Share this tour
Offered languages
- English
Your Galway evening starts at the Spanish Arch, built in 1584 to extend the quays for the Spanish wine trade. Over 3 to 4 hours, you cover the city on foot, sit in on a private trad session at Monroes on Dominick Street, eat a proper Irish dinner while the music plays, and finish with a Guinness pour and a Polaroid to take home.
The trad session is booked for your group only. Two working musicians talk you through what they are playing: reels versus jigs, uilleann pipes versus fiddle. Most guests say this is when it stops feeling like a tour.
The Guinness pour comes last. There is a right way to do it and most people don't get it first time. A Polaroid is taken while the pint settles. You keep the photo, a handwritten card, a coaster, and a weekly guide to the best trad sessions and GAA fixtures in Galway.
What's Included
Meeting and pickup
Outside the arch itself, on The Long Walk beside the River Corrib. Your guide (in a green shirt) will be waiting at the arch. If arriving by taxi, ask for the Spanish Arch on The Long Walk (not Galway city centre; the arch is on the south side of the river).
Itinerary
-
1The Spanish Arch
Meet your guide outside the arch. The Spanish Arch is one of the few surviving sections of Galway's 16th-century town wall, built in 1584 to extend the quays for the Spanish wine trade that made Galway wealthy. Your guide makes introductions, gives a brief outline of the evening, and you move into the city.
10 minutes • Admission ticket free -
2Galway's Latin Quarter
Through the Latin Quarter on High Street and Quay Street, Galway's most photographed stretch of independent shops and street performers. The route passes St Nicholas' Collegiate Church on Lombard Street, founded in 1320 and the oldest church in continuous use in Ireland. Columbus is said to have prayed here before his 1492 voyage. Worth a pause outside before continuing north.
10 minutes • Admission ticket free -
3
Founded in 1320, this is the largest medieval parish church in Ireland that has been in continuous use. Your guide covers its role in Galway's history, its connection to the Spanish trade, and the Columbus story. The walk continues from here to Salmon Weir Bridge, a 5-minute walk north.
10 minutes • Admission ticket free -
4Salmon Weir Bridge
The bridge crosses the Corrib between the city and the Cathedral. In spring (March to May) you can watch Atlantic salmon holding in the current below before running upstream. Galway Cathedral sits at your back as you cross. The guide points out the weir and explains the salmon run before moving back into the city toward Dominick Street.
10 minutes • Admission ticket free -
5
Private Irish trad session. Booked exclusively for your group. Two working musicians play at Monroes Tavern on Dominick Street, one of Galway's best-known trad venues. Before the food arrives, they talk you through what they are playing: what distinguishes a reel from a jig, the instruments in a traditional session, how the music works without a written score. Groups who arrive knowing nothing about trad consistently say this is the part of the evening that stays with them.
20 minutes • Admission ticket free -
6
GAA: Ireland's Game. An All-Ireland match plays on the screens at Monroes, as it would on any match night in any Galway pub. Your guide explains Gaelic football and hurling: the rules, the county structures, the fixture calendar. You leave with a card listing real local club and county fixtures that week, times and venues included.
30 minutes • Admission ticket free -
7
GAA: Ireland's Game. An All-Ireland match plays on the screens at Monroes, as it would on any match night in any Galway pub. Your guide explains Gaelic football and hurling: the rules, the county structures, the fixture calendar. You leave with a card listing real local club and county fixtures that week, times and venues included.
30 minutes • Admission ticket free -
8
The Guinness Pour at Monroe's. Everyone has a go at the Guinness pour. There is a two-part process and most people do not get it right first time, which is part of the point. A Polaroid is taken while the pint settles. You keep the photo. Non-alcoholic alternatives are available for guests who do not drink.
30 minutes • Admission ticket free -
9
Farewell and Send-Off. Your guide gives you a handwritten card, a coaster, and a week's worth of real trad sessions and GAA fixtures in Galway: venues, times, dates. Write a postcard and post it before you leave. Then the rest of the evening is yours. Monroe's itself stays open and runs trad sessions most nights; Thursday to Saturday are the busiest.
10 minutes • Admission ticket free
Additional info
- Wheelchair accessible
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Transportation options are wheelchair accessible
- All areas and surfaces are wheelchair accessible
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Tags
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Cancellation Policy
- For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
- If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
- Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Your guide to the flawless travel experience
Popular Countries
Get our app
