Overview
Galway is Ireland's bohemian cultural capital on the wild west coast — the “City of the Tribes”, a small, colourful, music-filled city of buskers and pubs where the River Corrib meets the Atlantic. Famous for its festivals, traditional music and youthful arts scene, it is the gateway to Connemara, the Aran Islands and the Cliffs of Moher.
Travel
Galway, on Ireland's west coast where the River Corrib spills into the Atlantic, is the spirited cultural heart of the country's west — often called the “City of the Tribes” after the fourteen merchant families that once ruled it, and widely regarded as Ireland's most bohemian and festive city. The pedestrian Latin Quarter and Shop Street give the compact centre its lively, buskers-and-pubs atmosphere, while a packed festival calendar and a nightly traditional-music scene, fuelled by a large student population from the University of Galway, keep the city young and buzzing year-round. But Galway's greatest role is as the gateway to the wild west of Ireland — Connemara's mountains, the Irish-speaking Aran Islands, and the Cliffs of Moher and the Burren in County Clare all sit within easy reach. The climate is mild, green and changeable, with frequent Atlantic showers; late spring to early autumn brings the best weather and the city's biggest festivals.
Galway's charm is concentrated in its compact, walkable medieval core, and the pleasure is simply wandering it. The pedestrianised Latin Quarter and Shop Street form the lively spine of the city — a run of colourful shopfronts, traditional pubs, cafés, restaurants and craft shops, almost always alive with buskers and street performers, from fiddlers to jugglers, that give Galway its festive, open-air feel. Threaded through it are reminders of the city's history as the “City of the Tribes”: the 16th-century Lynch's Castle (a fine merchant townhouse, now a bank), the medieval Collegiate Church of St Nicholas (where Columbus is said to have prayed), and the weekend market in its shadow. Down by the river stands the Spanish Arch, a remnant of the old city walls beside the Corrib, with the Galway City Museum alongside, and across the water lies the Claddagh, the ancient fishing village that gave its name to the famous Claddagh ring of love and friendship. The grand, domed Galway Cathedral, built in the 1960s, rounds out the sights. But Galway is felt more than ticked off — its energy, colour and conviviality are the real attraction.
Frequently asked questions
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