Galway City pubs and little else

CarlosHarpic

After my second visit to the city on the tribes, and after really wanting to like the place, I realized I hate it. For all the hype about it being a great place there is nothing to do there except pubs.

Now do not give me this "has a theatre" and "race week" as that's not enough and the latter is all about boozing. I would hate to live there.

Where are the museums, interesting locations and urban mystery that makes a city interesting? It's all getting ****faced while listening to ididly reel and jigs and you can get that anywhere.

For all it's alleged coolness, it's offers nothing else to tourist apart from pubs. People slag off Limerick, but that has way more going for it now.

Galway city is rubbish.

Caliden

Have you tried going for a hot whiskey to chill out a bit?

Neyite

Bloke goes only to pubs and complains that all he saw was pubs.

SEPT 23 1989

dont be telling people how great Limerick is because that will be spoiled as well

donegaLroad

Galway is an obstacle course for alcoholics. I have also heard it described as the graveyard of ambition.

I have always liked it though.

Red_Wake

There's a museum down by the Spanish Arch. A few art galleries about the place showcasing local artists as well.

A number of landmarks[the quad in NUIG, the Cathedral, the market, Spanish Arch, the fountain in Eyre Square, the old city wall,etc].

Arts Festival every year - loads of stuff going on and very family friendly.

The Galway Races are massively overhyped tbf, but the trouble comes mostly from people who are bad drunks.

splinter65

I lived in Galway for 2 years and hated it. If your not a slave to sitting in dark wood pubs listening to Fiachra and Aoibheann spewing out the diddly music then you have nothing to do and nowhere to go.
Biggest con ever.

Neyite

Spanish Arch
Galway City Museum
Galway Fisheries Museum
National Aquarium
Salthill Prom
Diving at Blackrock tower
Award winning Restaurants
Theatre in the Town hall, Black Box Theatre, and Palais
Coral Beach
Connemara
Art Galleries
Kylemore Abbey
Corrib Cruises
Kayacking
Fishing
Hiking
Camping
Biking
Horseriding
Greyhound Stadium
Football and Rugby matches
Concerts in Pearse Stadium
Live music in most pubs
Medieval City walks
River walks
Merlin Woods
Oranmore Castle
Comedy Clubs
Shopping
GoKarting
Golf
Axe Throwing Gallery
Casino
Lapdancing clubs

That's what I got with 5 mins worth of googling.

_Puma_

If you have visited Galway twice and the only things you have ended up doing is going to pubs then I suspect that is more a general reflection on you rather than the City itself.

In fairness its an easy trap to fall into. Being Irish it seems everything revolves around going to the pub, but Galway has a wealth of options if you broaden your horizons a little.

Dr. Kenneth Noisewater

You're right, it's some spot for a sesh.

splinter65

Neyite wrote: »

Spanish Arch
Galway City Museum
Galway Fisheries Museum
National Aquarium
Salthill Prom
Diving at Blackrock tower
Award winning Restaurants
Theatre in the Town hall, Black Box Theatre, and Palais
Coral Beach
Connemara
Art Galleries
Kylemore Abbey
Corrib Cruises
Kayacking
Fishing
Hiking
Camping
Biking
Horseriding
Greyhound Stadium
Football and Rugby matches
Concerts in Pearse Stadium
Live music in most pubs
Medieval City walks
River walks
Merlin Woods
Oranmore Castle
Comedy Clubs
Shopping
GoKarting
Golf
Axe Throwing Gallery
Casino
Lapdancing clubs

That's what I got with 5 mins worth of googling.

Most of these things are in most cities in Europe. Why would I trail off to Galway to do them in the never ending rain while being ripped off in every hospitality place and be shoved out by drunks on the street?

pleas advice

Neyite wrote:

Kayacking
Fishing
Hiking
Camping
Horseriding
...

Axe Throwing Gallery
Casino.

