Galway feels like a boomtown—rare in Western Ireland. Until the recession hit in 2008, it was the fastest growing city in Ireland. And it’s still its most international city, as one out of every four residents were born outside of Ireland. With 76,000 people, Galway is the county’s main city, a lively university town and the region’s industrial and administrative center. As it’s near the traditional regions of Connemara and the Aran Islands, it’s also a gateway to these Gaelic cultural preserves.
While Galway has a long and interesting history, its British overlords (who ruled until 1921) had little use for anything important to the Irish heritage. Consequently, precious little from old Galway survives. What does remain has the interesting disadvantage of being built in the local limestone, which, even if medieval, looks like modern stone construction. The city’s quincentennial celebration in 1984 awakened a spirit of preservation.
What Galway lacks in sights it makes up for in ambience. Spend an afternoon just wandering its medieval streets, with their delightful mix of colorful facades, labyrinthine pubs, weather-resistant street musicians, and steamy eateries. Galway also offers tourists plenty of traditional music, easy train connections to Dublin, and a convenient jumping-off point for a visit to the Aran Islands. After dark, blustery Galway heats up, with fine theaters and a pub scene that attracts even Dubliners. Visitors mix with old-timers and students as the traditional music goes round and round.
If you hear a strange language on the streets and wonder where those people are from, it’s Irish, and so are they.
Galway’s sights are little more than pins on which to hang the old town. The joy of Galway is its street scene. You can see its sights in three hours, but without an evening in town, you’ve missed the best. Many spend three nights and two days: one for the town and another for a side-trip to the Burren (see previous chapter), the Aran Islands, or the Connemara region (see following chapters). Tour companies make day trips to all three regions cheap and easy.
The center of Galway is Eyre Square. Within two blocks of the square, you’ll find the TI, Aran boat offices, a tour pickup point, accommodations (from the best cheap hostel beds to fancy hotels), and the train station. The train and public bus station butt up against the Hotel Meyrick, a huge gray railroad hotel that overlooks and dominates Eyre Square. The lively old town lies between Eyre Square and the river. From Eyre Square, Williams Gate leads a pedestrian parade right through the old town (changing street names several times) to Wolfe Tone Bridge. Nearly everything you’ll see and do is within a few minutes’ walk of this spine.
The well-organized TI, located a block from the bus/train station next to the Forster Court Hotel, has brochures and booking services (daily 9:00-17:30, Sun off-season until 11:45, Forster Street, tel. 091/537-700, www.discoverireland.ie). A tiny seasonal satellite TI is in a kiosk in the middle of Eyre Square (May-Sept only, Mon-Sat 9:00-17:00, closed Sun). Pick up the TI’s free city guide with its simplified town map.
Trains and most buses share the same station, virtually on Eyre Square (which has the nearest ATMs). The train station can store your bag (€2.50/day, Mon-Fri 8:00-18:00, closed Sat-Sun). To get from the station to the TI, go left on Station Road as you exit the station (toward Eyre Square), and then turn right on Forster Street.
Don’t confuse the public bus station (in same building as the train station) with the coach station (a block away, across the street from the TI), which handles only privately owned coaches. Citylink buses from Dublin and Dublin’s airport, as well as regional day-tour buses, use the coach station.
Drivers staying overnight at a College Road B&B can park there for free (each has a small lot in front). For daytime parking, the most central and handiest parking garage is under the recommended Jurys Inn Galway in the town center (€2.20/hour, €20/24 hours, Mon-Sat 8:00-1:00 in the morning, Sun 9:00-18:00). Otherwise, you’ll have to buy a pay-and-display ticket and put it on your dashboard (€2, 2-hour maximum, buy from machines on street).
Crowd Control: Expect huge crowds—and much higher prices—during the Galway Arts Festival (mid-to-late-July, www.galwayartsfestival.com) and Galway Oyster Festival (late Sept, www.galwayoysterfest.com). The Galway Races are heaven for lovers of horse racing and hell for everyone else (summer races in late July-early Aug, fall races in mid-Sept and late Oct, www.galwayraces.com); prices double for food and lodging, and simple evening strolls feel like punt returns.
Markets: On Saturdays year-round and Sundays in summer, a fun market clusters around St. Nicholas’ Church (all day, but best 9:00-14:00).
Internet Access: There are several good places along High Street.
Post Office: It squats on Eglinton Street (Mon-Sat 9:00-17:30, closed Sun).
