Buskers, pubs and the gateway to the west
Galway is Ireland's most bohemian city, a place of buskers, colourful shopfronts and pubs with traditional music every night. The pedestrian Latin Quarter and Shop Street are the centre of it, the Spanish Arch recalls its trading past, and the Salthill promenade runs along Galway Bay. The city hosts an arts festival and famous horse races each summer, and oysters from the bay are a local pride. It is the jumping-off point for the Aran Islands, the wild landscapes of Connemara and the Cliffs of Moher.