Good to see they kept some of thier colonial heritage

Neyite

splinter65 wrote: »

Most of these things are in most cities in Europe. Why would I trail off to Galway to do them in the never ending rain while being ripped off in every hospitality place and be shoved out by drunks on the street?

You don't have to. Hop on a plane to those places if you like. Don't choose to go to Galway and moan that you went to Galway.

The OP is like one of those people who will go to a foreign country and complain about the foreign food, foreign money, foreign language, foreign pubs and it being so crowded with foreigners that it was an awful kip.

biko

Don't come to Galway! It's full now!

evil_seed

CarlosHarpic wrote: »

After my second visit to the city on the tribes, and after really wanting to like the place, I realized I hate it. For all the hype about it being a great place there is nothing to do there except pubs.

Now do not give me this "has a theatre" and "race week" as that's not enough and the latter is all about boozing. I would hate to live there.

Where are the museums, interesting locations and urban mystery that makes a city interesting? It's all getting ****faced while listening to ididly reel and jigs and you can get that anywhere.

For all it's alleged coolness, it's offers nothing else to tourist apart from pubs. People slag off Limerick, but that has way more going for it now.

Galway city is rubbish.

56 posts, joined in January. This is not trolling :rolleyes:

_Dara_

Neyite wrote: »

Spanish Arch
Galway City Museum
Galway Fisheries Museum
National Aquarium
Salthill Prom
Diving at Blackrock tower
Award winning Restaurants
Theatre in the Town hall, Black Box Theatre, and Palais
Coral Beach
Connemara
Art Galleries
Kylemore Abbey
Corrib Cruises
Kayacking
Fishing
Hiking
Camping
Biking
Horseriding
Greyhound Stadium
Football and Rugby matches
Concerts in Pearse Stadium
Live music in most pubs
Medieval City walks
River walks
Merlin Woods
Oranmore Castle
Comedy Clubs
Shopping
GoKarting
Golf
Axe Throwing Gallery
Casino
Lapdancing clubs

That's what I got with 5 mins worth of googling.

The first thing on your list is very underwhelming. Not a great way to start. Kylemore Abbey is in the depths of Connemara.

9or10

_Dara_ wrote: »

The first thing on your list is very underwhelming. Not a great way to start. Kylemore Abbey is in the depths of Connemara.

Yeah but Neyite left off the best thing - we keep that for ourselves.

Oyster Festival

JohnnyFlash

Not a bad old spot, but some of the locals can be right sickeners. You’d think by the way they go on that they live in some world capital of art and culture, and not some rainy backwater with a few decent pubs, a big racetrack, and a small theatre.

Mrs OBumble

CarlosHarpic wrote: »

After my second visit to the city on the tribes, and after really wanting to like the place, I realized I hate it. For all the hype about it being a great place there is nothing to do there except pubs.

Yeah right ... http://www.galwaycafeguide.com/p/things-to-do-in-galway-city.html


And that's just the city. It's also s great base for exploring Connemara and even Clare.

banie01

Neyite wrote: »

Axe Throwing Gallery
Casino
Lapdancing clubs
.

I have found my favoirite sequence of events ever!!!
Can I take the strippers to the Axe throwing gallery and bet I dont hit them?

P.S
Do you think it would cost extra to see the gash?
From any axe related injuries of course I mean

Zaph

Tbh it's worth the trip just for the pizza in Dough Bros.

It's a small city on the western tip of Europe. I'm not really sure what the OP was expecting to find there, the Guggenheim?

Red_Wake

Zaph wrote: »

Tbh it's worth the trip just for the pizza in Dough Bros.  

It's a small city on the western tip of Europe.  I'm not really sure what the OP was expecting to find there, the Guggenheim?

As overrated as the Races imo.

topper75

JohnnyFlash wrote: »

Not a bad old spot, but some of the locals can be right sickeners. You’d think by the way they go on that they live in some world capital of art and culture, and not some rainy backwater with a few decent pubs, a big racetrack, and a small theatre.

