9 Things to Do in Galway, Ireland during Christmas quay street the quay twice as nice wooden heart galway travel guide

9 Things to Do in Galway, Ireland in December

Galway may be small, but if you know what streets and places to see you can easily find a long list of unusual and local things to do in Galway.
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Galway may be small, but if you know what streets and places to see you can easily find a long list of unusual and local things to do in Galway.

If you’re going to visit a cold and rainy country like Ireland, you might as well do it during Christmas time when decorations and lights string from every building and Christmas markets take over cities. The rain will have a hard time ruining your trip when there is Christmas spirit in the air. Finding things to do in Galway can be a bit tricky since it’s such a small city, but the beauty is that you can see it all within an afternoon if you know what streets to see. Most of Galway is all pedestrian zones, so you can really walk in the middle of the tiny streets for the majority of the city. Pat and I left our stay at The Galmont Hotel & Spa around 5PM. It had unfortunately started to pour so we had to make the most out of the hour we had walking around the the hour we had in the rain before dinner.

1. Eyre Square

There are plenty of more things to do in Galway when there’s Christmas markets offering wonderful warm mulled wine, rum punches, sweets, ornate ornaments and toys, and more. Eyre Square is a great starting point rain or shine. It’s history goes back to the medieval times when markets where held. During Christmas, Eyre Square has Christmas markets as well as amusement rides such as a huge Ferris Wheel, a carousel, puppet shows, and more. It was freezing on this day that Pat and I visited. Being on the North Atlantic Ocean, there’s a certain chill in the air. We bought a glass of mulled wine at one of the markets to warm us up.

Before continuing on our tour of Galway, it began to pour so we retreated under the roof of a pub on the corner of Eyre Square. We wanted to wait out the rain for a few minutes. While waiting, two huge Irish men cornered us and pushed us up against the wall with their backs. We were terrified—were they trying to shield themselves from the rain as well or were they trying to secretly mug us?! They began to strike up conversation. I had the hardest time understanding them, one because they were happy and drunk so slurring their words, and two because Irish accents are surprisingly hard to decipher for an American! After trying to talk to us about kids, American gay pride, how Galway is very open to the gay community, how they themselves are ok with people being gay, and asking us to “grab a bite to eat with us?” like 4 times, we managed to squirm our way out of the corner and continue along our journey. They were very friendly to say the least..! But very open about their views and scary as well haha.

2. William Street & High Street

The rain finally stopped and we managed to make our way out of Eyre Square. Just off of Eyre Square is William Street. William Street is full of plenty of shops, street performers, and jewelers. The beauty of these streets is that the buildings aren’t higher than four floors and all of them have beautiful Irish signs and colors in fun pub-like handwriting. It brings a certain color to the streets.

3. Galway Market on Church Lane

If you happen to be passing by Church Lane near St. Nicholas Church on a Saturday like us, you are in luck and will walk right into Galway Market. This market has been trading for centuries. It’s hard to miss, you can smell BoyChik doughnuts from 100 feet away. Food and fresh produce is not the only commodity at this market, you can find arts and crafts too. But what kind of arts and crafts you ask? You can buy “freshly caught Irish fairies” or “fairy doors and gardens” for a significant other or a little someone in your life, paintings, leather jewelry, scarves, wooden carvings…they have some of the strangest and quirkiest things you can think of! But that’s what makes it so interesting and worth a visit. Some of these arts and crafts, you can only find in Galway.

Market is open year round on Saturdays from 8AM – 6PM, Sundays, Bank Holidays, Fridays in July and August, and every day during the Galway Arts Festival from 12 – 8PM.

4. Quay Street

A set of colorful houses transition High Street to Quay Street, the most well-known street in Galway for nightlife and pubs. You’ll always find people here having drinks or partying it up at pubs such as The Quays which has a huge church organ in the upstairs Music Hall. Quay street is definitely more of a touristy area, but it’s worth a stroll. With antique jewelers with names such as Twice as Nice and wooden toy shops with names such as Wooden Heart, how can you not take a stroll down Quay Street?

5. Spanish Arch & The Long Walk

The Spanish Arch is located at the end of Quay Street on the bank next to the Corrib River. The arch was built in 1584. It housed soldiers who kept watch, some even called them the Night’s Watch…just kidding but you get the idea. In 1755, The Spanish Arch was partially destroyed by a tsunami. I know…a Tsunami?! In Ireland?! In Galway?! Yes, you heard me correctly, unfortunately a tsunami hit Galway following an earthquake in Lisbon.

From the Spanish Arch you can take a quick stroll down The Long Walk. The street is lined with colorful, private residential houses overlooking Galway Bay. I guess what it might recently be even more famous for, is being the final scene in Ed Sheeran’s music video for Galway Girl—the song dedicated to his wife from Galway.

6. Middle Street & Lower Abbeygate Street

Of all the things to do in Galway, for some reason many don’t talk about Middle Street, but I personally loved this street. I thought it almost had more character than other streets, such as Quay and High Street, because it had less people. Within Middle Street is Corn Store Select Shopping, a small shopping centre with a glass ceiling for those cold days. Within this shopping centre is Charlie Byrne’s, a bookstore packed with over 100,000 new, bargain and secondhand books.

Take a left off of Middle Street and make your way back to Eyre Square. Now you’ll find yourself on Lower Abbeygate Street. This street has a few cute café shops that are away from the crowds.

7. Have A Drink At A Pub

It was starting to rain again and we had come to the end of our Galway walking tour. Like I said, the city is small and on a cold rainy night there aren’t that many things to do in Galway. Our dinner reservation wasn’t until 9:30PM (that was the only time they had available on a Friday night!) so we decided to stop by a pub around Eyre Square for an ale and to warm up. The pub was full of young Collegiates from the university not too far from the city center. You could tell this was a young person’s city.

8. Dinner at Le Petit Pois

Pat and I weren’t craving hearty Irish food fare and a lot of the places we had looked at were completely booked on Friday. Luckily, a French Restaurant named Le Petit Pois was open. We’re so grateful they took our reservations, it was like it was meant to be. Who knew that you’d find such amazing French food in Galway? The restaurant was top notch. For more on our experience at Le Petit Pois, read my upcoming article.

9. Jungle Cafe Galway

Lastly, you can’t leave Galway without coming across a strange, themed Jungle Café. It wouldn’t be Galway if you didn’t leave with one more quirky experience! Not only is Jungle Café cool looking, but it also is highly rated. And not only is it highly rated, but it is a vegan restaurant in Galway! Pots and plants growing herbs and spices like mint and dill line the entrance into this hidden jungle or oasis in the center of Galway. Wicker furniture covered in funky Bourbon or coffee bean sacks. Palm trees are placed here and there and coconuts are served. I heard the go-to here is for breakfast for their amazing eggs and omelettes. Even if you’re not in the mood for a juice, smoothie, beet burger, just stop by to take in the décor.

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