Galway for Couples: Long Walk and Pullman Dining

November 5, 2026

Ways to spend a couple’s weekend

Galway’s romance is small-scale: a long walk, a ring, a pub snug and a good dinner. Here is how those fit together. Prices are in euro.

Late afternoon: the Long Walk

Start at the Spanish Arch and stroll out along the Long Walk, the row of coloured houses beside the river mouth. The best time is the hour before sunset, when the sun drops across Galway Bay toward the hills of the Burren.

Early evening: the Claddagh ring

At 1 Quay Street, Thomas Dillon’s Claddagh Gold keeps a small museum open to everyone at no charge, from Monday to Saturday between 10:00 and 17:00. The ring carries a heart, two hands and a crown. The firm traces its roots to 1750, and while the original designer is disputed, many tellings credit Richard Joyce.

Dinner: the Pullman

The Pullman restaurant at Glenlo Abbey Hotel serves dinner inside two Orient Express carriages, one built in 1927 and the other in 1954. It is on the edge of the city by Lough Corrib and reopened after refurbishment in 2025. Reserve a table early.

Late evening: a snug and a tune

The Crane Bar on Sea Road hosts sessions each night, with the upstairs room starting about 21:30. Tigh Neachtain at 17 Cross Street is a good alternative with live music through the week. Get there early to claim a small corner.

A day trip for two

Kylemore Abbey in Connemara pairs a neo-Gothic castle with a walled garden and a church. An all-day ticket is about €18 for an adult, so check with the abbey. Ballynahinch Castle Hotel, also in Connemara, is a castle hotel on a salmon river.

A crossing for two

Between early April and late September, the afternoon boat from Kilronan on Inis Mór to Galway City Docks leaves at 15:30, stops at the Cliffs of Moher for a short pause around 16:15 and arrives near 18:00. The adult fare is €35. It is one of the more scenic ways to arrive back in the city.

Cliffs at the end of a summer day

From May to August the Cliffs of Moher visitor experience stays open until 21:00. Late-evening tickets for summer 2027 are listed at €7 for adults online. Stay behind the barriers at all times, especially when the wind rises.

Cold-water note

The Salthill sea is cold and tidal. Stay on the promenade at the Blackrock Diving Tower if the weather is rough.

If it rains

Galway rains in any month, so build the evening around the pub and the restaurant.