Ireland (Lonely Planet, 9th Edition) - Fionn Davenport [331]
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GALWAY CITY
HISTORY
ORIENTATION
INFORMATION
SIGHTS & ACTIVITIES
TOURS
SLEEPING
EATING
DRINKING
ENTERTAINMENT
SHOPPING
GETTING THERE & AWAY
GETTING AROUND
ARAN ISLANDS
INISHMÓR
INISHMAAN
INISHEER
CONNEMARA
COASTAL DRIVE – GALWAY CITY TO MACE HEAD
OUGHTERARD & AROUND
LOUGH CORRIB
LOUGH INAGH VALLEY
ROUNDSTONE
ROUNDSTONE TO CLIFDEN
CLIFDEN & AROUND
CLADDAGHDUFF & OMEY ISLAND
CLEGGAN
INISHBOFIN
LETTERFRACK & AROUND
LEENANE & KILLARY HARBOUR
SOUTH OF GALWAY CITY
CLARINBRIDGE & KILCOLGAN
KINVARA
EASTERN GALWAY
ATHENRY
LOUGHREA & AROUND
BALLINASLOE
CLONFERT CATHEDRAL
PORTUMNA
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County Galway presents a major problem: its namesake main city is such a charmer that you might not be able to tear yourself away to the countryside. Conversely (perversely?), the wild and beautiful Aran Islands and Connemara Peninsula might keep you captive such that you’ll never have time for the city. What to do? Both, of course!
Galway city is a swirl of enticing old pubs that hum with trad music sessions throughout the year. More importantly, it has an overlaying vibe of fun and frolic that can’t help but amuse. Hop aboard for a thrilling ride. Its setting on the wide, tidal bay and the tiny atmospheric fishing villages to the south are bonuses.
Offshore, the eroded, sheer swaths of land known as the Aran Islands have a desolate, windswept aura that entrances. Tiny villages cling to the rocks while soft-hearted locals welcome their modern lifeblood: visitors. Dún Aengus, a mysterious 2000-year-old fortress, evokes an Ireland utterly alien to the clichéd one of merry mirth makers in treacly pubs.
North of Galway city, the Connemara Peninsula matches the beauty of the other Atlantic outcrops to the south, like Dingle. Tiny roads wander along a coastline studded with islands, surprisingly white beaches and intriguing old villages with views over it all. This is the place to don the hiking boots and take to the well-marked network of trails that wander through lonely valleys and past hidden lakes before ending at sprays of surf at the Atlantic.
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HIGHLIGHTS
Go Crawling Sample Galway city’s array of atmospheric pubs Click here
Start Shelling Enjoy oysters direct from the bay at iconic oyster restaurants in Clarinbridge and Kilcolgan
Get Stoned Ponder the people who built the enigmatic fort Dún Aengus on Inishmór Click here
Go with the Flow Marvel at the range of life in Kilkieran Bay
Pound Sand Frolic on postcard-perfect Glassillaun Beach on Connemara’s north coast Click here
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POPULATION: 210,000
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AREA: 3760 SQ KM
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GALWAY CITY
pop 72,400
Arty, bohemian Galway (Gaillimh) is renowned for its entertainment scene. Brightly painted pubs heave with live music, while cafes offer front-row seats from which to observe all manner of street performers.
Steeped in history, the city nonetheless has a contemporary vibe. Students make up a quarter of its population, and remnants of the medieval town walls lie between shops selling Aran sweaters, handcrafted Claddagh rings, and stacks of second-hand and new books. Bridges arc over the salmon-filled River Corrib, and a long promenade leads to the seaside suburb of Salthill, on Galway Bay, the source of the area’s famous oysters.
Galway is a very rainy city, even by Irish standards, and water can play a major role in your visit here, whether you’re dodging it from the skies, walking along the bayshore or exploring paths along the river, creeks and canals.
In 2009 Galway cast off the economic malaise when it hosted a stop on the Volvo Ocean Race. For two weeks it was a sort of Celtic Monaco, as enormous globe-trotting yachts and accompanying glitterati invaded the city. Besides spending lots of cash, the visitors inspired a general clean-up around town, including the removal of some eyesore oil tanks near the gentrifying harbour.
Galway is often referred to as the ‘most Irish’ of Ireland’s cities (and it’s the only one where you’re likely to hear Irish spoken