A cute, fun, colorful coastal town you haven't seen yet!
Galway is a must do if you are in the Ballyvaughan area. It is an hour and 10 minute bus ride from Ballyvaughan on bus #350. It costs €19 for students round trip so if you have a student ID be sure to show it! If you get on right in Ballyvaughan I recommend sitting on the passenger side of the bus. You will get great views of the coast and even a castle! When you arrive at the station you will find yourself right in Eyre Square. Here you will find The Fountain, which is a rusted sculpture that is meant to represent the age old hooker boat sails. There is also The Browne Doorway. This doorway is one of the oldest doors in Galway dating back to the 16th century. It is a fun look into what the city might have use to look like.
If you walk diagonally across Eyre Square from the bus station you will run right into Shop Street. This is a pedestrian only street that is full with all sorts of restaurants, pubs, coffee shops, chocolate shops, gift shops, and pretty much any other store you could possibly think of. It is fun to stroll down with street performers every few 100 feet and if you go around Christmas and New Years there are lots and lots of lights. Another fun thing to see in Galway is in The Medieval City Walls. The walls are inside the Eyre Shopping Centre. It is really quite a unique site to see this massive medieval wall in a mall!
After the Shopping Street I walked out to the coast. There is lots of fun colorful boats to see as well as a beach if you are feeling like touching the cool Atlantic water. There is a nice paved walk way along the coast and a long walk out to a water waste plant that gives you a good view of Galway from the bay. There is also the Spanish Arch, which was built in 1584 as part of a front wall to protect the cities ports although this is the only part of the wall remaining today.
Galway has many colorful houses and doors. I highly reccomend just going about on foot around the city there are plenty of sidewalks making it safe to walk just beware of strange traffic patterns. I found many cool sites and stores this way. I stumbled upon The Hall of the Red Earl which is the foundation of a church that was apart of the old city dating back to the 13th century. If you are into churches and cathedrals there are many magnificent ones throughout Galway I definitely suggest the Galway Cathedral it is quite eye catching.
I ended my day in Galway at a shop I stumbled across just outside the Shopping Street called The Sheep. They sell wool scarfs, hats and mittens and some pretty handmade cards. But what really caught my eye were mini sheep figurines that were made with real wool! I definitely recommend a scarf and if it so pleases you, you can take home a real Irish sheep!
Find out more about things to do in Galway here:
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