21 Best Sights in Wales

The town of Beaumaris dates from 1295, when Edward I commenced work on this impressive castle, the last and largest link in an "iron ring" of fortifications around North Wales built to contain the Welsh. Guarding the western approach to the Menai Strait, the unfinished castle (a World Heritage Site) is solid and symmetrical, with concentric lines of fortification, arrow slits, and a moat: a superb example of medieval defensive planning.

About 5 miles southwest of Brecon you encounter mountains and wild, windswept uplands that are tipped by shafts of golden light when the weather's fine, or fingers of ghostly mist when it's not. This 519-square-mile park is one of Wales's most breathtaking areas, perfect for a hike or scenic drive; it's also one of the world's few accredited International Dark Sky Reserves, which means it's an excellent location for star-gazing. Start at the visitor center on Mynydd Illtyd, a grassy stretch of upland west of the A470. Also known as the Mountain Centre, it's an excellent source of information about the park, including maps and advice on the best routes (guided or self-guided). There's also an excellent tearoom where you can fuel up for the journey or reward yourself with an indulgent slice of cake afterward. If you want to see it all from your car, any road that crosses the Beacons will offer you beautiful views, but the most spectacular is the high and undulating A4069, between Brynamman and Llangadog in the park's western end.

To explore the moorlands on foot, come prepared. Mist and rain descend quickly, and the summits are exposed to high winds.

The largest and most impressive fortress in Wales, and one of the few still to be surrounded by its original moat, Caerphilly must have been awe-inspiring at the time of its construction in the 13th century. Built by an Anglo-Norman lord, the concentric fortification contained powerful inner and outer defenses. It was badly damaged during the English Civil War (check out the leaning tower), although extensive 20th-century renovations have restored much of its former glory. The original Great Hall is still intact, and near the edge of the inner courtyard there's a replica of a trebuchet—a giant catapult used to launch rocks and other projectiles at the enemy. Additionally, an interesting collection of modern interpretive sculptures has been placed around the castle, both inside and outside. A £5 million renovation led to the opening of a new visitor center, shop, and café in 2023. To celebrate the town's famous cheese, a free festival, the Big Cheese, is held here every year at the end of July. Caerphilly is 7 miles north of Cardiff.

This peninsula, which stretches westward from Swansea, was the first part of Britain to be designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Its shores are a succession of sheltered sandy bays and awesome headlands. The seaside resort of Mumbles, on the outskirts of Swansea, is the most famous town along the route. It's a pleasant place to wander on a sunny afternoon, with a Norman castle, an amusement pier, and a seaside promenade, as well as a variety of independent cafés and boutiques. Farther along the peninsula, the secluded Pwlldu Bay can only be reached on foot from nearby villages like Southgate. A few miles westward is the more accessible (and very popular) Three Cliffs Bay, with its sweeping views and wide, sandy beach. At the far western tip of the peninsula, Rhossili has perhaps the best beach of all. Its unusual, snaking causeway—known locally as the Worm's Head—is inaccessible at high tide. Gower is a popular destination with surfers and you'll find many other water sports offered here.

Bordered by lush forest and emerald green hills, Lake Vyrnwy is a haven for wildlife. It's rich in rare bird species, from falcons to siskins and curlews. Stretching out along the shores of the lake near the visitor welcome point, the Lake Vyrnwy Sculpture Park is a collection of pieces by talented local artist Andy Hancock. Arranged along a paved walking trail, many of the wooden sculptures resemble oversize versions of the lake's wildlife, including a 15-foot-long dragonfly. It's an extremely popular cycling route, and there's a bike shop and coffee shop near the visitor welcome point.

By far the smallest of the country's three national parks, Pembrokeshire Coast is no less strikingly beautiful than the other two. The park has several Blue Flag beaches and a host of spectacular cliff-top drives and walks, including some of the most popular stretches of the Wales Coast Path. The park has a smattering of historic sites, including the impossibly picturesque St. Davids Cathedral, built in a Viking-proof nook by the Irish Sea. The information center in St. Davids is a good place to start.

