Ireland

Things to do in Galway & Connemara

35 places11 stories2 routes

Sightlore has 35 places to explore in Galway & Connemara, and 11 of them come with a 60-second story in 5 languages. Point your camera at a landmark to learn its name and story, and earn points and badges at the places you actually visit.

Galway & Connemara's must-sees

The city's most important places. In the app you see how many you've visited and earn a badge when you've seen them all.

  1. 1
    Cathedral of Our Lady Assumed into Heaven and St Nicholas, Galway

    Cathedral of Our Lady Assumed into Heaven and St Nicholas, Galway

    The Cathedral of Our Lady Assumed into Heaven and St Nicholas, commonly known as Galway Cathedral, is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Galway, Ireland. Construction began in 1958 on the site of the old Galway Gaol.

  2. 2
    Kylemore Abbey

    Kylemore Abbey

    Kylemore Abbey is a Benedictine Monastery founded in 1920 on the grounds of Kylemore Castle, in Connemara, County Galway, Ireland.

  3. 3
    Ashford Castle, County Mayo

    Ashford Castle, County Mayo

    Ashford Castle is a mainly Victorian and medieval castle near Cong on the County Mayo–Galway border in Ireland. The castle has been expanded over the centuries and turned into a five star hotel.

  4. 4
    Killary Harbour

    Killary Harbour

    Killary Harbour or Killary Fjord is a fjord or fjard on the west coast of Ireland, in northern Connemara. To its north is County Mayo and the mountains of Mweelrea and Ben Gorm; to its south is County Galway and the Maumturk Mountains.

  5. 5
    Aughnanure Castle

    Aughnanure Castle

    Aughnanure Castle is a tower house near Oughterard on the N59, in County Galway, in the west of Ireland. It was built by the O'Flaherty family in the late 15th century and fully restored in the 1960s.

  6. 6
    Eyre Square

    Eyre Square

    Eyre Square is a city public park in Galway, Ireland. The park is within the city centre, adjoining the nearby shopping area of William Street and Shop Street. Galway railway station is adjacent to Eyre Square.

  7. 7
    Connemara National Park

    Connemara National Park

    Connemara National Park is one of eight national parks in Ireland, managed by the National Parks and Wildlife Service. It is located in the northwest of Connemara in County Galway, on the west coast.

    Read its story →
  8. 8
    Galway City Museum

    Galway City Museum

    Galway City Museum is a museum in Galway City, County Galway, Ireland. It was founded on 29 July 2006, and is located beside the Spanish Arch.

  9. 9
    Clifden Castle

    Clifden Castle

    Clifden Castle is a ruined manor house west of the town of Clifden in the Connemara region of County Galway, Ireland. It was built c. 1818 for John D'Arcy, the local landowner, in the Gothic Revival style.

  10. 10
    St. Nicholas' Collegiate Church

    St. Nicholas' Collegiate Church

    The Collegiate Church of St. Nicholas is a medieval church building in Galway, Ireland,. It is a collegiate church and the parish church of St.

Discovery routes in Galway & Connemara

Visit the stops in any order and tap "Check in" at each one; finish the route to earn points and its own badge.

  • Galway: from the cathedral to Eyre Square

    A short walk from Galway Cathedral to St Nicholas' Collegiate Church, the Spanish Arch, the Galway City Museum and Eyre Square.

    Walking · 1 h · 1.7 km · 5 stops

  • Connemara: castles and a fjord

    From Ashford Castle at Cong to Aughnanure Castle, from Clifden Castle to Connemara National Park, Kylemore Abbey and Killary Harbour.

    By car · 7 h · 119.5 km · 6 stops

Places to visit

Historic sites

  • Ashford Castle, County Mayo

    Ashford Castle, County Mayo

    Ashford Castle is a mainly Victorian and medieval castle near Cong on the County Mayo–Galway border in Ireland. The castle has been expanded over the centuries and turned into a five star hotel.

    Has a story

  • Aughnanure Castle

    Aughnanure Castle

    Aughnanure Castle is a tower house near Oughterard on the N59, in County Galway, in the west of Ireland. It was built by the O'Flaherty family in the late 15th century and fully restored in the 1960s.

    Has a story

  • Clifden Castle

    Clifden Castle

    Clifden Castle is a ruined manor house west of the town of Clifden in the Connemara region of County Galway, Ireland. It was built c. 1818 for John D'Arcy, the local landowner, in the Gothic Revival style.

    Has a story

  • Ardamullivan Castle

    Ardamullivan Castle

    Ardamullivan Castle is a tower house and National Monument located in County Galway, Ireland.

  • Athenry Castle

    Athenry Castle

    Athenry Castle is a tower house and National Monument located in Athenry, Ireland.

  • Ballymore Castle

    Ballymore Castle

    Ballymore Castle in Lawrencetown, County Galway, Ireland was originally a 15th-century tower house belonging to O'Madden. A house was added in 1620, and the castle has been much altered since then.

  • Dun Aengus

    Dun Aengus

    Dún Aonghasa (unofficial anglicised version Dun Aengus) is the best-known of several prehistoric hill forts on the Aran Islands of County Galway, Ireland. It lies on Inis Mór, at the edge of a 100-metre-high (330 ft) cliff.

  • Dún Dúchathair

    Dún Dúchathair

    Dún Dúchathair or simply Dúchathair (anglicized Doocaher), meaning "black fort", is a large stone fort on the cliffs at Cill Éinne, (Killeany), Inishmore (one of the Aran Islands) in County Galway, Ireland.

  • Dunguaire Castle

    Dunguaire Castle

    Dunguaire Castle is a 16th-century tower house on the southeastern shore of Galway Bay in County Galway, Ireland, near Kinvara (also spelled Kinvarra). The name derives from the dun (fort) of King Guaire, the legendary king of Connacht.

