Galway

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.

Galway lives for music and festivals, and its reputation as Ireland's cultural capital is well earned. Traditional Irish music sessions are a nightly fixture in the pubs of the Latin Quarter and around the city — informal gatherings of fiddle, bodhrán, flute and song that are among the best places in Ireland to hear live trad. The city's festival calendar is extraordinary for its size: the Galway International Arts Festival in July fills the streets and venues with theatre, music and spectacle (including the famous Macnas parade); the Galway Film Fleadh, the Early Music Festival and many more punctuate the year; the Galway Races in late July/early August are a major social event; and the Galway International Oyster Festival in September celebrates the bay's famous oysters with a Guinness. A big student population from the University of Galway keeps the nightlife and creative scene humming, and the food scene — from the Saturday market and seafood to a Michelin-starred restaurant — has grown to match the city's culture. Lively, youthful and welcoming, Galway is a city that knows how to enjoy itself.

Galway is the gateway to some of the most beautiful and quintessentially Irish landscapes in the country. Just to the north-west lies Connemara, a wild, romantic region of bog and heather, quartzite mountains (the Twelve Bens and Maumturks), island-studded bays and remote villages, where the Irish language is still spoken in the Gaeltacht; its highlights include the Victorian Kylemore Abbey reflected in its lake, Connemara National Park, the scenic Sky Road around Clifden, and Killary Harbour, Ireland's only fjord. Out in Galway Bay sit the three Aran Islands — Inis Mór, Inis Meáin and Inis Oírr — windswept, Irish-speaking outposts of stone walls, ancient forts (the spectacular clifftop Dún Aonghasa) and traditional life, reached by ferry from the coast and explored by bike or pony-and-trap. These trips into the wild west are, for many, the real reason to base in Galway, and the city's tour operators and transport links make them easy to reach for a day or longer.

The sea is never far in Galway, and the city sits at the head of its namesake bay. The seaside suburb of Salthill, a short walk or bus ride from the centre, has a long seafront promenade (the “Prom”) along Galway Bay — a beloved local ritual is to walk it and “kick the wall” at the end — with beaches, views across to the hills of County Clare, and the traditional Irish-music pubs and sunset vistas that make it a favourite. South of the bay, in County Clare, lie two of Ireland's most famous natural attractions, both within day-trip reach of Galway: the towering Cliffs of Moher, plunging over 200 metres to the Atlantic, and the Burren, an otherworldly limestone karst landscape of bare grey pavement, rare wildflowers, ancient tombs and hidden caves. The coastal drive south, through villages like Kinvara and Doolin (a hub of traditional music), is itself a delight. Whether for a bay-side stroll in Salthill or a day at the great cliffs, Galway's seaside setting and its access to the dramatic Atlantic coast complete its appeal.