Bookstore: Dubray Books is directly across the pedestrian drag from Lynch’s Castle (Mon-Sat 9:00-18:00, Fri until 21:00, Sun 12:00-18:00, 4 Shop Street, tel. 091/569-070).
Laundry: Galway Dry Cleaners is close to the recommended B&Bs on College Road (€10 drop-off, Mon-Sat 9:30-17:30, closed Sun, on Bothar Ui Eithir, 2-minute walk uphill from TI, tel. 091/568-393).
Bike Rental: On Yer Bike rents bikes to tool around flat Galway town. Consider a pleasant ride out to the end of Salthill’s beachfront promenade and back (€10/day, Mon-Fri 10:00-18:00, Sat 12:00-18:00, Sun 15:00-18:00, 42 Prospect Hill, tel. 091/563-393, mobile 087/942-5479, www.onyourbikecycles.com).
Taxi: Give Big-O-Taxis a try (tel. 091/585-858).
Two guided, one-hour double-decker bus tours compete for your euros. Both depart from the TI, have similar schedules and prices, and make the dozen most important stops, including the cathedral, Salthill, and the Spanish Arch. These large coaches (Galway City buses are blue, and Lally’s are yellow) can’t penetrate some of the winding medieval back streets, but you can get off and explore and hop back on later (€10; April-Sept daily at 10:30, 12:00, 13:30, and 15:00; buses depart from TI on Forster Street, Galway City tel. 091/524-728, mobile 087-679-8525, www.galwaybustours.ie; Lally tel. 091/562-905, www.lallytours.com).
There are many walking tours in this town full of stories waiting to be told. Most are flexible in their start time and location (call ahead to confirm). Galway Walking Tours are led by Fiona Brennan, who takes her guests on leisurely 1.5-hour explorations of the city (€10, mobile 087-290-3499, www.galwaywalkingtours.com, fiona@galwaywalkingtours.com). Liam Silke comes from one of Galway’s oldest families and still serves as Galway’s town crier as he leads 1.5-hour tours (€10, departs at 11:30, usually from Brown’s Doorway at the high end of Eyre Square, tel. 091/588-897, mobile 086/348-0958, www.walkingtoursgalway.com, info@walkingtoursgalway.com).
Several Galway-based companies offer bus tours to the Burren (see here) and Connemara (see here).
Medieval Galway’s “Latin Quarter”
Collegiate Church of St. Nicholas
From the top of Eyre Square, Williams Gate—named for the old main gate of the Norman town wall that once stood here—is the spine of medieval Galway. While the road changes names several times (William, Shop, High, and Quay Streets), it leads generally downhill to the River Corrib, straight past the following sights.
Now the Allied Irish Bank, Galway’s best late-15th-century fortified townhouse was the home of the Lynch family—the most powerful of the town’s 14 tribes—and the only one of their mansions to survive. More than 80 Lynch mayors ruled Galway in the 16th and 17th centuries.
This church, located a half-block off the main street on the right, is the finest medieval building in town (1320), and is dedicated to St. Nicholas of Myra, the patron saint of sailors. Columbus is said to have worshipped here in 1477, undoubtedly while contemplating a scary voyage. Its interior is littered with obscure town history (free entry but €3 suggested donation). Consider attending an evening concert of traditional Irish music in this atmospheric venue (see “Nightlife in Galway,” later).
A wonderful open-air market surrounds the church most Saturdays year-round and also on Sundays in summer.
This pub was once owned by “Humanity Dick,” an 18th-century Member of Parliament who was the original animal-rights activist. It’s worth a peek inside for its lively interior. The lane just before it leads to the...
This 100-seat theater offers top-notch contemporary Irish theater. While the theater company is often away on tour, it’s worth checking their schedule online or dropping by to see if anything’s playing tonight (€18-25 tickets, Chapel Lane, tel. 091/568-660, www.druid.ie).
Directly across the alley from the theater door you’ll find the Hall of the Red Earl. Wall diagrams and storyboards explain that these are the dusty foundations of Galway’s oldest building, once the 13th-century hall of the Norman lord Richard DeBurgo (free, May-Sept Mon-Fri 9:30-16:30, Sat 10:00-13:00, closed Sun).
Overlooking the River Corrib, this makes up the best remaining chunk of the old city wall. A reminder of Galway’s former importance in trade, the Arch (c. 1584) is the place where Spanish ships would unload their cargo (primarily wine).
