Galway is Ireland's most exuberant small city, a compact harbour town on the wild west coast where the River Corrib pours into the Atlantic and the streets seem permanently tuned to a fiddle. You can walk the medieval core, the winding Latin Quarter down Quay Street to the Spanish Arch, in ten minutes, so the trick is to slow right down: follow the buskers, duck into a snug for a pint, and let the weather set the pace. Galway is famous for oysters, for its September oyster festival, and for the freshest seafood you will eat anywhere in Ireland, so build meals around it. Base yourself in or near the centre, walk everywhere, and treat the seaside stroll along Salthill Promenade as a daily ritual, kicking the wall at the far end as locals do for luck. Use Galway as a launchpad too, because the Cliffs of Moher, the lunar limestone of the Burren, the Aran Islands and the mountains and lakes of Connemara are all within a day's reach. Bring a raincoat, expect four seasons in an afternoon, and know that the craic here is genuinely worth the trip.
A full, walkable day in Galway, free for everyone. Set your pace and start time.
Grab the soda bread and a sausage roll; the street is quiet and the buskers arrive later, so it's a calm start.
See the Galway hookers sculpture and the old city gates, then look up at Lynch's Castle's carved stone facade as you pass.
The medieval parish church where Columbus is said to have prayed; on Saturdays the street market wraps right around it.
Free entry and quick to see; head to the top floor for the Galway hooker boat and the view over the Corrib.
Use the takeaway counter for fresh battered haddock and proper chips; eat it by the water at the Spanish Arch.
It's about 30 minutes on foot along the bay, or a short bus; kick the wall at the Blackrock tower before turning back.
Order the seafood chowder and mussels upstairs, then settle into a snug downstairs for a pint and live music.
A pair of 16th-century arches from the old city walls where the Corrib meets the sea, the city's favourite gathering spot; come on a sunny evening when musicians and picnickers fill the grass.
The definitive Galway chipper on Quay Street since 1902, where locals queue for battered fresh haddock and cod with proper chips; go for the takeaway counter rather than the pricier sit-down restaurant.
The colourful, cobbled heart of the Latin Quarter, packed with pubs, buskers and shopfronts running down to the water; loud and lively by night, calmer and better for photos in the morning.
The vast green-domed Cathedral of Our Lady and St Nicholas beside the Corrib, one of Europe's last great stone cathedrals, finished in 1965; step inside for the mosaics and the fine acoustics.
The city's central green, officially Kennedy Park, ringed by shops and hotels with the colourful Galway hookers sculpture and old city gates; the natural meeting point and start of Shop Street.
The largest medieval parish church still in use in Ireland, dating from 1320, where Columbus reputedly prayed before sailing west; visit on Saturday when a street market wraps around it.
A breezy two-kilometre seafront walk along Galway Bay with views to the Clare hills and the Aran Islands; follow tradition and kick the wall at the Blackrock diving tower before you turn back.
Bohemian, art-filled dining room in an old stone building beside the Spanish Arch, serving inventive West of Ireland plates and one of the city's best weekend brunches; book ahead for dinner.
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Ireland