Things to do in Galway
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Galway
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Long light, Burren wildflowers, Connemara at its best and pre-peak prices.
Arts Festival makes this the best week culturally, accepting crowds and higher prices.
Oyster festival, settled weather and smaller crowds. The connoisseur pick.
Darkest and wettest feeling, fewest events, some restaurants and tours on reduced hours.
St Patrick's Festival and parade, with spring festivals starting.
Comedy Festival and Baboro children's arts festival in late October.
Christmas Market on Eyre Square from mid November, festive despite the dark.
What's on
- Galway International Arts Festival 13-26 July
Ireland's biggest arts festival, with Big Top concerts in Fisheries Field.
- Galway Film Fleadh 7-11 July
Ireland's leading film festival, immediately before Arts Festival.
- Galway Races Summer Festival 27 July-2 August
Seven days at Ballybrit. Ladies Day on Thursday is a national occasion.
- Galway International Oyster & Seafood Festival 25-27 September
Long running oyster festival with World Oyster Opening Championships and a seafood trail.
- St Patrick's Festival March
Parade and festival in the city centre.
- Galway Comedy Festival 20-26 October
Late October comedy festival across city venues.
- Baboró International Arts Festival for Children October
Children's arts festival in October.
- Christmas Market on Eyre Square mid-November-early January
Christmas market on Eyre Square through December.
Best things to do in Galway
Trad on the Prom
Polished traditional music, song and dance show in Salthill that locals recommend to visiting relatives.
Galway Food Tours
Guided tasting walk through the market and artisan producers that orients you for eating well all trip.
Tigh Cóilí
Latin Quarter pub with trad sessions twice daily and the atmosphere most people picture for Galway.
The Crane Bar
West End pub prized by listeners, with sessions downstairs and a dedicated upstairs listening room.
Taaffes
Accessible early evening starter session on Shop Street for a first taste of Galway trad.
Salthill Promenade
Two kilometre seafront walk from the Claddagh to Salthill with the best free sunset view over Galway Bay.
Blackrock Diving Board
End of the Prom landmark where locals swim year round and walkers kick the wall to finish the walk.
Galway City Museum
Free, compact museum by the Spanish Arch covering medieval, maritime and Claddagh ring history in an hour.
Where to stay in Galway
Latin Quarter / City Centre
first trip, all-round base
Cobbled pedestrian blocks with most pubs, restaurants and the market, five minutes from the stations.
The West End
return visitors and food-led trips
Five minutes from the Latin Quarter with half the tourist density and Aniar, Kai, The Crane and Roisin Dubh.
Salthill
families, sea air and golf
Seaside suburb 2 kilometres west with larger hotels, sea views and easier parking, calmer than the centre.
Eyre Square East / Prospect Hill
newer hotels and transport
Modern hotels by the station, still a 5 to 10 minute walk to the Latin Quarter, slightly less atmospheric.
Think twice about
- Doughiska / Tuam Road motorway-hotel strip
Not unsafe, isolating. Industrial estates with nothing walkable, so every evening starts and ends with a taxi.
- Directly over Quay Street and Shop Street pubs
A noise problem, not safety. Music and crowds until about 2am, worst Thursday to Saturday and in festival weeks.
- Ballybrit
Racecourse and exhibition zone with nothing walkable, only sensible during Race Week if racing is the whole trip.
Best restaurants in Galway
Aniar
Starred tasting menu using only ingredients from the west of Ireland in a 24 seat room.
Kai
Locals favourite special dinner after Aniar, seasonal and ingredient led, with superb lunch value.
Ard Bia at Nimmo's
Bohemian stone house by the Spanish Arch, the consensus pick for one mid range meal and for brunch.
Hooked
Casual West End seafood supplied by a fish market, fresher and cheaper than Quay Street tourist spots.
Cava Bodega
Spanish tapas sibling to Aniar, the best sharing dinner in the centre for groups who book early.
McSwiggan's
Traditional Woodquay bar restaurant famous for seafood chowder in a celebrated gastropub.
Oscar's Seafood Bistro
Small, quieter, chef led West End seafood bistro, the insider alternative when neighbours are full.
The Dough Bros
Wood fired pizza with Irish toppings from a former street stall, now a Galway rite of passage.
