collection is compact but interesting. The building itself, beside the Spanish Arch, is attractive. A good wet-weather option and worth an hour.
Best Tours from Galway
GetYourGuide
Cliffs of Moher & The Burren
The classic Galway day tour. Burren limestone, Poulnabrone dolmen, and the Atlantic cliffs. One of the best day trips in Ireland.
Book on GetYourGuide
Viator
Connemara & Kylemore Abbey
Bog roads, mountain passes, and the gothic Kylemore Abbey on its lakeside. The essential west of Ireland landscape experience.
Book on ViatorGetting to and Around Galway
Galway is 220km from Dublin, roughly 2.5 hours by road. Expressway buses and GoBus run frequently between Dublin and Galway, and Irish Rail operates a train service (about 2 hours 15 minutes). From Shannon Airport, it is about 90 minutes by road. Within Galway city, everything is walkable. For day trips to Connemara and the Cliffs, you need either a car or a guided tour.