Fragments of old Galway are kept in this modern museum, located just behind the Spanish Arch. Temporary exhibitions by local artists are on the upper two floors. Check out the intact Galway “hooker” fishing boat hanging from the ceiling. The ground floor houses the permanent exhibits: prehistoric and ancient Galway-related treasures such as medieval pottery, Iron Age ax heads, and Bronze Age thingamajigs.
Cost and Hours: Free, Tue-Sat 10:00-17:00, Sun 12:00-17:00, closed Mon, handy café with cheap lunches, tel. 091/532-460, www.galwaycitymuseum.ie.
At the River Corrib, you’ll find a riverside park that’s perfect for a picnic (or get takeout from the recommended McDonagh’s, the town’s best chipper, across the street). Over the river (southeast of the bridge) is the modern housing project that replaced the original Claddagh in the 1930s. Claddagh (CLA-dah, like the “cla” in clatter) was a picturesque, Irish-speaking fishing village with a strong tradition of independence—and open sewers. This gaggle of thatched cottages functioned as an independent community with its own “king” until the early 1900s, when it was torn down for health reasons.
The old Claddagh village is gone, but the tradition of its popular ring (sold all over town) lives on. The Claddagh ring shows two hands holding a heart that wears a crown. The heart represents love, the crown is loyalty, and the hands are friendship. If the ring is worn with the tip of the heart pointing toward the wrist, it signifies that the wearer is married or otherwise taken. However, if the tip of the heart points toward the fingertip, it means the wearer is available.
Look at the monument (just before the bridge) given to Galway by the people of Genoa, Italy, to celebrate the 1477 visit here of Christopher Columbus—Cristoforo Colombo in Italian. (That acknowledgment, from an Italian town known for its stinginess, helps to substantiate the famous explorer’s legendary visit.) From the middle of the bridge, look up the river. The green copper dome marks the city’s Cathedral of St. Nicholas (described on the next page). Down the river is a tiny swan-infested harbor with a few of Galway’s famous square-rigged “hooker” fishing ships tied up and on display. Called “hookers” for their multiple hooks on a single line method of fishing, these sturdy yet graceful boats were later used to transport turf from Connemara, until improved roads and electric heat made them obsolete. Beyond that, a huge park of reclaimed land is popular with the local kids for Irish football and hurling. From there, the promenade leads to the resort town of Salthill.
On a sunny day, grassy Eyre Square is a popular hangout. In the Middle Ages, it was a field just outside the town wall. The square is named for the mayor who gave the land to the city in 1710. While still called Eyre Square, it now contains John F. Kennedy Park—established in memory of the Irish-American president’s visit in 1963 when he filled this space with adoring Irish for one of his speeches, a few months before he was assassinated. Though Kennedy is celebrated as America’s first Irish-Catholic president, several US presidents were descended from Protestant Ulster stock (even Barack Obama is part Irish, with roots in County Offaly). Take a look at the JFK bust near the kids’ play area, which commemorates his visit.
Walk to the rust-colored “Hooker Sculpture,” built in 1984 to celebrate the 500th anniversary of the incorporation of the city. The sails represent Galway’s square-rigged fishing ships (“hookers”) and the vessels that made Galway a trading center so long ago. The Browne Doorway, from a 1627 fortified townhouse, is a reminder of the 14 family tribes that once ruled the town (see Lynch’s Castle, listed earlier, to get a feel for an intact townhouse). Each had a town castle—much like the towers that characterize the towns of Tuscany, with their feuding noble families. So little survives of medieval Galway that the town makes a huge deal of any remaining window or crest. Check out the 14 colorful flags lining the western edge of the square, each one with a different original Norman founding tribe name.
The Eyre Square Shopping Centre—a busy, modern shopping mall (see the arcaded entry from the square)—leads to a piece of the old town wall that includes two reconstructed towers (and an antique market).
Opened by American Cardinal Cushing in 1965, this is one of the last great stone churches built in Europe.
Cost and Hours: Free, church bulletins at the doorway tell of upcoming Masses and concerts, located across Salmon Weir Bridge on outskirts of town, tel. 091/563-577.
