Drink

56 Central

Chic and stylish, if a little pretentious. Offers fancy coffee and a decent selection of food.

Address: 5 Shop St
Price: €4 for a coffee, €5 for various fancy stuff (matcha latte, hot chocolate etc), €6.50 for a smoothie
Website: 56central.com (opens in a new tab)

Listing from Wikivoyage: Galway, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Updated 28 Sept 2026. Something wrong? Tell us.

Close by

Eat
McCambridges
Deli food hall downstairs does take away sandwiches, upstairs cafe serves good sit-down meals. Used to be family-owned; not the same since corporate Musgraves took ownership in 2022.
8AM–6PM; closed Sundays€5–10
Drink
Taaffes Pub
Great authentic Irish experience. You can find trad music there almost any night and there's a friendly atmosphere. Food only to 5PM.
Daily 10:30–12:30AM
See
Legend of the Claddagh Ring
Called a museum but mostly a marketing exercise. The Claddagh Ring is a style of mani in fede finger ring: two hands join to clasp a heart. It's been a design for wedding or engagement rings since medieval times but became a Galway tradition from 1700, when the jewellers worked near an Claddagh, the city shore. It became popular from the late 20th century, and legends were embellished around it as ingeniously as its designs. This museum hews to the "Joyce" legend, after the man captured by Algerian corsairs and learning the design in captivity; he returned to Galway where of course his sweetheart had remained true... aah, bless. The heart is often surmounted by a crown, or isn't, depending on your allegiances in that matter.
Mon–Sat 9AM–6PM, Sun 11AM–6PMFree (no, not the rings)
Do
An Taibhdhearc
The national Irish language theatre. It has produced some of Ireland's most celebrated actors.
Box Office Tue–Fri 10AM–5PM, Sat noon–5PM