  • Eeragh Lighthouse

    Eeragh Lighthouse

    Eeragh Lighthouse is an active lighthouse located on Rock Island, one of the Brannock Islands, part of the Aran Islands archipelago in County Galway, Ireland.

  • Feartagar Castle

    Feartagar Castle

    Feartagar Castle, also called Jennings Castle, is a tower house and National Monument located in County Galway, Ireland.

  • Fiddaun Castle

    Fiddaun Castle

    Fiddaun Castle is a tower house in Tubber, County Galway, close to the border of County Clare in Ireland. It is a National Monument of Ireland.

  • Glinsk Castle

    Glinsk Castle

    Glinsk Castle is a tower house and National Monument located in County Galway, Ireland.

  • Castle Hackett

    Castle Hackett

    Castle Hackett is a ruined 13th-century tower house at the base of Knockma Hill, 10 kilometres (6 mi) south-west of Tuam in the parish of Caherlistrane, County Galway, Ireland. It is located near Belclare in the townland of Castlehacket.

  • Inisheer Lighthouse

    Inisheer Lighthouse

    The Inisheer, Inis Oírr or Fardurris Point Lighthouse, is an active 19th century lighthouse located on the island of Inisheer, the smallest of the Aran Islands, in County Galway, Ireland.

  • Oranmore Castle

    Oranmore Castle

    Oranmore Castle is a castle in Oranmore, County Galway, Ireland.

  • Thoor Ballylee

    Thoor Ballylee

    Thoor Ballylee Castle (Irish Túr Bhaile Uí Laí) is a fortified, 15th-century Anglo-Norman tower house built by the septs de Burgo, or Burke, near the town of Gort in County Galway, Ireland.

Museums

  • Galway City Museum

    Galway City Museum

    Galway City Museum is a museum in Galway City, County Galway, Ireland. It was founded on 29 July 2006, and is located beside the Spanish Arch.

    Has a story

  • Portumna Castle

    Portumna Castle

    Portumna Castle is a semi-fortified house in Portumna, County Galway, Ireland which was built in the early 17th century by Richard Burke, 4th Earl of Clanricarde.

Places of worship

  • Cathedral of Our Lady Assumed into Heaven and St Nicholas, Galway

    Cathedral of Our Lady Assumed into Heaven and St Nicholas, Galway

    The Cathedral of Our Lady Assumed into Heaven and St Nicholas, commonly known as Galway Cathedral, is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Galway, Ireland. Construction began in 1958 on the site of the old Galway Gaol.

    Has a story

  • St. Nicholas' Collegiate Church

    St. Nicholas' Collegiate Church

    The Collegiate Church of St. Nicholas is a medieval church building in Galway, Ireland,. It is a collegiate church and the parish church of St.

    Has a story

  • Kylemore Abbey

    Kylemore Abbey

    Kylemore Abbey is a Benedictine Monastery founded in 1920 on the grounds of Kylemore Castle, in Connemara, County Galway, Ireland.

    Has a story

  • St. MacDara's Island Church

    St. MacDara's Island Church

    Saint Macdara's Island is a small island off the coast of County Galway in Ireland on which stands a mediaeval Christian monastery and National Monument.

  • Clonfert Cathedral

    Clonfert Cathedral

    Clonfert Cathedral is a cathedral of the Church of Ireland in Clonfert, County Galway in Ireland.

  • Kilmacduagh monastery

    Kilmacduagh monastery

    Kilmacduagh Monastery is a ruined abbey near the town of Gort in County Galway, Ireland. It was the birthplace of the Diocese of Kilmacduagh.

  • Ross Errilly Friary

    Ross Errilly Friary

    The Ross Errilly Friary is a medieval Franciscan friary located on the Black River about a mile to the northwest of Headford, County Galway, Ireland.

  • St Brendan's Cathedral

    St Brendan's Cathedral

    The Cathedral of St. Brendan, Loughrea, is the cathedral church of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Clonfert.

  • Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

    Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

    The Cathedral Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Tuam, commonly called Tuam Cathedral, is the cathedral for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Tuam in Ireland.

  • St Mary's Cathedral, Tuam

    St Mary's Cathedral, Tuam

    St Mary's Cathedral is a cathedral church of the Diocese of Tuam, Limerick and Killaloe in the Church of Ireland. It is located in Tuam, County Galway, in Ireland.

Monuments

  • The Spanish Arch

    The Spanish Arch

    The Spanish Arch and the Caoċ Arch in Galway city, Ireland, are two remaining arches on the Ceann an Bhalla ("Front Wall").

    Has a story

Nature

  • Eyre Square

    Eyre Square

    Eyre Square is a city public park in Galway, Ireland. The park is within the city centre, adjoining the nearby shopping area of William Street and Shop Street. Galway railway station is adjacent to Eyre Square.

    Has a story

  • Connemara National Park

    Connemara National Park

    Connemara National Park is one of eight national parks in Ireland, managed by the National Parks and Wildlife Service. It is located in the northwest of Connemara in County Galway, on the west coast.

    Has a story

  • Killary Harbour

    Killary Harbour

    Killary Harbour or Killary Fjord is a fjord or fjard on the west coast of Ireland, in northern Connemara. To its north is County Mayo and the mountains of Mweelrea and Ben Gorm; to its south is County Galway and the Maumturk Mountains.

    Has a story

  • Coole Park

    Coole Park

    Coole Park is a nature reserve of approximately 1,000 acres (4 km2) located a few miles west of Gort, County Galway, Ireland.

  • Inis Mór

    Inis Mór

    Inishmore is the largest of the Aran Islands in Galway Bay, off the west coast of Ireland.

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