Outdoor things to do in Galway
Inis Mór
Largest Aran island, reached by ferry, where hiring a bike for Dun Aonghasa and the cliffs is the top day trip.
Kylemore Abbey
Victorian abbey whose walled garden and lakeside setting are the highlight of the Connemara loop.
Sky Road
Coastal drive above Clifden rated among Ireland's great scenic roads, best on a self drive loop.
Connemara National Park
Free national park under the Twelve Bens, the natural stop for walking on a Connemara day.
Cliffs of Moher
214 metre cliffs running 8 kilometres, far better after a 20 minute walk away from the visitor centre.
The Burren
Limestone pavement landscape south of Galway, famous for wildflowers that peak in May.
Diamond Hill
Best half day hike in the region, a waymarked loop to a 442 metre summit over the Twelve Bens and coast.
Silver Strand
Quiet beach at the end of the coastal walk from Salthill through Barna, a locals swimming and walking stretch.
Best hotels in Galway
The Hardiman
Grand 1845 railway hotel on Eyre Square, the city's landmark old school luxury address.
The House Hotel
48 room boutique by the Spanish Arch, the best located mid tier boutique in the centre.
Harbour Hotel
Modern four star a short walk east of the centre, popular for comfort, value and parking.
Kinlay Hostel
Central, social and clean hostel on Eyre Square, part of a genuinely good Galway backpacker tier.
Galway City Hostel
Central Eyre Square hostel offering dorm beds at traveller reported budget prices.
The Twelve
Stylish boutique hotel in Barna village with a well regarded restaurant and bakery, the foodie escape base.
Galway Bay Hotel
Large reliable four star on the Prom with sea view rooms and leisure facilities, next to Trad on the Prom.
The Ardilaun Hotel
Family run four star in gardens between Salthill and the city, quiet and driver friendly with a pool.
Is Galway expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | €64 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | €153 a person |
| Splurge | €359 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Trad on the Prom: weeks ahead
- Galway Food Tours: weeks ahead
- Micil Distillery: a few days ahead
- Róisín Dubh: a few days ahead
- Inis Mór: weeks ahead
- Kylemore Abbey: a few days ahead
- Cliffs of Moher: a few days ahead
- Kayakmor: a few days ahead
- Accommodation for festivals or summer weekends 3 to 6 months ahead, and Aniar weeks ahead.
- Aran Islands ferries in summer and Trad on the Prom in festival season sell out.
- Kai and Ard Bia dinners, food tours 1 to 2 weeks out in July and August, and Connemara golf tee times in summer.
Is Galway safe?
- Galway is safe by European city standards, busy and well lit late, with rare violent crime.
- Watch for pickpocket level theft in crowded pubs and markets, and drunken crowds around Quay Street at closing.
- Never enter the fast flowing Corrib, and take care swimming in cold Atlantic water at Blackrock.
- Pack a waterproof shell and walkable shoes in any month. Galway is one of Ireland's wettest cities.
Galway travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Quay Street super pubs as your whole night out, and its loudest seafood tourist menus at centre premium prices.
- The combined Aran and Cliffs mega tour in one day is rushed. Split them if your nights allow.
- Paying for Spanish Arch or Eyre Square tours as standalone products. Both are free sights on a walking route.
- Race Week as a first trip unless you love racing. Prices double and many locals leave town.
Getting around Galway: public transport and more
- You do not need a car in the city. Centre, West End and Salthill are walkable, with buses and taxis for the rest.
- Trains from Dublin Heuston take about 2h15 to 2h30 to Galway Ceannt Station on Eyre Square. Buses arrive at the same square.
- Rent a car only for Connemara or Burren self drive days. Central parking is scarce and paid, and Connemara roads are slow.
- FreeNow works in Galway. Taxi ranks are at Eyre Square and the station, with long late night queues on festival weekends.
Who Galway suits
| Solo travellers | Great |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Great |
| Couples | Great |
| Bachelor parties | Great |
| Families | Good |
| Bachelorette parties | Great |
Make Galway your trip
Swearby drafts the days from places people swear by. Swap any stop, then invite the crew by text, even friends without the app. Vote on dates, track costs as you go, and everyone gets one number at the end.
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