From 1778 to 1828 Plas Newydd (not to be confused with the similarly named Isle of Anglesey estate) was the home of Lady Eleanor Butler and Sarah Ponsonby, the eccentric Ladies of Llangollen, who set up a then-scandalous single-sex household, collected curios and magnificent carvings, and made it into a tourist attraction even during their lifetimes. You can take tea there, as did Wordsworth and the Duke of Wellington, and stroll in the attractively terraced gardens.

Continuously occupied since the 13th century, Powis Castle rises above the town of Welshpool. One of the most elegant residential castles in Britain, Powis is equally renowned for its magnificent terraced gardens. The interior contains an outstanding art collection, from Greek vases to paintings by Thomas Gainsborough and Joshua Reynolds. The Clive of India Museum contains perhaps the most extensive private collection of antique Indian art in Britain. Powis Castle is north of Llandrindod Wells on the A483.

Stretching from the Welsh midlands almost to its northern coast, Snowdonia National Park covers a vast swath of North Wales. The park consists of 823 square miles of rocky mountains, valleys clothed in oak woods, moorlands, lakes, and rivers, all guaranteeing natural beauty and, to a varying extent, solitude. Its most famous attraction, by far, is the towering peak of Mt. Snowdon ("Yr Wyddfa" in Welsh), the highest mountain in Wales. The view from the top is jaw-dropping: to the northwest you can see the Menai Strait and Anglesey; to the south, Harlech Castle and the Cadair Idris mountain range. To the southwest, on an exceedingly clear day, you can make out the distant peaks of Ireland's Wicklow Mountains. There are six different walking paths to the top, but a far less punishing way is via the Snowdon Mountain Railway in nearby Llanberis.

Perched at the top of Snowdon is Hafod Eryri, an eco-friendly replacement for the previous visitor center (once described by King Charles III as "the highest slum in Wales"). The granite-roof building, which blends beautifully into the rocky landscape, has a café and exhibitions about the mountain, its ecology, and its history. If you're planning to make the ascent, the visitor center in Betws-y-Coed is the best place to stop for information.

The last abbey of the Cistercian order to be founded in Wales, Valle Crucis was built in 1201 and abandoned in 1537—a victim of Henry VIII's violent dissolution of the monasteries. Today it's a highly picturesque ruin beside a glassy lake. Surprisingly large sections survive relatively intact—particularly the sacristy and more or less complete chapter house, with its intricate vaulted ceiling. In its day Valle Crucis was one of the richest and most powerful abbeys in Wales; despite half a millennium of decay, this is still an impressive site to wander.

Perhaps the most potent symbol of Cardiff's 21st-century rebirth, this regenerated district is a 15-minute bus ride from St. Mary Street. It's the location of Senedd Cymru, the Welsh Parliament, and Wales Millennium Centre, as well as a good selection of restaurants and bars. Don't miss the Norwegian Church Arts Centre, where children's author Roald Dahl was baptized; you can also take a boat trip around the bay. It was from Roath Dock in 1910 that Captain Robert Falcon Scott and his crew left aboard the SS Terra Nova for their ill-fated British Antarctic Expedition.

This romantic hilltop ruin looks out over a breathtaking patchwork of green fields and mountains. The fortress was built in the 1260s on the site of an earlier castle, which was an Iron Age fort before that. Its heyday was incredibly short lived; by the end of the 13th century it had been captured and abandoned by English forces after which it gradually fell into ruin. The castle is located on top of a hill just north of Llangollen town center. There are no roads to the summit; the best walking path starts at Canal Bridge in Llangollen and zigzags up the side of the hill. The rather punishing hike is a little over a mile long.

