West Shore

Llandudno

　　When the main beach gets too frantic, go west to this considerably less built-up Blue Flag beach on Conwy Bay. The views over Anglesey and the mountains of Snowdonia can be stunning, especially as the sun sets, and there's a model-boating pool at the Orme end. ...

Marine Drive

Llandudno

　　Starting by the pier, this one-way, 4-mile narrow road loops anticlockwise around the Great Orme, with immense sea vistas opening up on your right-hand side. There are few places to pull over along the loop, but you can take the branch road that heads up to the Great Orme summit...

Great Orme Tramway

Llandudno

　　Head to the top of the Great Orme without breaking a sweat in an original 1902 tramcar. It's one of only three cable-operated trams in the world (the other two are in equally glamorous Lisbon and San Francisco). Trips head up the steep incline every 20 minutes, weather permitting; change...

Mostyn Gallery

Llandudno

　　A sensitively restored, heritage-listed 1901 terracotta-and-brick exterior hides the sharply angled innards of North Wales’ leading contemporary art gallery. Its six galleries house changing and often challenging exhibitions, and were amongst the first to exhibit female artists in Britain. Call in to explore the shop or grab a coffee upstairs,...

Llandudno Promenade

Llandudno

　　Llandudno's iconic 2-mile promenade is one of its distinctive sights. It was here that Queen Victoria herself watched Professor Codman’s Punch & Judy Show, performed by the same family since 1860 – let's hope she was amused. Mr Punch’s iconic red-and-white-striped tent sits by the entrance to the Victorian pier....

Llandudno Pier

Llandudno

　　A trip to Llandudno isn’t complete until you’ve strolled along the Victorian pier, eating ice cream and shooing away seagulls. At 670m, it's Wales' longest pier. When it opened in 1878 its main use was as a disembarkation point for passengers from Isle of Man steamers. Those days are long...

Great Orme

Llandudno

　　From sea level it's difficult to gauge the sheer scale of the limestone chunk known as the Great Orme (Y Gogarth), yet it's 2 miles in circumference and 207m in height. Named after a Norse word for 'worm' or 'sea serpent', this gentle giant looms benevolently over Llandudno. Designated a...

Great Orme Bronze Age Mines

Llandudno

　　Sitting unobtrusively near the top of the Great Orme is the largest prehistoric mine ever discovered. Nearly paved over for a car park, this site of tremendous historical importance has been developed as a must-see attraction, with a visitor centre and the chance to explore portions of the 5 miles...

Caws Cenarth

Swansea (Abertawe)

　　One of Wales' most acclaimed organic cheesemakers, Caws Cenarth produces all the well-known Welsh cheeses (Caerphilly, Perl Wen, Perl Las) as well as the washed-rind Golden Cenarth, which won the supreme prize at the British Cheese Awards in 2010. On weekdays you can watch the cheese being made from a...

Harlech Castle

Swansea (Abertawe)

　　Edward I finished this intimidating yet aesthetically pleasing castle in 1289, the southernmost of his 'iron ring' of fortresses designed to keep the Welsh firmly beneath his boot. The grey-sandstone castle's massive twin-towered gatehouse and outer walls are still intact and give the illusion of impregnability even now. Entry is...

Powis Castle

Swansea (Abertawe)

　　Surrounded by magnificent gardens, the redbrick Powis Castle was originally constructed in the 13th century by Gruffydd ap Gwenwynwyn, prince of Powys, and subsequently enriched by generations of the Herbert and Clive families. The castle's highlight, the Clive Museum, houses exquisite treasures brought back from India and the Far East...

South Stack Cliffs RSPB Reserve

Swansea (Abertawe)

　　Two miles west of Holyhead, the sea vents its fury against the vertiginous South Stack Cliffs, an important Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) reserve where up to 9000 seabirds nest. Between May and June guillemots, razorbills and 15 loved-up puffin couples congregate here, while choughs, fulmars, peregrine...

Pen-y-Fan

Swansea (Abertawe)

　　Ascending Pen-y-Fan (886m), the tallest peak in the Brecon Beacons, is one of the most popular hikes in the park (around 350,000 people make the climb annually, giving it the nickname 'the motorway'). The shortest route begins at the Pont ar Daf car park on the A470, 10 miles southwest...

Big Pit National Coal Museum

Swansea (Abertawe)

　　Fascinating Big Pit provides an opportunity to explore a real coal mine and get a taste of what life was like for the miners who worked here from 1880 to 1980. Tours descend 90m into the mine and explore the tunnels and coalfaces in the company of an ex-miner guide....

Whitesands Bay

Swansea (Abertawe)

　　This mile-long sandy beach is a popular surfing, swimming and strolling spot. At extremely low tide you can see the wreck of a paddle tugboat that ran aground here in 1882, and the fossil remains of a prehistoric forest. If Whitesands is really busy – and it often is –...