Visiting the Cathedral: The interior is a treat—mahogany pews set on green Connemara marble floors under a Canadian cedar ceiling. The acoustically correct cedar enhances the church’s fine pipe organ. Two thousand worshippers sit on three sides facing the central altar. A Dublin woman carved the 14 larger-than-life Stations of the Cross. The carving above the chapel (left of entry) is from the old St. Nicholas church. Explore the modern stained glass. Find the Irish Holy Family—with Mary knitting and Jesus offering Joseph a cup of tea. The window depicting the Last Supper is particularly creative—find the 12 apostles.
Next, poke your head into the side chapel with a mosaic of Christ’s resurrection (if you’re standing in the nave facing the main altar, it’s on the left and closest to the front). Take a closer look at the profiled face in a circular frame, below and to the right of Christ—the one looking up while praying with clasped hands. It’s JFK, nearly a saint in Irish eyes at the time this cathedral was built.
This bridge was the local “bridge of sighs.” It led from the courthouse (opposite the church) to the prison (torn down to build the cathedral—unlikely in the US). Today, the bridge provides a fun view of the fishing action. Salmon run up this river most of the summer (look for them). Fishermen, who wear waders and carry walking sticks to withstand the strong current, book long in advance to get half-day appointments for a casting spot.
Canals multiplied in this city (sometimes called the “Venice of Ireland”) to power more water mills.
This small resort town packs pubs, discos, a splashy water park, amusement centers, and a fairground up against a fine, mile-long beach promenade (Ireland’s longest). Watch for local power walkers “kicking the wall” when they reach the western end of the promenade to emphasize that they’ve gone the entire distance.
At the Atlantaquaria Aquarium, which features native Irish aquatic life and some Amazonian species, kids can help feed the fish at 13:00 (fresh water), 15:00 (big fish), 16:00 (small fish), 17:00 (naughty kids fed to piranhas). They can cuddle the crustaceans anytime (€11.50, Mon-Fri 10:00-17:00, Sat-Sun 10:00-18:00, touch tanks, The Promenade, tel. 091/585-100, www.nationalaquarium.ie).
For beach time, a relaxing sunset stroll, late-night traditional music, or later-night disco action, Salthill hops. For accommodations in Salthill, see here.
Getting There: To get to Salthill, catch bus #1 from Eyre Square in front of the AIB bank, next to Meyrick Hotel (€1.65, runs 7:00-23:00).
This fine traditional-music and dance troupe was started by Galway-born performers who returned home after years of touring with Riverdance and The Chieftains. So popular that it’s lasted for more than a decade, their performance is a great way to enjoy live step dancing and accomplished musicians in a fairly intimate venue.
Recent documentaries and films such as The Magdalene Sisters and Philomena have highlighted the plight of unmarried, pregnant Irish women who were incarcerated and put to work doing laundry as virtual slaves. Viewing premarital pregnancy as one step short of prostitution, various Catholic orders operated these infamous “Magdalene laundries.” (No such stigma applied to the men involved.) Across from the TI (at 47 Forster Street), a modest and easy-to-miss statue stands on the site of one such facility, operated by the Sisters of Mercy, which opened in 1824, with a capacity of 110 young women, and closed in 1984, with 18 inmates remaining. It’s estimated that upwards of 10,000 women passed through the Magdalene laundry system. Magdalene survivors claim that they were held against their will, forced to work without pay, and physically abused…and their children were sold for adoption. The Irish government apologized in 2013 for turning a blind eye to the mistreatment of these “fallen women,” who were imprisoned out of sight, often with the consent of their shamed families.
Cost and Hours: €30, mid-May-Sept only, shows at 21:00 Tue, Thu, and Sun—call to confirm, and best to reserve ahead online; in Galway Bay Hotel, 30-minute walk west of town along the Salthill promenade or short ride on bus #1 from Eyre Square; tel. 091/582-860, mobile 087-2388-489, www.tradontheprom.com.
Join the locals and cheer on the greyhounds. The stadium is a 10-minute walk from Eyre Square and barking distance from my recommended B&Bs.
Cost and Hours: €10, Thu-Sat evenings from 20:00 to 22:30, tel. 091/562-273, www.igb.ie.