They are not locals. They are outsiders seeking to justify why they moved there.

The locals, if you can find those haystack needles, are actually A1.

Galway is grand. I'll never forget the first time I saw the Spanish Arch. I must have marvelled at it in the drizzle for a solid hour. Then again, I was pissed drunk.. because of, you know, those pubs.

wakka12

Galway has plenty to do for its size. I think you have to remember its a tiny city, you wouldn't go on holidays to a city of 70,000 people in france or uk or italy and expect loads of tourist attractions would you?

Assetbacked

Galway city is a day-trip city; it's outside of the city where the best things to see and do are located in Galway.

Chrongen

Neyite wrote: »

Spanish Arch
Galway City Museum
Galway Fisheries Museum
National Aquarium
Salthill Prom
Diving at Blackrock tower
Award winning Restaurants
Theatre in the Town hall, Black Box Theatre, and Palais
Coral Beach
Connemara
Art Galleries
Kylemore Abbey
Corrib Cruises
Kayacking
Fishing
Hiking
Camping
Biking
Horseriding
Greyhound Stadium
Football and Rugby matches
Concerts in Pearse Stadium
Live music in most pubs
Medieval City walks
River walks
Merlin Woods
Oranmore Castle
Comedy Clubs
Shopping
GoKarting
Golf
Axe Throwing Gallery
Casino
Lapdancing clubs

That's what I got with 5 mins worth of googling.

Well Spanish Arch is what exactly? A bit of a ruined wall the size of a small cottage. How much time can you kill gawking at that before you go to the pub?

Don't get me wrong Galway is fun but in reality there's not much to do outside of pub crawling around Shop St / Quay St. I don't mind. I work during the week so on the weekend I'm not much in the mood for trekking off into the widerness or going horseback riding or playing golf. I'm happy to do some chores and then go to the pub for a match or to do the crossword or read a book/newspaper.

Galway is a student and tourist town so you're going to get basically pubs, jiggedy-jig music and bollocks gift shops like claddagh and aran jumper joints. The sea air is really good though. I lived there for about a year and it was amazing how thick and curly my hair and beard (when I had one) got from that salty sea air. Had fun but I'm glad I'm out of the place. It's too small for me.

The oysters in the Quays are very good and there's a pretty decent pool hall there too. The little market by the Cathedral is decent for getting street grub and the cheese shop (Sheridan's) there is good too. I had an apartment overlooking the harbour on Dock road so sitting on my balcony watching boats come and go with my bottle of beer and my radio was many a Saturday spent. Can't stand horse racing so that's out for me. There's also something particularly depressing about seaside towns so Salthill to me is a kip. Ice cream parlours and amusement arcades........gimme the pub any day over that. Took the short flight to the Aran Island a few times which is nice.

But in reality what else is there to do in any small city at night if the weather is crap. Say you're in Antwerp or Heidelberg or Basel and you've seen the cathedral or castle or whatever attraction they have a handful of times. Go for a meal and go to the pub or stay home and watch TV. Are you going to go to the theatre EVERY night?

_Dara_

Zaph wrote: »

Tbh it's worth the trip just for the pizza in Dough Bros.

It's a small city on the western tip of Europe. I'm not really sure what the OP was expecting to find there, the Guggenheim?

Well, the Guggenheim is in a small industrial city on the Atlantic coast of Spain so...

Pixel Eater

splinter65 wrote: »

I lived in Galway for 2 years and hated it. If your not a slave to sitting in dark wood pubs listening to Fiachra and Aoibheann spewing out the diddly music then you have nothing to do and nowhere to go.
Biggest con ever.

A fine bit of culture cringe there. Galway is a centre of traditional Irish music after all. It's like going to New Orleans and complaining about all the Jazz.

RicketyCricket

CarlosHarpic wrote: »

People slag off Limerick, but that has way more going for it now.

