Top Galway Art & Culture

Delve into the rugged wilderness of Connemara, an Irish county thronged with historic monuments and natural splendor, on a full-day tour from Galway City. Accompanied by a knowledgeable guide, explore the perfectly preserved Franciscan friary of Ross Errilly Friary and enjoy some leisurely free time in Cong, a picturesque village. Gaze at the tranquil surfaces of Lough Carrib and Loch NaFooey and discover the elaborate walled gardens of Kylemore Abbey. Enjoy a pleasant balance of guided tours and independent exploration during this enriching excursion.

Hear what happened when Hollywood invaded the sleepy village of Cong in 1951 to make the John Wayne Classic The Quiet Man. The Quiet Man Film Locations Walking Tour brings visitors to the original film locations including Innisfree, Castletown, the Pat Cohan's Bar, the Dying Man's House, the Reverend Playfair's House, the fight scenes, the courting scenes and the "patty fingers in the holy water" scenes. Hear what the film stars were like, how they interacted with the locals and how the locals became involved in the making of the movie. The tour includes entrance to The Quiet Man Museum.

Leave the towns of Western Ireland behind for the day and head out to Inis Oirr on a ferry. This day trip will take you from Doolin to the smallest of the Aran Islands in Galway Bay, an island dotted with ancient ruins, secluded beaches and astonishing ocean views. Explore Inis Oirr without a tour group holding you back, and sail under the Cliffs of Moher, an ancient rockface that towers over the Atlantic Ocean, on the way back.

Try your hand at traditional Irish dance, with a former Riverdancer leading the way! In this afternoon dance experience, learn how to perform dances like the ceili group dance and sean nós, the ‘old style’ of Irish dancing, as well as the internationally popular moves of the Riverdance. Learn about the history behind all these dances and their place in Irish culture from your teacher, an expert in the history and performance of Irish dance.

Home to rolling hills, shimmering lakes, and spectacular coastal scenery, the Connemara Peninsula is one of western Ireland’s must-see sites. During this tour, spin through the Connemara countryside in comfort by air-conditioned minivan as your guide talks of the region’s colorful history. Choose to spend your time exploring the beautiful Connemara National Park or the Benedictine Kylemore Abbey with its Victorian walled gardens. Pickup and drop-off in central Galway are included.

Explore the Connemara Coast without the stress of planning on a full day tour with round-trip transport from Galway City. In addition to small towns and landmarks often missed by visitors, the day’s itinerary includes rare views of the countryside and coastline from the bus and ferry. Freshly-prepared lunch and drinks are included for your convenience.

Ireland’s history comes alive as this theatre company takes a crucial element of Ireland history and explores it in one of seven ‘plays for voices’ Available on request. Pax Min 1, Max 50

Discover a thriving Irish tradition in a historic place with admission to Caherconnell Stone Fort & Sheepdog Demonstrations. Pre-booking tickets to the sheepdog demonstrations is a convenient way to take care of planning in advance. That means you can use your travel time for exploring the historic ring fort and watching the highly trained sheepdogs perform.

The Aran Islands are renowned for their ancient ruins and rugged landscapes, but you don’t have to take a guided tour. Enjoy a self-guided visit to the island of Inis Oirr with round-trip boat transfers from Doolin, a choice of departure times, and plenty of free time to discover the island at your own pace.

Whether you’re a “never-done-this-kind-of-thing-before” novice or an accomplished artist, an oldster or a youngster, there’s a Creative Workshop just for you. Our craft and design workshops cover lots of areas such as batik, felt making, tapestry weaving, printmaking and painting for kids. Imagine creating your own unique piece of art in what is truly one of the world’s most inspirational settings, complete with brooding bogs, ever-changing seascapes, majestic mountains and ancient silent lakes .The workshops are run by an established artist who has specialized in textile art for the past number of years. She holds a degree in design from Dublin Institute of Technology and is a qualified art teacher with several years of experience. She teaches a range of crafts with an emphasis on developing your design and creative skills. Pax - Min 4, Max 12. Available on request.

Explore Ireland’s beautiful Burren region and discover top natural landmarks including the Cliffs of Moher with ease on this day tour from Galway. Travel through the Burren’s rugged landscapes with your guide and discover local attractions such as the 16th-century Dunguaire Castle and Aillwee Cave. Explore walking trails on top of the mighty Cliffs of Moher at your leisure and enjoy panoramic views over the coastal scenery. Watch the skies for sightings of native birdlife, then stop in Doolin on route back to Galway.

This is an intimate tour with a local. The idea is to relay all information in a fun manner and to leave visitors with a very good experience, not just the bare facts. Galway is a vibrant, fun and energetic city and our tours will reflect that energy. Each tour is as new an experience for the guide as the visitor. No two tours are ever the same. That is what makes Athas Tours so unique.