Penderyn Distillery

Swansea (Abertawe)

　　Though Wales has a long history of spirit distillation, this boutique distillery released its first malt whisky only in 2004, marking the resurgence of Welsh whisky-making after an absence of more than 100 years (due to the power of the temperance movement in the late 19th century). Visitors can witness...

Barafundle Bay

Swansea (Abertawe)

　　Regularly voted one of Britain's most beautiful beaches, Barafundle Bay is a scenic 10-minute walk south along the coast path from Stackpole Quay (turn right). It is a gorgeous spot but its reputation has put paid to seclusion, so on summer weekends it can get pretty crowded despite the lack...

Poppit Sands

Swansea (Abertawe)

　　Right at the end of the road that follows the river north from St Dogmaels, this big, broad, sandy beach offers terrific views over the estuary to Cardigan Island and out to sea. It's an extremely popular spot for swimmers, surfers, sun seekers and dog walkers. Lifeguards patrol here at...

Broad Haven South

Swansea (Abertawe)

　　A mile southeast of Bosherston village, this beautiful golden-sand beach is framed by grey limestone cliffs and pointed sea stacks. The beach was formed in the 1860s by the erection of the dam that created the Bosherston Lily Ponds. ...

Beaumaris Castle

Swansea (Abertawe)

　　Beaumaris is the last and most technically perfect of the ring of great castles built by Edward I of England to consolidate his Welsh conquests. Started in 1295, but never completed as fully designed, it enjoys World Heritage status. With its pleasing symmetry, water-filled moat, succession of four concentric 'walls...

Conwy Castle

Swansea (Abertawe)

　　Caernarfon is more complete, Harlech more dramatically positioned and Beaumaris more technically perfect, yet out of the four castles that compose the Unesco World Heritage Site, Conwy is the prettiest to gaze upon. Exploring the castle's nooks and crannies makes for a superb, living-history visit, but best of all, head...

Centre for Alternative Technology

Swansea (Abertawe)

　　A small but dedicated band of enthusiasts have spent 40 years practising sustainability at the thought-provoking CAT, set in the Dyfi Unesco Biosphere Reserve, north of Machynlleth. Founded in 1974 (well ahead of its time), the CAT is an education and visitor centre that demonstrates practical solutions for sustainability. There...

Portmeirion Village

Swansea (Abertawe)

　　Set on its own tranquil peninsula reaching into the estuary, this fantastical collection of colourful buildings with a heavy Italian influence was masterminded by Welsh architect Sir Clough Williams-Ellis. Starting in 1925, Sir Clough collected bits and pieces from disintegrating stately mansions and set them alongside his own creations to...

Pontcysyllte Aqueduct & Canal World Heritage Site

Swansea (Abertawe)

　　The preeminent Georgian engineer Thomas Telford (1757–1834) built the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct in 1805 to carry the canal over the River Dee. At 307m long, 3.6m wide, 1.7m deep and 38m high, it is the most spectacular piece of engineering on the entire UK canal system and the highest canal aqueduct...

Caernarfon Castle

Swansea (Abertawe)

　　Majestic Caernarfon Castle was built by Edward I between 1283 and 1330 as a military stronghold, seat of government and royal palace. Designed and mainly supervised by Master James of St George, from Savoy, its brief and scale were extraordinary. Today it remains one of the most complete and impressive...

Caerphilly Castle

Swansea (Abertawe)

　　You could be forgiven for thinking that Caerphilly Castle – with its profusion of towers and crenellations reflected in a duck-filled lake – was a film set rather than an ancient monument. While it is often used as a film set, it is also one of Britain's finest examples of...

St David's Cathedral

Swansea (Abertawe)

　　Hidden in a hollow and behind high walls, St David's Cathedral is intentionally unassuming. The valley site was chosen in the vain hope that the church would be overlooked by Saxon raiders, but it was ransacked at least seven times. Yet once you pass through the gatehouse separating it from...

Clwb Ifor Bach

Cardiff

　　Named for 12th-century Welsh rebel Ifor Bach, the legendary Clwb ('Club') has broken many a Welsh band since it first opened its doors as a Welsh-language social club in 1983, building a reputation as Cardiff's most important indie-music venue. It now hosts bands performing in many tongues – from young...

Cardiff Bay Barrage

Cardiff

　　Completed in 1999 at a cost of £220 million, this large dam plugged the gap between Penarth and Porth Teigr, containing the waters flowing out from the mouths of the Rivers Taff and Ely, and transforming stinky Cardiff Bay into a freshwater lake. It includes sluice gates to control the...

