Galway, Ireland

Galway is a city of roughly 84,000 residents on the River Corrib at Galway Bay in western Ireland. The 1584 Spanish Arch on the quay was built as an extension of the city wall, and Lynch's Castle, dated to 1124 and now a bank, is the only surviving medieval merchant house in the city. Founded in 1845, the National University of Ireland, Galway hosts about 20,000 students. The Galway International Arts Festival has run each July since 1978, and an annual oyster festival re-enacts a medieval tradition dating to 1652.