Galway, the third largest city in the Republic of Ireland, the sixth largest urban area, the main city in the province of Connacht in Ireland, the capital of, adequately enough, County Galway, is a city so spectacular in its quick pace and true urban flair, mixed with the breathtaking rolling green hills for which Ireland is known, that it was labeled a city even before it became the place we know it to be today.

The city is 1,837 kilometers in size, but houses almost 72,000 residents. According to Wikipedia, Galway is the only city in Ireland in which the "greater urban area lies within its city boundary and therefore appears to be larger than other cities such as Limerick where the greater urban area lies in two or more local authority areas."

The Irish metropolis began as a fort and quickly budded into a walled city. In the Middle Ages, Galway was controlled by fourteen separate tribes, leading to its nickname of the City of Tribes, and it continued to blossom thanks to its position as the principal port for trade with Spain and France. It was controlled by England for a long time, and experienced a declined for a short spell before recovering and expanding after the great economic boom at the end of the 20th Century.

The Irish culture has always been a strong one; Americans whose ancestors came from Ireland still consider their blood green and cheer for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish as if they had a stake in the team, but nowhere is Irish heritage more prevalent than in the city of Galway, where more so than Dublin or Cork or St. Patrick's Day parades in Boston, Irish language, music, and dancing monopolize the streets. There is a reason, after all, why Galway is often referred to as the Bilingual Capital of Ireland: the non-English form can be heard spoken in the streets and found on signs and shops, and Irish theater and TV and radio programs are, "an integral part of Galway city life, with both an Taibhdhearc, the National Irish Theater, and TG4 headquarters in Galway. This has brought an Irish-speaking young professional population to the city and county, and has generated a renewal of interest in the language and in language-related activities and social events," 

Along the ancient streets you will find breathtaking mid-evil architecture mixed with new-world city sights, along with many must-see castles and cathedrals. There are also many festivals, parades, and other events worth attending, and when you're ready to focus on your schoolwork, the two best known colleges are the National University of Ireland, Galway and the Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology.

All said, Galway is a beautiful place with new-world ornaments and old-world charm. A massive river runs through Lough Corrib, and there is a lovely harbor that lets you stare out at the dark blue water (and is about to be improved thanks to a 1.5 billion Euro plan. You can attend Celtic theater, frequent Irish pubs, watch hurling, gaelic football, rugby, or other sporting events far removed from American athletics, all while speaking a language (mostly) the same as your own. This means that study abroad students can feel at home while experience a whole new culture in a whole new part of the world. When it was founded hundreds of years ago, its first inhabitants knew what a spectacular city it would be, and they were not wrong.