Galway the 4th best city in the world according to Lonely Planet

derrymcorry · 22-10-2019 10:36PM #1

Galway has been ranked the 4th best city in the world by Lonely Planet who described it as 'brilliantly bohemian' and 'Ireland's most engaging city'.

I don't know what's particularly 'bohemian' about awful buskers and foreign tourists but it's going to be designated European Capital of Culture next year.

It's a nice city with Gaelic roots and it feels very Irish, but I wouldn't rank it amongst the best in the world. Think about it, Galway has 80000 people and the top three are Salzburg, DC and Cairo. No comparison really.

It has produced some good songs such as Galway Girl:

Thelonious Monk · 22-10-2019 10:38PM

Two streets a few pubs and traffic jams. Oh and rain. It's nice and all but jasus.

McDermotX · 22-10-2019 11:00PM

Kip

Cienciano · 22-10-2019 11:06PM

****ing Galway Girl? Is everyone not sick of that shít?

4068ac1elhodqr · 22-10-2019 11:13PM

Galway with 1/3 more rain than the East coast.
Also on the list is WashDC, which is in the upper 20% for the highest homicide city rate in the US, double that of Boston or LA.
Cairo? Likely would have load of travel advisories to consider, before heading out for a walkabout.

MrAbyss · 22-10-2019 11:17PM

Cultural wasteland with nothing to do except get ****faced. Serious. Worked there for three years and (believing the hype) thought I had moved to paradise. When I got there and in no time discovered it is a pretty bleak place if you don't plan to live in a pub.

Oh and the Spanish Arch is an arch just like the one Phil Mitchell used to fix cars under in Eastenders and not The Colosseum or Parthenon like the way some there go on about it.

ChikiChiki · 22-10-2019 11:25PM

Jolene Strong Virtuoso wrote: »

Galway with 1/3 more rain than the East coast.
Also on the list is WashDC, which is in the upper 20% for the highest homicide city rate in the US, double that of Boston or LA.
Cairo? Likely would have load of travel advisories to consider, before heading out for a walkabout.

Have to agree. Some charlatan came up with the list! I love Galway. Cairo and DC, what the actual f**k?

kiki_the_third · 22-10-2019 11:27PM

Galway gets a lot of these awards because it's a really lovely place to visit for a night or two. Spend 10 days there on your holidays and you'd be bored ****less.

arybvtcw0eolkf · 22-10-2019 11:29PM

Galway. Traffic jams, rain, Supermac's and ****.

MrAbyss · 22-10-2019 11:30PM

kiki_the_third wrote: »

Galway gets a lot of these awards because it's a really lovely place to visit for a night or two. Spend 10 days there on your holidays and you'd be bored ****less.

Two hours is enough. You have seen and done everything. I'm serious.

Ubbquittious · 22-10-2019 11:31PM

ChikiChiki wrote: »

Have to agree. Some charlatan came up with the list! I love Galway. Cairo and DC, what the actual f**k?

It is a merry go round. Every now and then blah city will get an award for best city starting with the letter b and next year it will be some other place. Blah city doesn't mind it had only one year in the sun because next year or the year after it will be capital of culture and not too long after that the world sheephagging championship will be held there. Even if a city is truly a kip it can always claim the title of "gateway to (lovely scenic place nearby)"

Arghus · 22-10-2019 11:31PM

The best thing about it is how much it'll annoy people on here.

Lirange · 22-10-2019 11:31PM

Biko probably has it ranked 3 places higher

Ficheall · 22-10-2019 11:33PM

Galway's great. Article/list is a load of shite though.

Andrew00 · 22-10-2019 11:34PM

I'm from galway.

You could basically see or "tour" the whole city in 2 hours. There's absolutely nothing to see in other words.

Its just all pubs really. Nice people though

Arghus · 22-10-2019 11:43PM

We had this thread here back in early August, it ended as a score draw back then.

I'm from Galway. Is Galway overrated, yes, absolutely. But is it a pretty nice place, yes, absolutely.

Will there be people on here posting complete scutter about a version of the place that only exists in their heads? Sure, they're at it already.

Melania Frump · 22-10-2019 11:47PM

I think Galway is a great city. One of the nicest in Ireland even. 4th in the world probably not though. Dont think much of those lists anyway.

Pherekydes · 23-10-2019 12:09AM

Come on, Galway isn't in the top four in Ireland.

derrymcorry · 23-10-2019 12:24AM

Galway is the fifth best city in Ireland.

