EZTrip.com International Destination Guide and Hotel Listings

A hugely successful development in Galway is the Design Concourse Ireland ( www.designconcourseireland.com ), down a lane off Cross Street, just near Busker Browne's . Housed in a beautifully restored medieval town house, it stocks the best of contemporary Irish design, including jewellery, furniture and tweed from both the Republic and the North. Dating from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, the building once housed a theatre owned by Humanity Dick , and it is said that Wolfe Tone performed here.

Further quality contemporary clothing and craft can be found in Design Ireland Plus housed in the Cornstore (which is also the home of Charlie Byrne's bookstore - see Listings), in nearby Middle Street. A popular local purchase are the chunky woollen sweaters people living on the west coast have worn for generations as protection against the notoriously fickle weather. The best places for these are: Faller's Sweater Shop at 25 High St, and O'Máille's at 16 High St, which both offer a huge range of colourful Aran ganseys (from the Gaelic geansaí ).

Galway has become something of an attraction of late for couples wishing to become engaged; if you find yourself overcome by romance and want to pledge your heart with a Claddagh ring , the place to go is Dillons on the corner of Cross and Quay streets where there's also a small museum with exhibits on Claddagh village itself and the small symbol of eternal devotion associated with it. Just outside town is the Royal Tara China factory (follow the N6 to Ryan's Hotel and take the first left), while a little further along the N6 is the Galway Irish Crystal Heritage Centre ( www.galwaycrystal.ie ).