Like what?

Pixel Eater

_Dara_ wrote: »

Well, the Guggenheim is in a small industrial city on the Atlantic coast of Spain so...

Small is relative. Bilbao has a population of almost 350,000; Galway 75,000.

Sam Quentin

Pub owners in Galway are being made into millionaires. That's thanks to tourists from abroad but even more by Irish visitors and general student population and our ridiculous infatuation with getting drunk!?
Stay away from alcohol, you will be a much happier person.

jiltloop

banie01 wrote: »

I have found my favoirite sequence of events ever!!!
Can I take the strippers to the Axe throwing gallery and bet I dont hit them?

P.S
Do you think it would cost extra to see the gash?
From any axe related injuries of course I mean

You missed out on an auld axe wound euphemism!

Nettle Soup

I am going for a 5km walk on the Prom right now. Heaven on a day like today.

_Dara_

Pixel Eater wrote: »

Small is relative. Bilbao has a population of almost 350,000; Galway 75,000.

It is indeed. For Spain, that's small.

ChikiChiki

Whatever about the city itself, its in a lovely location. An hour and a bit away from the carnage of Dublin on the M4/M6 which is good for business. Nestled amongst some of the most rugged beautiful scenery and coastline in Europe. If your into outdoor activities there is absolute tonnes of stuff within easy reach. I think when I do eventually return to Ireland, its where I'll base myself. You got the best of both worlds.

Dr. Kenneth Noisewater

Sam Quentin wrote: »

Stay away from alcohol, you will be a much happier person.

I restpecfully disargee

*hic*

Arghus

I'm from Galway and I love Galway, but to an extent the OP is right. For a town of it's size it's pretty well stocked for activities but a lot of what goes on here is people going to the pub.

corner of hells

As someone descended from Judge Lynch I'd have no problem hanging the OP.

See Lynch's memorial window in Galway.

banie01

jiltloop wrote: »

You missed out on an auld axe wound euphemism!

What d'ya think seeing the gash was?:pac::pac:

kweeveen86

I'm from Galway and am inclined to agree with OP.

Galway is great in that it's got a lovely laid-back atmosphere and is beside both the sea and the countryside but having worked in hospitality here for years, there really is very little for visitors to do here - despite Galway having a name as a sort of cultural mecca in Ireland.

The Cathedral and St Nicholas' Church are both worth a visit as is the museum beside the Spanish Arch but there's not much else!

The pub scene is a great asset to have and there are 5+ pubs with live music on a nightly basis, which is something that I have struggled to find in many other cities - even Madrid and Berlin!

Away from drinking, there is loads to do if you're any way active/ sporty/ outdoorsy - football, gaelic, hurling, swimming, sailing, fishing, kayaking, running, hiking, windsurfing, etc, etc.

The trouble is that tourists aren't likely to engage in those activities - unless they're visiting specifially to do something like go hiking in Connemara. The average tourist won't be kept entertained in the city centre for long unless they are up for a trip to the pub - especially on a wet day.
The main question that tourists have asked me through the years is: "what is there to do on a rainy day in Galway?" and the honest answer is "very little"! Shopping centre, Cinema, Bowling, etc. Basically, generic things that are found anywhere. That's where I'm inclined to agree with OP.

Facilities-wise, the irony is that Galway does lack a lot of cultural facilities. The theatre(s) and the live music venues are way too small to accommodate proper international acts and the city is screaming out for another museum and a permanent art gallery.

Chrongen

Some of you people should visit places like Nashua, New Hampshire or Lodi, New Jersey in the US, or Skegness, Luton, Hull in the UK where there is FUCKING NOTHING to do and the pubs are dire. Ever in Algeciras in Spain or Martil in Morocco? Believe me a few days in these places and you'd happily spend the rest of your life in Galway.

dQuetour

Red_Wake wrote: »

As overrated as the Races imo.

