6 Best Sights in Galway City, County Clare, Galway, and the Aran Islands

On the west bank of the Corrib Estuary, this district was once an Irish-speaking fishing village outside the walls of the old town. The name is an Anglicization of the Irish cladach, which means "marshy ground." It retained a strong, separate identity until the 1930s, when its traditional thatched cottages were replaced by a conventional housing plan and its unique character and traditions were largely lost. One thing has survived: the claddagh ring, composed of two hands clasped around a heart with a crown above it (symbolizing love, friendship, and loyalty), was designed some 400 years ago by a goldsmith in this village, and is still used by many Irish, and Irish diaspora, as a wedding ring. Reproductions in gold or silver are favorite Galway souvenirs. Across the Corrib is the "Long Walk"---Galway's famous waterfront streetscape, for some Insta magic---or continue walking west for a magnificent coastal walk or run to Salthill. In the center of The Claddagh, in a residential area, is Katie's Cottage, a replica of a typical Claddagh home, which is open as a café and exhibition center.

Dominating Galway City's skyline for more than half a century with its massive, green, copper dome, Galway Cathedral's hulking brick exterior has had a mixed reception from critics since its construction. Inside, the limestone walls draw the eye up, while the stained-glass windows and the dome's light-filled contour add a heavenly perspective.

The city's civic museum, housed in a modern building behind the Spanish Arch, contains materials relating to local history: old photographs, antiquities (the oldest is a stone ax head carbon-dated to 3500 BC), and a full-scale Galway hooker (turf-carrying boat) in the stairwell, as well as information on the city's involvement in Ireland's 1916 Rising. On the top floor, there's a child-friendly ocean-life museum with panoramic Corrib River views. Its café, the Kitchen, is a lively lunch and coffee spot.

Galway's Custom's House discovered a hoard of artifacts in its foundation, which revealed the site's significant past, as the palace of Ricard de Burgo, an earl who was the grandson of the city's founding father. It was the nerve center of Galway---its tax office, courthouse, and town hall all under one roof. Today, the floodlit foundation of the building can be explored from a gangway through a glass partition that surrounds the dig, unveiling city life in Galway in the 13th century, before the 14 tribes ruled the city.

Lynch's Castle, once the stronghold of Galway's ruling family, dates back to 1600. These days it's occupied by a branch of a local bank, making its stone fireplace accessible to the public. Check out the gargoyles peering from its facade before heading around the corner to find Lynch's window. According to legend, magistrate and mayor James Lynch FitzStephen hanged his son from its sturdy Gothic frame as punishment for the murder of a Spanish sailor.

Thanks in part to its central location, NUI Galway has become an inextricable part of Galway life since its construction in 1845, as only a handful of other universities, such as Oxford, have done. In fact its Tudor Gothic–style quadrangle was modeled on Christ Church in Oxford. It houses Galway's "hidden museum," the James Mitchell Geology Museum, which has a collection of 15,000 rocks, gemstones, and fossils.