Cardiff Market

Cardiff

　　While there's been a market here since the 18th century, the current iron-framed covered market dates to 1891. Stalls sell everything from fresh fish to mobile-phone covers, and there's fresh bread, cheese, cold meats, barbecued chicken and Welsh cakes for a picnic in Bute Park. Vinyl fans should head upstairs...

Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama

Cardiff

　　All manner of performances are staged in this impressive building's state-of-the-art venues, including theatre from the college's inhouse Richard Burton Company. ...

Clancy's

Cardiff

　　What looks like an unassuming wooden stall is actually a treasure trove of vegetarian and vegan takeaway food, dairy-free sweet treats and pretty much every herb or spice a recipe might call for. Great lunch stop. The trademark lentil dhal topped with fresh ginger and seeds is a must-try. ...

Senedd

Cardiff

　　Designed by Lord Richard Rogers (the architect behind London's Lloyd's building and Millennium Dome and Paris' Pompidou Centre), the home of the National Assembly for Wales' Siambr (debating chamber) is a striking structure of concrete, slate, glass and steel, with an undulating canopy roof lined with red cedar. It has...

Morgan Quarter

Cardiff

　　Cardiff's oldest arcade (1858), the Royal, connects with the Morgan Arcade via a series of covered lanes, forming a ritzy shopping precinct called the Morgan Quarter. Along with name-brand fashion, there are shops selling skateboards, vintage books and antiques. Look out for Spillers Records, art and design collective Illustrate, The...

Spillers Records

Cardiff

　　The world's oldest record shop, founded in 1894 (when it sold wax phonograph cylinders), Spillers stocks a large range of CDs and vinyl, and prides itself on catering to the non-mainstream end of the market (it's especially good on punk). In-store gigs promote local talent. ...

Dead Canary

Cardiff

　　Inspired by prohibition-era bars, this swanky speakeasy is hidden behind a narrow lane in the city centre. Find the bell with a feather painted nearby (it's near a fire exit sign). You'll then enter the dimly lit bar, with low seats, a jazz-club vibe and the best cocktails in town....

St David's

Cardiff

　　St David's is central Cardiff's biggest and slickest shopping centre. All the famous chains you could name have a home here, along with a smorgasbord of eateries, a cinema multiplex and a large branch of the John Lewis department store, which dominates its southern end. ...

Nata & Co

Cardiff

　　This family-run Portuguese bakery is famed for its pastel de nata – rich custard tarts with crisp pastry – but also serves freshly baked rolls, sourdough loaves, huge slices of multilayered Portuguese sponge cakes and lunchtime meal deals for around £5. Eat in or takeaway. There are two other branches...

Coffee Barker

Cardiff

　　This cool cafe, a series of rooms at the entrance to one of Cardiff's Victorian arcades, is good for coffee, indulgent pancake stacks, daily soups and thick milkshakes served in glass milk bottles. Despite its size, soft chairs and quirky decor give it a cosy vibe. Usually busy, it also...

Roath Park

Cardiff

　　Long, narrow Roath Park rivals Bute Park as Cardiff's favourite green space. The third marquess of Bute gifted the land to the city in 1887, when the marsh at its northern end was dammed to create the 30-acre Roath Park Lake, the park's central feature. The rest was laid out...

Llandaff Cathedral

Cardiff

　　This venerable cathedral is set in a hollow near the River Taff, on the site of a 6th-century monastery founded by St Teilo. The present building was begun in 1120, but it crumbled throughout the Middle Ages, and during the Reformation and Civil War it was used as an alehouse...

Castell Coch

Cardiff

　　Cardiff Castle's fanciful little brother sits perched atop a thickly wooded crag on the northern fringes of Cardiff. It was the summer retreat of the third marquess of Bute and, like Cardiff Castle, was designed by oddball architect William Burges in gaudy Gothic-revival style. Raised on the ruins of Gilbert...

Wales Millennium Centre

Cardiff

　　The centrepiece and symbol of Cardiff Bay's regeneration is the £106-million Wales Millennium Centre, an architectural masterpiece of stacked Welsh slate in shades of purple, green and grey topped with an overarching bronzed steel shell. Designed by Welsh architect Jonathan Adams, it opened in 2004 as Wales' premier arts complex,...

Principality Stadium

Cardiff

　　Also known as Millennium Stadium ('Principality' is the current naming-rights sponsor), this spectacular venue squats like a stranded spaceship on the River Taff's east bank. Seating 74,500 and built at a cost of £168 million, this three-tiered, retractable-roofed arena was completed in time to host the 1999 Rugby World Cup....

Bute Park

Cardiff

　　Flanked by the castle and the River Taff, Bute Park was donated to the city along with the castle in 1947. With Sophia Gardens, Pontcanna Fields and Llandaff Fields, it forms a green corridor that stretches northwest for 1.5 miles to Llandaff. All were once part of the Butes' vast...