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Musikstaden Galway

07 May 2018 / 32 Comments

The music city of Galway in Ireland and a pub crawl

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We have mostly shown beautiful nature here in Ireland, but of course Ireland also offers pub life and great music. We have visited the music city of Galway, and finally we have done a great pub crawl in Ireland.

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Galway in Ireland

Galway is very centrally located to experience a lot at the same time. We came from Kylemore Abbey The castle, which is an old monastery from the beginning, should be experienced. It takes about an hour and thirty minutes to drive there with fantastic scenery. Don't miss it!

Galway is a relatively small (about 80,000 inhabitants) yet vibrant city on the west coast of Ireland. The city is known as the cultural heart of the country, filled with music, theatre and festivals. Traditional Irish music is popular and kept alive by street musicians and in pubs. Naturally, we wanted to experience this!

Galway Irland
Galway has a great waterfront location

We walked in from the campsite where we stood, and we walked for a long time along hotels and single-storey houses, before we suddenly found ourselves at the heart of the city. The 6-kilometre-long River Corrib flows from the Lough in Cannemara and splits the city in two into Galway Bay. A young girl asked for a light for her cigarette and we took the opportunity to ask which bar we "should" visit. "The yellow-blue", was the answer.

Irland Galway
It seems popular with young people to sit and drink beer on the quayside - music plays in the background.

Great atmosphere

Galway is not a big city but more like a 'small village'. When you're on the central pub street in Galway city centre, the atmosphere is great. Only ten minutes away from the city centre, but that doesn't detract from the experience. The Irish really know how to party and there are plenty of pubs! On every street corner there are musicians playing and everywhere you look people are spreading joy.

Galway på Irland
The streets of the small town are full of people.
Kväll i Galway
Check out the houses - so incredibly charming!

Music City Galway

The nice thing about Galway is that you don't have to go into the pubs to listen to music. The music is also everywhere on the streets! We listened to both Irish music and more traditional rock/pop. What surprised and affected us the most was the joy. Great! Want to hear what it sounds like in the city? Check out our video!

gatumusikanter i Galway
Happy street musicians in the centre of the village
Galway gatumusikanter
More happy street musicians

Pub crawl in Ireland

You have to go on a pub crawl in Ireland, right? We started with a pizza and a beer at an Italian place called Fat Freddy's Restaurant (not so Irish, but we got a seat!). At Fat Freddy's we also met a nice Swedish family, who had been invited to Ireland by their adult children. What a nice gift! After the pizza, we continued to the yellow-blue bar Tigh Neactain where we each ordered an Irish beer, or maybe several ....

There is a wonderful atmosphere and a nice mix of people, and everyone is talking to everyone. The street where everything happens is on Quay Street but there are a few more that we unfortunately didn't get to.

Peter på pubrunda på Irland!
Peter on a pub crawl through the city of Galway in Ireland!
Peter Helena Galway
Outside Tigh Neactain on the main Quay Street.

Festivals and cultural events

The music city of Galway is known as the cultural heart of Ireland. It's bursting with festivals, cultural events, food, beer, sights and things to do. For example, how about attending the Galway International Oyster Festival in September, where they hold the world oyster shucking championship?

Other festivals include the Galway Food Festival and the Galway Arts Festival. These events bring together creative artists, musicians, writers and many others who contribute to the festivities. We were very excited to come back to this city for one of these exciting festivals.

Galway by night
Galway in Ireland by night and The Quays pub on the left.

Camping in Galway in Ireland

So, where were we with the campervan then? There are several campsites in and around Galway, and one of the closest to the city centre is Salthill Caravan Park, which is nicely located by the water in the Salthill area. This campsite was a bit more expensive than the ones we stayed at before (34 euro/night), but with good service including fast WiFi. You can walk into town along a nice promenade, which takes about 40 minutes. There is also a bus that runs about every 20 minutes until 23:00 in the evening.

Salthill camping Galway
Salthill camping

See more in Ireland

If you're travelling around by car or motorhome, or if you have time to go on excursions, there's plenty to see and do around Ireland. Here are some suggestions:

  • Aillwee Cave and Doolin Cave are two of Ireland's most interesting caves. These include Europe's largest stalactite, which is over seven metres long.
  • Cliffs of Moher are dramatic cliffs that are over 200 metres high and plunge steeply into the Atlantic Ocean. The cliffs are one of Ireland's most popular destinations, with over a million visitors each year.
  • Kylemore Abbey is a beautiful and fabulous monastery with lovely gardens, which you can visit if you drive north along the coast instead.
Cliffs of Moher on the west coast of Ireland
All our top tips about Ireland. Click on the image!

