Galway International Arts Festival
12–25 Jul 2027 · Galway City
The festival's 50th edition: two weeks of theatre, music, visual art and street spectacle that take over Galway every July.
Galway City
Galway runs on music and sea air. Buskers hold the lanes all day, the pubs take over at night, and the festival calendar fills much of what is left. The city sits where the River Corrib meets the bay. Go in festival season if you like a crowd; go in winter if you want it to yourself.
Best sites to see in Galway City
Spanish Arch and Galway City Museum
The Spanish Arch, a surviving arch of the old city defences beside the River Corrib, stands next to the City Museum, which covers Galway's history and the Claddagh.
Shop Street and the Latin Quarter
The city's main medieval street, with Lynch's Castle, a fortified merchant's house now used as a bank, leading into the lanes of the Latin Quarter with their shops and pubs.
Galway Cathedral
A large stone Catholic cathedral beside the Corrib, completed in 1965, with a dome, mosaics and stained glass, on the site of the former city gaol.
Eyre Square
The city's central square, formally John F. Kennedy Memorial Park, with lawns, sculptures and the Browne Doorway, a relic of a 17th-century merchant house.
Where to stand, and when
- The Long Walk from the Claddagh side of the harbour: Photograph the row of colourful houses across the water in the morning, with the Spanish Arch nearby.
- Salthill Promenade: Sunset over Galway Bay is the classic shot, looking west along the promenade towards the Clare hills on a clear day.
- Shop Street in the Latin Quarter: Go early for quieter streets, or in the evening for buskers and lit shopfronts.
Galway City through history
Galway grew from a fort, Dun Gaillimhe, built by the King of Connacht in 1124 at the mouth of the River Corrib, and developed into a walled trading port.
In the later medieval period the city was governed by leading merchant families remembered as the Tribes of Galway, who traded widely with continental Europe.
The Claddagh, the old fishing community across the river from the Spanish Arch, gave its name to the Claddagh ring, the traditional ring design associated with Galway.
Galway is now known internationally for its arts and festivals, including the Galway International Arts Festival and the Galway Races.
Practical tips
- Much of the Latin Quarter is pedestrianised, so park in a city car park and see the centre on foot.
- The walk from the city centre along the bay to Salthill is flat and popular; allow around half an hour each way at a strolling pace.
- Book accommodation well ahead for festival weeks and the Galway Races in summer, when the city is at its busiest.
Golf near Galway City
Galway's own links is Connemara Golf Links at Ballyconneely, about 1¼ hours west: 27 Eddie Hackett holes between the Twelve Bens and the sea. Listings run €160–€220 depending on source and season. The club publishes no single rate card, so confirm in the booking flow.
Our full guide to golf in Ireland
Where we would stay in Galway City
Hotel in Galway
Park House Hotel, Galway
Park House sits on Eyre Square itself, so the train and bus stations, Shop Street and the Latin Quarter are all a few minutes on foot. For a first night in Galway that matters, because the city is best done walking, with the evening free for music rather than taxis. The hotel holds a 4.5 rating on TripAdvisor from more than 3,600 reviews, with rooms seen from 152 pounds on KAYAK (as seen 25 Oct 2026). Expect a traditional, well kept house rather than a design statement, the kind of place that suits Galway down to the ground.
Best for: First-time visitors arriving by train or bus who want the city on foot. It is a traditional, family style house rather than a boutique or design hotel.
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What's on
Galway Races Summer Festival
26 Jul – 1 Aug 2027 · Ballybrit, Galway
Seven days of summer racing at Ballybrit: the Galway Plate and the Galway Hurdle, famous crowds, and the whole city in festival mode around it.
Galway International Oyster & Seafood Festival
24–26 Sep 2027 (dates to be confirmed) · Galway City
The world's oldest oyster festival opens the native oyster season: the World Oyster Opening Championships, a seafood trail through the city's restaurants, and a great deal of stout.
What we would choose ourselves
The Cliffs of Moher, County Clare
Cliffs & coastal tours
Dublin to Cliffs of Moher, including Wild Atlantic Way and Galway (Wild Rover Tours)
The Cliffs of Moher are the one sight nearly every first trip to Ireland is built around, and this is the day trip we point people to. It runs about thirteen hours from Dublin, out along the Wild Atlantic Way to the cliffs, then into Galway for a couple of hours on the cobbled streets before the run home. It leaves from College Green in the city centre. The numbers are hard to argue with: from US$88.21 a head, rated 4.9 from nearly 24,900 reviews, the largest count of any cliffs tour on Viator, with free cancellation up to a day ahead.
Best for: Anyone whose trip is built around the cliffs and who would rather not hire a car. It is a long coach day of about thirteen hours, so travellers who like to set their own pace may prefer to drive the coast themselves.
Inis Oírr (Inisheer), the Aran Islands
Wild Atlantic Way tours
Galway to Aran Islands (Inisheer), Doolin and Cliffs of Moher Day Tour (Galway Tour Company)
Most people see the Cliffs of Moher from the top. This day out from Galway shows them from the water as well. A coach through the Burren to Doolin, then the express ferry to Inisheer, the smallest of the Aran Islands, with its castle ruin, sunken church and shipwreck. The ferry then runs beneath the cliffs before you finish with an hour at the top and the visitor centre, entry included. It leaves Eyre Square at nine, runs ten and a half hours, from US$91.65 a head, and holds a 4.9 rating from just over 2,000 reviews.
Best for: Travellers already based in Galway who want the islands and the cliffs in one day. The ferry crossing can be lively in bad weather, and the tour is not wheelchair accessible.
Some links on this page are partner links. If you buy through one, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. It helps keep this site free, and we only list places and trips we would choose ourselves.