Galway, like Dingle and Doolin, is a mecca for good Irish music (nightly 21:30-23:30). But unlike Dingle and Doolin, this is a university town (enrollment: 12,000), and many pubs are often overrun with noisy students. Still, your chances of landing a seat close to a churning band surrounded by new Irish friends are good any evening of the year. Touristy and student pubs are found and filled along the main drag down from Eyre Square to the Spanish Arch, and across Wolfe Tone Bridge, along William Street West and Dominick Street. If it happens to be Tuesday, cross the bridge and start at Monroe’s, with its vast, music-filled interior (trad music Tue and Sun at 21:30, set-dancing Tue at 21:00, a mixed bag of folk/rock music other nights, Dominick Street, tel. 091/583-397, www.monroes.ie). Several other pubs within earshot frequently feature traditional music.
Pubs known for Irish music along the main drag include Tig Coili, featuring Galway’s best trad sessions (Mon-Sat at 18:00 and 21:00, Sun at 14:00 and 21:00, intersection of Main Guard Street and High Street, tel. 091/561-294, www.pubsdirect.ie/tigcoili); Taaffe’s (nightly music sessions at 17:30, Shop Street, across from St. Nicholas Church, tel. 091/564-066); and The Quays (trad music most nights at 21:30, sporadic schedule, young scene, Quay Street, tel. 091/568-347). A bit off the main drag, Barr An Chaladh is a scruffy little place offering nightly trad or ballad sessions and more locals (3 Daly’s Place, tel. 091/895-762).
The Collegiate Church of St. Nicholas is the mellow medieval venue for “Tunes in the Church,” with a rotating lineup of accomplished trad musicians. The 1.5-hour concerts are fun for early birds who don’t want to stay up to catch the same great players in a local pub later that night (€15; July-Aug Mon, Wed, and Fri at 20:00; where High Street and Shop Street intersect, tel. 087/962-5425, www.tunesinthechurch.com).
There are three price tiers for most beds in Galway: off-season, high season (Easter-Oct), and charge-what-you-like festivals and race weekends (see “Crowd Control” on here). I’ve listed high-season rates. B&Bs simply play the market. If you’re on a tight budget, call around and see where the best prices are. All B&Bs include a full “Irish fry” breakfast.
For a fancy place, Park House Hotel offers the best value. For a budget hotel, go to Jurys Inn. For cheap beds, hit the hostel.
$$$ Park House Hotel, a plush, business-class hotel, is ideally located a block from the train station and Eyre Square. Its 84 spacious rooms come with all the comforts you’d expect (Db-€99-169, online discounts, expensive full Irish breakfast-€12.50, parking-€12/day, elevator, great restaurant, helpful staff, Forster Street, tel. 091/564-924, www.parkhousehotel.ie, reservations@parkhousehotel.ie).
$$$ Hotel Meyrick, filled with palatial Old World elegance and 97 rooms, marks the end of the Dublin-Galway train line and the beginning of Galway. Since 1845, it has been Galway’s landmark hotel...JFK stayed here in 1963 when it was the Great Southern (Db-€165-199, some discounts during slow times, best rates when you book online, at the head of Eyre Square, tel. 091/564-041, www.hotelmeyrick.ie, reshm@hotelmeyrick.ie).
$$$ Jurys Inn Galway has 130 American-style rooms in a modern hotel, centrally located where the old town hits the river. The big, bright rooms have double beds and huge modern bathrooms (Db-€79-119 Sun-Thu, €109-155 Fri-Sat; prices depend on season, breakfast-€10, elevator, lots of tour groups, parking-€10, Quay Street, tel. 091/566-444, US tel. 800-423-6953, www.jurysinns.com, jurysinngalway@jurysinns.com).
$$$ Skeffington Arms Hotel feels more Irish than other hotels in town, but is furnished in a modern style. Centrally located on Eyre Square, it sits above a nightclub with noise from fun-loving stag/hen partygoers on weekends (Sb-€67-110, Db-€80-165, Tb-€125-200, Qb-€170-225, online discounts, Wi-Fi, Eyre Square, tel. 091/563-173, www.skeffington.ie, reception@skeffington.ie).
Hostel: $ Kinlay Hostel is a no-nonsense place just 100 yards from the train station, with 224 beds (1-8 beds per room) in bare, clean, and simple rooms, including 15 doubles/twins. Easygoing people of any age feel welcome here, but if you want a double, book well ahead—several months in advance for weekends (dorm bed-€16-29, Sb-€48-60, Db-€60-70, guest computer, Wi-Fi, elevator, self-service kitchen, baggage storage, on Merchants Road just off Eyre Square, tel. 091/565-244, www.kinlaygalway.ie, info@kinlaygalway.ie).
