A weekend in Galway from Dublin
Why Galway
Dublin people have a complicated relationship with Galway. There’s a civic rivalry that runs deep — Dublin sees itself as the serious capital, Galway sees itself as the place where people actually have fun — and both cities have enough evidence for their position to sustain the argument indefinitely.
What’s not in dispute: Galway is one of the best cities in Ireland for a weekend away from Dublin. It’s accessible — two and a half hours by Intercity train from Heuston Station, cheaper by Bus Éireann — different enough from Dublin in character to feel like genuine travel, and positioned as a gateway to landscapes that Dublin doesn’t have anywhere near it: Connemara, the Aran Islands, the Burren, the Cliffs of Moher.
I’ve done the Galway weekend four or five times over the years. This is what I’ve learned about doing it right.
Getting there and back
The Intercity train from Dublin Heuston to Galway Ceannt runs several times daily. The journey takes about two hours twenty minutes and the views across the midlands, while not dramatic, are a good slow introduction to a different geography — flat, boggy, wide sky, cattle. Book at least a few days ahead for weekend travel; the trains fill, especially on Friday evenings in October when the whole city seems to be going to Galway for something.
The bus (Bus Éireann or Citylink from Dublin airport or city centre) is cheaper and slightly slower, with the advantage that it takes you into the heart of Galway city rather than the train station on the edge. Either works.
If you’re planning to do Connemara properly — which you should — either hire a car for at least one day or book a guided tour. The public transport options into Connemara from Galway are limited, and the connemara landscape requires car access to see beyond the main road.
Galway city itself
Galway City is smaller than you expect if you’ve only heard the reputation. The city centre — the area around Eyre Square, down Shop Street, through the Latin Quarter to the Spanish Arch and the Claddagh — is extremely walkable, compressible into an afternoon’s exploration without feeling rushed.
What Galway does well that Dublin does less consistently: street music and busking culture that’s genuinely good rather than commercially optimised, a pedestrian shopping area with enough independent shops to feel distinctive rather than interchangeable, a waterfront (the River Corrib draining into Galway Bay) that the city uses well with outdoor seating and good views.
The Galway City walking tour — departing twice daily from Eyre Square — provides the historical context for what you’re walking past: the medieval city walls, the Lynch’s Castle (a fifteenth-century merchant house now a bank), the Collegiate Church of St Nicholas. The guides are good and the tour is short enough that you won’t feel like you’ve spent the morning doing homework.
The October choice
A Galway weekend in October has specific qualities. The Galway Film Fleadh and Galway International Arts Festival are both summer events, so you miss those. What you gain: autumn colour in Connemara, which is extraordinary — the bogland turns orange-brown, the mountains develop a warmth they don’t have in summer, the light on the bay has a slant and a quality that the long June days don’t produce.
October in Galway is also Oyster Festival season — historically mid-September, but the broader oyster culture extends through October, with the Galway oysters (the native flat oyster, Ostrea edulis) at their best. Moran’s of the Weir, about fifteen minutes outside the city at Kilcolgan, is the institution for this: a whitewashed pub on the tidal flats where the oysters come straight from the Clarinbridge beds and the stout is poured to complement them.
One day in Connemara
The single most important thing you can do on a Galway weekend is spend at least one day in Connemara. This is not optional if you’re doing the trip properly.
Connemara is the landscape that the west of Ireland mythology is actually built on — the bog roads, the small lakes, the Twelve Bens mountains, the Atlantic coast at Clifden and beyond. Hiring a car gives you freedom to stop when the light is right, which in Connemara is constantly. The drive from Galway through Oughterard to Clifden on the N59, with a detour up to Kylemore Abbey and back via the coast road, is a full day and one of the best driving routes in Ireland.
If you’d rather not drive, the guided day tours from Galway into Connemara are well-organised and handled by operators who know the landscape. The Connemara National Park, north of Clifden, requires about two hours on foot to feel properly and takes you to high ground with views of the coast and the Twelve Bens that justify the effort.
Where to eat and drink
Galway’s food scene has improved significantly over the past decade. A few reliable options:
For fish: Ard Bia at Nimmo’s, near the Spanish Arch, does seasonal fish and is worth a reservation. Tigh Neachtain on Cross Street is the best-known traditional pub and serves reasonable food alongside an excellent pint.
For coffee and breakfast: the area around Kirwan’s Lane has the best independent café density in the city. Go before nine on a Saturday if you want a seat.
For oysters, as mentioned: Moran’s of the Weir at Kilcolgan, slightly outside the city, is the proper version.
Practical notes
Book accommodation well ahead for October weekends — Galway’s hotel supply is smaller than Dublin’s and prices spike for any major event. The city is walkable enough that you don’t need to be specifically near the centre, but staying within fifteen minutes of Shop Street simplifies the evenings considerably.
Bring waterproof gear for Connemara specifically. The west coast weather is more changeable than Dublin even in a good October, and an afternoon that starts clear can close in within an hour on the upper bog roads.
The complete Galway day trip guide covers the logistics and options from a Dublin base in more detail. But the essential advice is simple: go for the weekend rather than the day, leave time for Connemara, eat the oysters, and don’t plan to be back in Dublin before Sunday evening.
The train home on Sunday night, with the midlands running dark outside the window, is a good place to be.
