Travel guide – galway
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Overview
Galway, with its narrow streets full of vibrant pubs and old stone shop fronts, is an exceptionally enjoyable, free-spirited place to spend a few days, especially if they coincide with one of the cultural festivals held during various months of the year. There is the February Jazz Festival, the Easter Festival of Literature and the July Arts Festival, when the streets are alive with music and dancing and the town feasts on Guinness and oysters. The town is a good base from which to explore the west coast. To the East is lies scenic, rolling farmland while to the West is the exceptionally beautiful Connemara and Aran Islands.
Attractions in Galway
Connemara
Wild and barren, Connemara is a stunning patchwork of bogs, green valleys, mountains and lakes. On the coast are beautiful fishing villages and some superb white beaches washed by turquoise water - if by chance the weather is good, one could mistake it for Paradise. The Connemara National Park encompasses the remarkable granite peaks of the Twelve Bens and is wonderful walking country.
Aran Islands
Aran Islands, with their magnificent wild terrain, display evidence of the years of battering by wind and water. The islands - Inishmore, Inishmaan and Inisheer - lie about 30 miles (48km) out across the mouth of Galway Bay and are criss-crossed by miles of stone walls and dotted with some fine iron age archaeological sites. The islands' isolation allowed Irish culture to survive when it had all but disappeared elsewhere. Irish is still the native tongue, and until recently people still wore traditional Aran dress. The women still knit the famous Aran sweaters; historically each family used a different pattern in order to recognize fishermen drowned at sea. The islands are a haven for botanists and nature lovers with their abundance of flora, fauna and nesting birds.
Climate
Ireland has a temperate climate and is cold and damp much of the year. Summer (May to September) is the warmest and driest season and is the best time to visit, though attractions can get crowded in July and August. Winter is characterised by short, wet, foggy days and long night, but the temperature rarely gets below freezing due to the tempering Gulf Stream winds that buffet the west coast of Ireland. Some attractions are only open in summer.
Health
There are no special health requirements for visitors to Ireland. Health insurance is advisable unless from the UK or other EU countries, most of which have reciprocal agreements with Ireland. A European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) should be obtained before departing for travel to Ireland. Medical facilities are good, and payment for treatment is usually required in cash.
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