Walk the rugged trails of the Wild Atlantic Way in the company of a dedicated guide on this private tour. While enjoying personalized attention from your guide, you'll cover three sites of historical significance within Connemara as well as two Signature points on the walking route. You can walk at your own pace and ask as many questions as you like.

Meet a master Irish drum maker in his music shop. Learn the history of the unique Irish drum/Bodhran. See how the Irish drum/Bodhran is made. See and hear how the Irish drum/Bodhran is played. Enjoy a cup of tea / coffee and a scone with cream and jam.

The Quiet Man Museum offers an on-set experience with exact replicas of all the key furnishings and artifacts from the movie including Sean Thornton’s big bed, Mary Kate’s cottage piano, china, pewter, cradle and the tandem bicycle, as well as costumes made by the same company – O’Maille’s of Galway – who made them for John Ford in 1951. Quiet Man enthusiasts can dress up in costume for photos. The Museum also showcases the largest collection of Irish newspaper articles from the time the movie was filmed, which were sourced through a painstaking trawl of the microfiche files in local libraries. This first hand account allows enthusiasts to read exactly what it was like when Hollywood took over the village of Cong in 1951. The Quiet Man Museum houses the original fishing rod used by Father Lonergan and Michaeleen Og’s horse Napoleon’s original harness and a first edition of the Maurice Walsh collection of short stories, Green Rushes, on which the screenplay for The Quiet Man was based.

Become an Instagram Photographer. On Galway's #1 Photography Tour on TripAdvisor, you will meet a local Instagram Influencer/expert photographer who will bring you to 5-7 spots of Galway city over 90 minutes. During the tour: - You will go you to the most Instagrammable spots of Galway - You will be shown photography techniques - You will be taught great Instagram skills - You will hear stories about Galway At the end you will have several great photos as memories of your tour of Galway and be ready to try out your new photography skills on your next set of locations!

Learn about photography from a professional photographer who is local to the area and knows lots of places you would be unlikely to discover on your own.

Listening to a traditional Irish storyteller around a fire has to be one of the best ways of immersing yourself in Irish culture. A wonderful opportunity to have a story teller come to you at your hotel or local pub.

Our guide will immerse you in the songs, stories, trials and tribulations of the people of Galway over the centuries. You’ll see how Galway has become one of the most attractive and liveable cities in Ireland in recent times, with a young population and a well-deserved reputation as a centre for theatre and the arts. This tour will bring alive to you the bustle of medieval ‘Galvia’ where Irish was the native tongue, but where also the patter of Spanish was heard on streets teeming with visiting merchants and sailors from Andalucia. And in those same streets and pubs today you’ll still hear the lilt of Gaelic and the strains of Irish music played on the fiddle and on the uilleann pipes. Can you feel it? Welcome to Galway!

An exclusive tour for all the romantics of the world! Together with the professional local guide, you will visit the most romantic places in the city. You will feel spellbound in a charming atmosphere. What is considered as one of the best places to have a date in the city? Where can you make lovely photos? You will be surprised how many historical love stories are hidden in the streets, buildings, parks of the city. From heartbreaking and tragic, to the hilarious or spicy ones. This tour is especially recommended in the Saint Valentine period!

A ‘Session’ (in Gaelic ‘Seisún’, pronounced ‘sesh-oon’), is a traditional Irish gathering of musicians, dancers, poets and storytellers. It is always an informal, lively and colourful event. A group of artists in Renvyle have put a new twist on the old concept and added drama to their ‘Seisún’. Under the guidance of Ireland’s largest group dedicated to the preservation and promotion of Irish traditional music, this show makes the most of Irish music, dance and storytelling to present a moving account of how the Great Famine had a devastating effect on the West of Ireland. The second half of the show requires some audience participation and you will be invited to learn and join in Irish folk dances. If you can play a tune or sing a song, in the spirit of a true Seisún, you will be welcome to take the floor. Seisún is performed every Tuesday night throughout July and August 2021 in the Teach Ceoil (House of Music) in Renvyle in Connemara, county Galway.

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Discover one of County Galway’s highlight attractions when you visit the 16th-century Dunguaire Castle. Renowned both as a scenic historical landmark and for its literary heritage—the castle hosted visiting writers the likes of W.B. Yeats and George Bernard Shaw—the waterside Dunguaire Castle is popular among both history buffs and literary types. Save yourself any trouble by securing your admission in advance, and once inside explore at your leisure.

This Aran Islands and Cliffs of Moher cruise will take you to beautiful areas of Ireland that can only be reached by boat. Your guide will tell you about the history of the villages you encounter and point out highlights such as one of Ireland’s most beautiful beaches. This tour gives you the freedom to explore independently, hire a bike, or grab some lunch. A highlight is the views from the top of the Cliffs of Moher.