If you want good pizza, head out to Spiddal, there's a small rather anonymous looking single story pizzeria on the right hand side of the road run by an Italian.

jh79

dQuetour wrote: »

If you want good pizza, head out to Spiddal, there's a small rather anonymous looking single story pizzeria on the right hand side of the road run by an Italian.

Opening hours are a bit erratic would be wise to ring first.

Hector Bellend

Have a **** and a few pints.

That'll sort you out

kweeveen86

Hector Bellend wrote: »

Have a **** and a few pints.

That'll sort you out

Sage advice ðŸ˜

Grayson

Arghus wrote: »

I'm from Galway and I love Galway, but to an extent the OP is right. For a town of it's size it's pretty well stocked for activities but a lot of what goes on here is people going to the pub.

It describes most towns in Ireland.

pq0n1ct4ve8zf5

Spanish Arch takes about ten seconds. I've actually seen tourists walking around and through it looking for it because they're expecting something...good.

Half an hour does the museum, same with the cathedral. Town Hall and Black Box theatres are very much more hit than miss outside of the Fleadh and Festival. No decent sized, central visual art venue, when I was there 126 were doing their best and the Fringe Festival were trying to get one going but were finding it hard. IME the arts establishment there is no help to local, emerging or community artists and is focused on two things: the Arts Festival (which ain't what it used to be) and talking, constantly, about what a great cultural hotspot Galway is.

It's a lovely spot to live and I resent the assertion that the only good thing there is pubs because the house parties are also excellent :pac: but yeah, it's overrated for the things it's rated for.

Race week is also known as Rape Week and Racist Week, to give you an idea what it's like to live through it as a local btw. Not the best crowd.

topper75

RicketyCricket wrote: »

Like what?

Like nothing. Precisely nothing to do and see in Limerick. Stay out tourists. Please.

Nearly forgot the please there.

Chrongen

Mekhi Broad Clergyman wrote: »

Spanish Arch takes about ten seconds. I've actually seen tourists walking around and through it looking for it because they're expecting something...good.

Half an hour does the museum, same with the cathedral. Town Hall and Black Box theatres are very much more hit than miss outside of the Fleadh and Festival. No decent sized, central visual art venue, when I was there 126 were doing their best and the Fringe Festival were trying to get one going but were finding it hard. IME the arts establishment there is no help to local, emerging or community artists and is focused on two things: the Arts Festival (which ain't what it used to be) and talking, constantly, about what a great cultural hotspot Galway is.

It's a lovely spot to live and I resent the assertion that the only good thing there is pubs because the house parties are also excellent :pac: but yeah, it's overrated for the things it's rated for.

Race week is also known as Rape Week and Racist Week, to give you an idea what it's like to live through it as a local btw. Not the best crowd.

This is Spanish Arch:

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=spanish+arch+galway&dcr=0&tbm=isch&source=iu&ictx=1&fir=aE9H6TE66Br3hM%253A%252ClE9wAozO_zqWuM%252C_&usg=__LrKzcsgPJdrHhHomDjfoMQsi5ro%3D&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj_6oGf-tzZAhWIDMAKHRMuCloQ9QEISDAC#imgrc=kEVTTD3gxCM7yM:

I've seen old ruins of forts or castles with cows roaming through them on farms that are more impressive than this thing. To the poster who said he gazed upon it in awe....wtf were you smoking?

topper75

Chrongen wrote: »

To the poster who said he gazed upon it in awe....wtf were you smoking?

Oh yeah reminds me. Doesn't all have to be pubs and booze! Galway's homegrown will blast the boredom of any tourist right out their ears.

Add that to the list there OP. How many things on the list now? 2? good good I'm sure there's more.

Chrongen

Basically if you were an IT guy who works remotely, gets paid well and you are also a bit of a pisshead who also likes cooking seafood dishes for friends and you like to have people sleepover on pissy rainy nights then Galway would be Heaven.