TravelTips24 : Europe : British Isles : Ireland : West Ireland : County Galway

County Galway

Check out the new County Galway travel forum

County Galway is on the west coast of Ireland, in the historical province of Connacht, almost directly across the island from Dublin. It is home to fantastic scenery and the largest Gaeltacht in the country.

Regions

  • Connemara is covered in green mountains. When low-lying cloud rolls in, which is most of the time, the region looks like something right out of a fairy tale.

Cities

Other destinations

Culture and History

The Gaelic name for this county, Gaillimh, derives from Gaill, the Gaelic word for oustiders or foreigners. It is ironic, then, that this county is now home to the largest gaeltacht, where the language and culture of Ireland still survives.

The landscape in County Galway is varied. The interior is largely flat, while the Connemara, in the northwest is a region of ancient glacier scared mountains, blanket bog peatlands and rugged coastlines. The Aran Islands and the south are rocky and barren places, containing numerous stone age forts, including Dun Aenghus (one of the best examples of its kind in Europe), beautiful in its isolation. To top it off, there is also the urban landscape of Galway City, the west coast's largest city.

Talk

Both English and Irish Gaelic are widely spoken in County Galway. As with the rest of Ireland, most Gaelic speakers are found in smaller and more isolated villages, while the cities are dominantly English speaking.

Travel to County Galway & Visa Requirements

Frequent buses and trains arrive from Dublin into Galway City. Local buses into smaller communities in County Galway also arrive from neighbouring counties.

Tours & Getting around County Galway

County Galway attractions and sightseeing

County Galway city tours

  • Hike through the Twelve Bens in Connemara.
  • Bike around the Sky Road near Clifden.

County Galway Restaurants: cheap, moderate and expensive

County Galway nightlife, bars, clubs & pubs

Taaffes bar on shop street Galway City.Traditional irish music every night Monroe's Tavern on lower dominic street Galway City.

Stay safe

Get out

Destinations in County Galway:

Ahascragh / Aran Islands / Connemara / Galway /

Didn't find what you were looking for.
Ask for advice at the County Galway travel forum

This page was last edited at 03:35, on 19 December 2008 by Peter Fitzgerald. Based on work by Nick Roux, David and Ryan Holliday, Wikitravel user(s) Neil C and Nzpcmad and Anonymous user(s) of Wikitravel.

Content on this page is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 1.0 license