Facts about Galway

  • Language? English and Irish
  • Residents? 80 000 in Galway (2016)
  • Currency? Euro
  • Price point? Much like in Sweden
  • Time difference? 1 hour difference (Sweden 12:00 Ireland 11:00)
  • El? British model and adapter needed
  • Water? Drinkable

Travelling to Galway

  • FlightsWe flew directly with SAS from Stockholm Arlanda to Dublin.
  • Bus: There are buses from Dublin to Galway, which take about 2 hours 30 minutes. The buses are modern and comfortable.
  • Car: It takes about 2 h 40 min to drive from Dublin

Food and drink

  • Restaurants: Galway has plenty of fish, seafood and lamb, and lots of international restaurants. The drink is, of course, beer!
  • Bars: In addition to the bars we visited, there are, for example, Tig Coili on Mainguard Street and O'connors on Upper Salthill.

Accommodation

  • HotelWe don't have any recommendations as we stayed at a campsite, but you can find accommodation on Booking.com or Airbnb, for example.
  • Camping: Salthill Caravan Park in Salthill.

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07 May 2018 6:00
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29 Comments

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  1. Karin Eklund says:

    Charmingly cubic! Thanks for the pub crawl!

    07 May 2018 - 8:00

    Reply

  2. Britt-Marie Lundgren says:

    Irish music is really delicious and it's great to experience it in its true element.
    Thanks for letting us join the pub crawl!

    07 May 2018 - 8:10

    Reply

  3. Solan says:

    Well now it really SOUNDS like you are on the island. The washboard group was festive...
    ? But it's a shame that only expensive campsites are available.
    Where are the car parks?

    07 May 2018 - 9:00

    Reply

    • Comment by post author

      Helena says:

      Campsites usually cost €22-22 (at least now in May). There is also something called Safe Nights Ireland, with about 350 sites in Ireland that all cost €10 per night. You can read more at safenightsireland.com. On this trip we choose to stay at campsites. We have so much technical equipment that we need to charge every day so we need electricity. But there are alternatives!

      07 May 2018 - 9:24

      Reply

  4. Lena - good for the soul says:

    Wow, were there so many people just like that? Nothing special but an ordinary evening? Great! Really good musicians too.

    Hug Lena

    07 May 2018 - 12:16

    Reply

  5. Mr Steve says:

    What a wonderful atmosphere. It's nice to be able to go on a pub crawl.

    07 May 2018 - 12:23

    Reply

  6. Ruth in Virginia says:

    Musicians with energy and lust for life. Washing board! 🙂
    Looks like a festive evening - and the weather continues to change.
    cooperate with you. 🙂
    Waiting for the next post.

    (a sunny 17C morning in Northern Virginia)

    07 May 2018 - 15:19

    Reply

  7. Linda Engström, travelling consciously says:

    Perfect for me to re-read as I'm going there soon. Good to get some feeling already now.

    07 May 2018 - 18:25

    Reply

  8. Christian says:

    How marvellous! My brother studied in Galway 10 years ago, so we visited there for a weekend. It really makes me want to go back!

    07 May 2018 - 20:08

    Reply

  9. Matts Torebring says:

    This is what a campsite should look like, how nice!

    07 May 2018 - 20:10

    Reply

  10. Ditte says:

    Fun with a pub crawl and music! I've experienced it in Dublin and the surrounding area and would love to do it here in Galway as well.
    Ideal for a good campsite within walking distance of the city and beautiful surroundings.
    Thanks for the video! Great to see and nice to listen to the music.

    07 May 2018 - 22:09

    Reply

    • Comment by post author

      Helena says:

      Certainly lovely in Dublin too! We're doing a bit of a "reverse" and seeing a lot of Ireland, but very little of Dublin 😉 (We're thinking we might get a chance to come back and see Dublin!).

      07 May 2018 - 23:22

      Reply

  11. Liniz Travel says:

    What fun to follow you! You seem to be having a great time krsmar

    07 May 2018 - 22:50

    Reply

  12. BP says:

    Love it! What an atmosphere!!! Do not know why, but the music and the whole "package" reminds me of the music festival in Glastonbury and not least of all "Hippie music". As I said - LOVE IT:-)

    07 May 2018 - 23:03

    Reply

  13. Role o Carina says:

    What great things you get to do!

    Lovely nice campsite there....I guess....

    08 May 2018 - 20:29

    Reply

  14. Elisabeth says:

    Looked very nice!!!

    16 May 2018 - 21:46

    Reply

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