Galway

Galway is easily the liveliest city in Ireland after Dublin, thanks in no small part to the university. It’s often said to be a state of mind as much as it is a specific place—a state you’ll undoubtedly experience while checking out the city’s stylish boutiques and crafts shops, compact historic center bursting with artistic energy, lively pub culture, and dazzling weekend festivals. And despite the fact that Galway is the largest city in Ireland’s west, its heart is tiny—a warren of streets so compact that if you spend more than a few hours here, you'll soon be strolling along with the familiarity you'd feel in any small town.