Drivers who follow city-center signs into Galway will pass a string of B&Bs just after the greyhound-racing stadium. On foot, the B&Bs are about a 10-minute walk from Eyre Square (from the station, walk up Forster Street, which turns into College Road). The following places are lined up like battleships on College Road. All have free parking and are quieter than the rowdy weekend scene at bigger hotels in the city center. Although there are other B&Bs on this road, my favorites are the ones where the owner lives on-site (and whose pride of ownership shows).
$$ Petra House, a peaceful-feeling brick building, rents nine great rooms, including a family room. The owners, Joan and Frank Maher, keep everything lovingly maintained. Breakfasts are a highlight (Sb-€50-75, Db-€70-120, Tb-€110-150, Qb-€120-160, elegant sitting room, guest computer, Wi-Fi, 29 College Road, tel. 091/566-580, www.galway.net/pages/petra-house, petrahouse@eircom.net).
$$ Ardawn House is a welcoming B&B with nine fresh and comfortable rooms. The Guilfoyles—friendly Breda and Antarctic explorer Mike—are great sources for local tips (Sb-€55-75, Db-€70-120, Tb-€110-150, Qb-€120-160, Wi-Fi, 31 College Road, near stadium on right, tel. 091/568-833, www.ardawnhouse.com, ardawn@iol.ie).
$$ Four Seasons B&B is well-kept, with seven inviting rooms hosted by Eddie and Helen Fitzgerald (Sb-€45-60, Db-€70-100, Tb-€90-120, Qb-€120-150, Wi-Fi, 23 College Road, tel. 091/564-078, www.fourseasonsgalway.com, info@fourseasonsgalway.com).
$$ Balcony House B&B rents eight pleasant rooms (Sb-€45-60, Db-€80-120, Tb-€105-140, Qb-€140-160, Wi-Fi, 27 College Road, tel. 091/563-438, www.aaabalconyhouse.com, info@aaabalconyhouse.com). Teresa Coyne provides treats in your room on arrival.
$$ Asgard Guesthouse offers eight restful rooms and an appealing glass-atrium breakfast room (Sb-€45-75, Db-€70-100, Tb-€90-120, Qb-€140-160, Wi-Fi, 21 College Road, tel. 091/566-855, www.galwaycityguesthouse.com, info@galwaycityguesthouse.com, Mary O’Flynn).
Salthill is Galway’s equivalent of a beach town, with a fine sandy promenade for summer evening walks. (For more on Salthill, see here.)
$$ Clarevilla B&B, a good, quiet choice 200 yards from the beach in a mellow residential area, has six serenely decorated, white rooms (Sb-€40-50, Db-€70-75, Tb-€90, cash only, Wi-Fi, closed Nov-March, 38 Threadneedle Road, tel. 091/522-520, clarevilla@yahoo.com, Christina Connolly). By car, it’s a seven-minute drive from Galway. Follow the beach past Salthill, and take a right on Threadneedle Road just before the beach’s high diving board—it’s on your left, 200 yards up, next to the Tennis Club. By bus, take #401 (3/hour, €1.65) from Eyre Square (picks up on the opposite side of square from the Skeffington Arms pub). Get off at the bus stop right across the street.
This college town is filled with colorful, inexpensive eateries. People everywhere seem to be enjoying their food.
(See “Galway” map, here.)
Each of these places is within a block or two of Jurys Inn.
Kirwan’s Lane Restaurant & Seafood Bar is considered Galway’s best dining experience. The seafood bar downstairs and the restaurant up top have the same hours. Both are dressy places where reservations are required (€17-25 lunches, €24-30 dinners, daily 12:30-14:30 & 18:00-22:00, no lunch on Sun, on Kirwan’s Lane a block from Jurys Inn, tel. 091/568-266, www.kirwanslane.com).
Busker Brownes, with three eateries in one sprawling block, is popular for its good, cheap food. Enter on Cross Street for the restaurant and walk to the back for better seating, or enter on Kirwan’s Lane for the ground-floor pub; the third section is upstairs from the pub (€11-22 meals, daily 10:30-21:30, cleanse your palate with jazz sessions Sun at 13:00 and Mon at 21:30, Cross Street and Kirwan’s Lane, tel. 091/563-377).
