The medieval street network at the heart of Galway is probably the most walkable stretch of any Irish city. Everything worth seeing on a first visit sits within about a kilometre of itself. Here is how to do it properly, from the top of Shop Street down to the river.
Shop Street
Shop Street is pedestrianised and roughly a hundred metres long. It connects William Street at the top end with High Street toward the river. On a Saturday morning it fills with buskers — the quality is genuinely above average and a few of them are names people in Ireland would actually recognise. The street itself is narrow and medieval and has been widened and shopfronted over the centuries, but the energy is good.
About halfway along on the left coming from William Street is Lynch's Castle. It is one of the best-preserved medieval town houses in Ireland, built in the fifteenth century by the Lynch family — one of the fourteen merchant dynasties known as the Tribes of Galway who controlled the city for centuries. The building is now a Bank of Ireland branch, which is slightly absurd, but the exterior stonework around the upper windows is genuinely impressive. Free to look at from the street.
The Saturday market
Around the corner from Shop Street, in the churchyard of St. Nicholas' Collegiate Church, there is a market every Saturday morning year round, from roughly eight in the morning until four in the afternoon. It is not a tourist market. Producers from Connemara, Clare, and west Galway bring cheese, smoked fish, vegetables, bread, and a few things you will not find easily elsewhere. The seaweed products are real. Get there before noon if you want to avoid the crowd.
St. Nicholas' Church
The church itself is worth going into. Built in 1320, it is the largest medieval parish church in Ireland still in regular use. There is a local tradition that Christopher Columbus prayed here before his 1492 voyage. This is probably not true and the plaque inside is careful about the wording. Worth going in regardless. No admission charge.
Kirwan's Lane
Running from Shop Street down to Quay Street, Kirwan's Lane is a narrow medieval alley that has been maintained unusually well. Good independent restaurants have been here for a long time. Worth a look, particularly if you want to eat later in the day.
Quay Street
Quay Street is the continuation of Shop Street toward the river. More bars, more buskers, buildings that look noticeably older. The street opens onto the Spanish Arch and the water, so you are walking toward the better part of the city as you go.
The Spanish Arch
The Spanish Arch is a remnant of a sixteenth-century extension to the town walls. Two arches, stone, about six metres high. The name comes from the adjacent area where Spanish ships unloaded wine and goods at the Claddagh in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The structure itself is modest but its setting is not — the River Corrib meets the sea just behind it, there are usually swans, and on the other bank you can see the old Claddagh.
What the arch is actually used for is sitting. On any warm day between April and October, the grass and stone around it fills with people eating, talking, and drinking coffee. It has the quality that some outdoor spaces get where everyone tacitly agrees it is a place to stop rather than pass through.
The Long Walk
Immediately alongside the arch, the Long Walk is a terrace of old colourful houses facing the water. These are the Galway houses that get photographed most often, and deservedly so. Walk to the end and back. It takes five minutes and is the most photogenic stretch in the city.
The Claddagh
Cross the footbridge next to the Spanish Arch and you are in the Claddagh. This was historically a separate fishing village outside the city walls — it had its own king, its own dialect, and its own laws. The village was demolished in the 1930s as part of a clearance programme and replaced with housing. Almost nothing of the original remains except the location and the name.
The Claddagh ring originated here. The two hands holding a crowned heart was made by goldsmiths in the village from at least the seventeenth century. The wearing convention, if you care about it: on the right hand with the heart pointing outward means you are single; pointing inward means taken; on the left hand means married. The version of this tradition varies depending on who you ask.
The Salmon Weir Bridge
Walk back and follow the river upstream to the Salmon Weir Bridge. From March to May, when Atlantic salmon are running, you can look down from the bridge and see them resting in the current below the weir before moving upriver. Often dozens at once. It is the kind of thing you would not expect in a city centre and it is genuinely worth the short detour.
How long does this walk take?
At a normal pace, with fifteen minutes in St. Nicholas' and a stop at the Saturday market, the full route from Shop Street to the Spanish Arch takes about an hour and a half. Add the Long Walk, the Claddagh, and the Salmon Weir Bridge and you are at two hours. Add lunch and it is a full morning.
Is the Saturday market worth going to specifically?
Yes, if you are in Galway on a Saturday. The food and producer selection is good — better than most Irish markets. It is free, outdoors, and in a medieval churchyard, which is an unusual setting for a food market anywhere. The fresh bread and smoked fish from west Clare producers are the main draw.
What time of year is best for this walk?
May through September for reliable weather. October is excellent — crowds thin out noticeably, the light is better in the afternoon, and the Saturday market is as good as in summer. July and August on a weekend afternoon can be very busy around the Spanish Arch and Quay Street. If you are coming in summer, start in the morning.
Can I do this without a car?
Yes. Galway city centre is entirely walkable. The route described here starts at Shop Street, which is a ten-minute walk from the train and bus stations.
Where should I eat near here?
Quay Street has several options at different price points. For a proper weekend brunch, Ard Bia at Nimmo's — in the building directly adjacent to the Spanish Arch — is worth planning around. For something quick and good, the Saturday market stalls themselves. For the full picture of where to eat in Galway, from the weekly oyster market to the city's Michelin-starred tasting menus, see our guide to the Galway food scene.
For music in the evening, several pubs on Quay Street and Dominick Street run trad sessions. Tig Coili on Mainguard Street is the most consistent option in the city — full breakdown in our guide to Galway's trad pubs.
If you have more than a day in the area, Connemara is forty-five minutes from Galway city centre and one of the most visually dramatic landscapes in Ireland. The Aran Islands are accessible from Rossaveal, about thirty minutes from Galway. Our guide to day trips from Galway has the practical details for both.