1. Dublin
2. The real part of Belfast (the parts where there isn't a British person in sight)
3. Cork
4. Limerick
5. Galway

kiki_the_third · 23-10-2019 12:26AM

derrymcorry wrote: »

Galway is the fifth best city in Ireland.

1. Dublin
2. The real part of Belfast (the parts where there isn't a British person in sight)
3. Cork
4. Limerick
5. Galway

Limerick above Galway is controversial.

hynesie08 · 23-10-2019 12:27AM

derrymcorry wrote: »

Galway is the fifth best city in Ireland.

1. Dublin
2. The real part of Belfast (the parts where there isn't a British person in sight)
3. Cork
4. Limerick
5. Galway

I'd stick kilkenny above Galway, maybe even waterford if I really wanted a blaa.....

derrymcorry · 23-10-2019 12:27AM

kiki_the_third wrote: »

Limerick above Galway is controversial.

I'll take Limerick scumbags over American tourists leprechaun-hunting in pubs any day.

derrymcorry · 23-10-2019 12:29AM

hynesie08 wrote: »

I'd stick kilkenny above Galway, maybe even waterford if I really wanted a blaa.....

6. Derry
7. Waterford
8. Kilkenny

That's being generous.

JupiterKid · 23-10-2019 12:31AM

Galway has its charms but they are hugely over-rated and the studenty/new age hippy/arty image this very small city got back in the 90s has become very jaded and almost a parody of itself.

The weather is awful - rains 2 days out of every 3, the suburbs and hinterland are atrociously planned - thanks to a free for all of one-off McMansions around the city - and as a result the traffic is appalling for a place of its small size. It is also rather expensive and hoteliers and restaurateurs there fleece the tourists.

Best thing about Galway is nearby Connemara and the Burren - both of which are stunning (esp the former) but the city is coasting on a reputation from a quarter of a century ago and really needs to up its game.

hynesie08 · 23-10-2019 12:31AM

derrymcorry wrote: »

6. Derry
7. Waterford
8. Kilkenny

That's being generous.

Forgot about Derry, absolutely cracking city when they're not..... Y'know....

Zaph · 23-10-2019 12:39AM

hynesie08 wrote: »

I'd stick kilkenny above Galway, maybe even waterford if I really wanted a blaa.....

That would mean accepting that Kilkenny is a city, and not just a moderately sized town with notions. :pac:

SharpshooterTom · 23-10-2019 12:46AM

Where would Sligo be ranked?

MOH · 23-10-2019 12:48AM

Thank for the heads up, OP. Do you actually have a point or are you just shilling for / whinging about an irrelevant puff piece?

unkel · 23-10-2019 01:12AM

Zaph wrote: »

That would mean accepting that Kilkenny is a city, and not just a moderately sized town with notions. :pac:

I live in Lucan. It has twice the population size Kilkenny has. Both are small villages in my book. Kilkenny a city, or even a town? My arse.

whisky_galore · 23-10-2019 04:57AM

It's fine for visiting for a weekend or a few days but by God would I hate to live there. Would run out of stuff to do or see by day 2.
You'd get trench foot from the rain and damp there and lose your reason with the traffic sh1tshow. Tbh I'd say Cairo rush hour traffic wouldn't be as bad.

Glorified waterlogged tourist town. Galway Girl isn't a particularly good song either.

blueshade · 23-10-2019 07:08AM

There really isn't anything to do in Galway city. Walk from Eyre Square to the bottom of Shop Street and you're done. I visit maybe 6 times a year and that's really just to go to M&S. The ban on busking is shooting themselves in the foot though, that's a really unique feature of Galway city and it's going to cost businesses, there's feck all reason to go down Shop Street. Uncomfortable pubs, too many people advertising local cafes and most of the shops seem to sell overpriced tourist tat.

The traffic is appalling, the weather is dreadful, a lovely place to spend 2 hours on a sunny day, but certainly not a place to feature in the top 10 cities in the world. Possibly pushing the 2020 Capital of Culture angle, is the ban on busking meant to coincide with the COC? Do the powers that be think it's too low brow and plan to replace it with the God awful dreary poetry of the likes of Miggledy or the pretentious and dull local drama? There's a real buzz on Shop Street and it'll be sad to see it go.

Galway the 4th best city in the world according to Lonely Planet

Comments