Galway stay

We stayed at one of the B&Bs on College Ave, Petra House. Excellent breakfast and friendly hosts. It was really great and I would recommend it. It was a bit out of the hustle and bustle, but still walkable into the town center. They had dedicated parking, which was a plus. There are several other B&Bs along that stretch as well, but no experience with any of them.

Once I stayed in a Salthill, a seaside area to the southwest of Galway city center. It's known as a tourist area, which I normally avoid, but Salthill is gorgeous. The views of Galway Bay are to die for.

For another visit I stayed in the Nun's Island neighborhood of Galway. It's right in the city center. I ran into a bit of Irish literary history via the elderly owner of my bed & breakfast. The lady owner spent her whole life in Nun's Island, and her mother had known Nora Barnacle. She later became Nora Joyce, the wife of James Joyce, and grew up in Nun's Island. The lady she her mother recalled that Nora would walk up and down her street, yelling and carrying on, because her parents disapproved of James Joyce. He was a sophisticated literary man from Dublin, and the Barnacles were salt of the Earth, working class people. There's a small Nora Barnacle Museum in Nun's Island: https://www.galwaytourism.ie/nora-barnacle-house/

If you stay around Eyre Square you will be right in the heart of things.

I've often considered Salthill and have been saddened it doesn't meet our needs. We are always without a car, and while it's beautiful, it limits us.

We've stayed near Eyre Square twice. That location has given us immediate access to both bus and rail stations, an easy walk to the docks for the Aran Island ferries, and constant access to both the park and the pedestrian area buskers.

We are slightly shifting our location on this upcoming trip to the opposite end of town just across the River Corrib near Bridge Street. Because we are interested in Trad music, our new locale will give us easy access to our old favorite haunts and allow us to test drive a few places we never got to visit.

Just so you know, Galway is extremely walkable, much more so than Dublin or Cork.

We just completed a two night stay at The Galmont Hotel. Has own car park (I believe the car park is 12 euros a night) and is a short walk to Eyre Square. Amazing breakfast buffet, beautiful room and hotel facilities.

We have enjoyed our stay (twice now) at Adare Guest house. Lovely accommodations, well cared for, great breakfast, and the family that operates the guest house are wonderful. Additionally, the location was very walkable, great access to pubs, restaurants etc.. A great way to experience Galway.