McDonagh’s Fish-and-Chips is a favorite among residents. It has a fast, cheap, all-day chipper on one side and a sit-and-stay-awhile dinner-only restaurant on the other side. If you’re determined to try Galway oysters, remember that they’re in season from September through April only. At other times, you’ll eat Pacific oysters—go figure (€12 lunch, €15-25 in restaurant, €20 two-course early-bird special served 17:00-18:45; chipper open Mon-Sat 12:00-22:00, Sun 16:00-22:00; restaurant open Mon-Sat 17:00-22:00, closed Sun; 22 Quay Street, tel. 091/565-001).
Nimmo’s Wine Bar Bistro and Ard Bia Café peacefully coexist in an old stone warehouse behind the Spanish Arch. The upstairs is a mellow hangout with great cheese platters and wine. The candlelit ambience is great any night, even for a cup of coffee (€15-24 meals, café lunches Tue-Sat 12:00-15:30, wine-bar dinners Tue-Sun 18:00-21:30, closed Mon, Long Walk Street, tel. 091/561-114 or 091/539-897).
(See “Galway” map, here.)
Elwood’s Grill, conveniently located next door to the TI, is closest to my College Road B&B listings. Its friendly modern pub (up front) serves better than average pub fare, while the restaurant out back offers relaxing dinners (€11-16 lunches, €18-24 dinners, daily 12:00-22:30, Forster Street, tel. 091/564-111).
McSwiggan’s, with a downstairs pub and upstairs restaurant, is a maze of wooden stairways, brick walls, and hidden alcoves, serving hearty traditional Irish meals (€12-18 lunches, €17-25 dinners, daily 12:00-22:30, Eyre Street, tel. 091/568-917).
The Galway Bakery Company (GBC) is a popular, basic place for a quick Irish meal (€12-18 meals in ground-floor cafeteria, pricier restaurant upstairs, daily 12:00-21:00, 7 Williams Gate, near Eyre Square, tel. 091/563-087).
Supermarket: You can get to Dunnes through the Eyre Square Shopping Centre or around the corner at tiny Castle Street, off the pedestrian Williams Gate (Mon-Sat 9:00-19:00, Thu-Fri until 21:00, Sun 11:00-19:00, supermarket in basement). Lots of smaller grocery shops are scattered throughout town.
Lohan’s Restaurant is right on the seafront promenade in Salthill (just west of the aquarium) and offers traditional Irish favorites at reasonable prices (€11-16 meals, daily 12:00-22:00, 232 Upper Salthill, tel. 091/522-696).
If you have a car, consider a Dunguaire Castle medieval banquet in Kinvarra, a 30-minute drive south of Galway (for details, see here). You can fit in the banquet very efficiently when you’re driving into Galway (B&Bs can accommodate late arrivals if you call ahead).
From Galway by Train to: Dublin (8/day, 2.5-3 hours), Limerick (4/day, 2 hours), Ennis (5/day, 1.25 hours). For Belfast, Tralee, and Rosslare, you’ll change in or near Dublin. Train info: Tel. 091/561-444, www.irishrail.ie.
By Bus to: Dublin (hourly, 3.25 hours; also see Citylink, below), Kilkenny (3/day, 5 hours), Cork (hourly, 4.25 hours), Ennis (hourly, 1.25 hours), Shannon Airport (hourly, 1.75 hours), Cliffs of Moher (8/day in summer, some with change in Ennis, 2 hours), Doolin (5/day, 1.5 hours), Limerick (hourly, 1.5-2.25 hours), Dingle (5/day, 6.5 hours), Tralee (8/day, 4.5 hours), Westport (5-7/day, 2-4 hours), Rosslare (2/day, 7.5-8 hours), Belfast (every 2 hours, 6 hours, change in Dublin), Derry (6/day, 5.5 hours). Bus info: Tel. 091/562-000, www.buseireann.ie.
Citylink (tel. 091/564-164, www.citylink.ie) runs cheap and fast bus service from the coach station near the TI to Dublin (arriving at Bachelor’s Walk, a block from Tara Street DART station; hourly, 2.5 hours), Dublin Airport (hourly, 3 hours), and Cork Airport (6/day, 3.75 hours).
By Car: For ideas on driving from Galway to Derry or Portrush in Northern Ireland, see “Sights Between Galway and Derry” at the end of the Connemara and County Mayo chapter, which describes sights in the Republic of Ireland. For sights on this route in Northern Ireland, see “Between Derry and Galway” on here of the Derry and County Donegal chapter.