In the Victorian seaside resort of Criccieth, a few miles west of Porthmadog on the A497, a medieval castle with sweeping views crowns the headland. Criccieth was the scene of the last real uprising against English rule in Wales, in the early 1400s, when it was attacked and burned by rebel prince and latter-day folk hero Owain Glyndwr (1359–1416). David Lloyd George, who was prime minister of Britain for most of the First World War, grew up in Wales and lived in the town; a small museum in his childhood home honors him.

Betws-y-Coed is bordered by Gwydir Forest, which has several well-marked walking trails. The forest also contains a half dozen or so mines, the last of which was abandoned in the 1940s. On the western approach to the village, you'll find Swallow Falls, where the River Llugwy tumbles down through a wooded chasm. The trail to Swallow Falls is a strenuous circular walk, which takes at least a couple of hours

According to Dylan Thomas, this attractive estuary town 39 miles west of Swansea was the "strangest town in Wales"; nonetheless, he spent the last four years of his adult life here and is buried in the graveyard at St. Martin's Church. Visitors should first head to the Boathouse, where Thomas lived with his family from 1949 to 1953 and where he wrote Do Not Go Gentle and Under Milk Wood. Then head for a drink at Brown's, his local pub. Be sure to also check out the ruined castle, browse the secondhand bookshops, and enjoy a coastal walk. Laugharne buzzes in spring when the arts festival, Laugharne Weekend, takes place.

This late 18th-century Welsh gentry estate in the Aeron Valley, 17 miles south of Aberystwyth, is a superb example of the early work of John Nash (1752–1835). Nash was the leading architect of the Regency period and the designer of London's Marble Arch and Buckingham Palace. The estate survived with few changes until recently; it is a self-contained world with a farmyard, a brewery, and a café. The walled gardens are particularly beautiful.

Just a few miles south of Merthyr Mawr is this stunning promontory overlooking the Bristol Channel. Twin lighthouses stand guard against the elements; one, dating from 1832, is still operational, but the other is no longer in use. This is also a popular picnic spot, and a small snack kiosk is open during summer months. Nothing beats this place at sunset, when the evening sky ignites in a riot of color. It's one of the most romantic spots in South Wales. There's no guardrail on the cliff, so keep a close eye on children.

In Padarn Country Park, this museum in the old Dinorwig Slate Quarry is dedicated to what was once an important industry for the area. The museum has quarry workshops and slate-splitting demonstrations, as well as restored worker housing, all of which convey the development of the industry and the challenges faced by those who worked in it. The narrow-gauge Llanberis Lake Railway departs from here.

Built in the 12th century, this abbey was, in its day, one of the largest and most important in the British Isles. Though just a shell, the main church gives an impressive sense of scale, with its tall buttresses and soaring, glassless windows. Here and there small sections of the original building have survived unscathed, including an undercroft with a vaulted stone ceiling. Neath Abbey is 9 miles northeast of Swansea.

The peat-brown water of Pistyll Rhaeadr, the highest waterfall in Wales, thunders down a 240-foot double cascade. When you're driving on the B4500 between Llangollen and Llanwddyn, take the road leading northwest from the town of Llanrhaeadr ym Mochnant in the peaceful Tanat Valley. There's also a pretty 18th-century restaurant and tearoom, along with camping and self-catering accommodations, on-site. It was near here that, in 1588, the Bible was translated into Welsh—one of the key moments that helped to ensure the survival of the language.

About 9 miles up the coast from Aberystwyth is Ynyslas Beach (pronounced "Inn-iss-lass"), a popular local beauty spot. Where the River Dyfi flows into the sea at Cardigan Bay, enormous dunes undulate from the sandy beach in a network of hillocks crisscrossed by wooden bridges. Ynyslas Beach is part of a nature reserve that is home to several species of butterfly and—unusual for the British Isles—lizards. The strong currents make the sea here unsuitable for swimming. Ynyslas is 8 miles north of Aberystwyth on the B4572. Amenities: food and drink; parking (£3). Best for: sunsets.