Set just a short ferry ride off of the Galway coast of Ireland, the Aran Islands are one of the last outposts where Irish is the language you'll find spoken on the streets. Most of the 1,200 residents work as commercial fisherman or make sweaters which are subsequently sold to inquisitive tourists, and an intensive language school has been established on the island for native Irish people looking to regain their mother tongue.

Kilronan, the town pictured, is the largest town in the Aran Islands, and it's one of the best hamlets in all of Ireland to hunker inside a dimly lit pub and watch a storm roll in off the sea.