Places to Explore In Wales

Discover the best places to explore in Wales with curated recommendations from our travel experts.

Abergavenny

The market town of Abergavenny, just outside Brecon Beacons National Park, is a popular base for walkers and hikers. It has a ruined castle and...

  • 3 Restaurants
  • 5 Hotels
  • 7 Things To Do

Aberystwyth

A pleasingly eccentric combination of faded Victorian seaside resort and artsy college town, Aberystwyth is the largest community in Mid-Wales, with a population of barely...

  • 2 Restaurants
  • 5 Hotels
  • 14 Things To Do

Anglesey (Ynys Mon)

Elegant Beaumaris is on the Isle of Anglesey, the largest island directly off the shore of Wales. It's linked to the mainland by the Britannia...

  • 0 Restaurants
  • 2 Hotels
  • 5 Things To Do

Barmouth

Barmouth, on the northern mouth of the Mawddach Estuary, is one of the few places along the Welsh coast that can be described as a...

  • 0 Restaurants
  • 0 Hotels
  • 0 Things To Do

Betws-y-Coed

The rivers Llugwy and Conwy meet at Betws-y-Coed, a popular village surrounded by woodland with excellent views of Snowdonia. It can be used as a...

  • 1 Restaurants
  • 3 Hotels
  • 2 Things To Do

Brecon

The historic market town of Brecon is known for its Georgian buildings, narrow passageways, and pleasant riverside walks. It's also the gateway to Brecon Beacons...

  • 1 Restaurants
  • 3 Hotels
  • 9 Things To Do

Cardiff

Home to the Welsh Assembly and a population of 330,000, Cardiff is financially, industrially, and commercially the most important city in Wales. It's also one...

  • 13 Restaurants
  • 7 Hotels
  • 26 Things To Do

Cardigan and the Teifi Valley

The little market town of Cardigan, with its ancient bridge, was the scene of a never-to-be-forgotten victory by the Welsh over the Norman army in...

  • 0 Restaurants
  • 0 Hotels
  • 0 Things To Do

Conwy

The still-authentic medieval town of Conwy grew up around its castle on the west bank of the River Conwy. A ring of ancient but well-preserved...

  • 4 Restaurants
  • 2 Hotels
  • 5 Things To Do

Denbigh

This market town (market day is the last Friday of the month) was much admired by the great English literary figure and lexicographer Dr. Samuel...

  • 0 Restaurants
  • 0 Hotels
  • 0 Things To Do

Dolgellau

A solidly Welsh town with dark stone buildings and old coaching inns made of the local gray dolerite and slate, Dolgellau (pronounced dol-geth-lee) thrived with...

  • 0 Restaurants
  • 0 Hotels
  • 2 Things To Do

Hay-on-Wye

With its crumbling old castle and low-slung buildings framed by lolloping green hills, Hay-on-Wye is a beautiful little place. In 1961 Richard Booth established a...

  • 4 Restaurants
  • 2 Hotels
  • 9 Things To Do

Holyhead

Once a northern defense post against Irish raiders, Holyhead later became best known as a ferry port for Ireland. The dockside bustle is not matched...

  • 3 Restaurants
  • 3 Hotels
  • 3 Things To Do

Lake Vyrnwy

This beautiful lake has a sense of tranquillity that doesn't entirely befit its history. Lake Vyrnwy was created in the 1880s to provide water for...

  • 0 Restaurants
  • 2 Hotels
  • 3 Things To Do

Llanberis

Like Betws-y-Coed, Llanberis is a focal point for people visiting Snowdonia National Park...

  • 1 Restaurants
  • 2 Hotels
  • 5 Things To Do

Llandrindod Wells

Also known as Llandod, the old spa town of Llandrindod Wells preserves its Victorian look with turrets, cupolas, loggias, and balustrades everywhere. Cross over to...

  • 2 Restaurants
  • 5 Hotels
  • 5 Things To Do

Llandudno

This engagingly old-fashioned North Wales seaside resort has a wealth of well-preserved Victorian architecture and an ornate amusement pier with entertainments, shops, and places to...

  • 0 Restaurants
  • 3 Hotels
  • 4 Things To Do

Llangollen

Llangollen's setting in a deep valley carved by the River Dee gives it a typically Welsh appearance. The bridge over the Dee, a 14th-century stone...

  • 2 Restaurants
  • 0 Hotels
  • 9 Things To Do

Machynlleth

Machynlleth (pronounced "Mack-unth-leth"), at the head of the beautiful Dovey Estuary, doesn't look like a typical Welsh country town. Its long and wide main street...

  • 0 Restaurants
  • 0 Hotels
  • 0 Things To Do

Merthyr Mawr

As you cross over an ancient stone bridge into Merthyr Mawr, you feel as if you've entered another world. From stone cottages with beehive-shape thatched...

  • 2 Restaurants
  • 0 Hotels
  • 2 Things To Do

Mid-Wales

Traditional market towns and country villages, small seaside resorts, quiet roads, and rolling landscapes filled with sheep farms, forests, and lakes make up Mid-Wales, the...

  • 0 Restaurants
  • 0 Hotels
  • 0 Things To Do

North Wales

Wales masses its most dramatic splendor and fierce beauty in the north. Dominating the area is Snowdon, at 3,560 feet the highest peak in England...

  • 0 Restaurants
  • 0 Hotels
  • 0 Things To Do

Porthmadog

The little seaside town of Porthmadog, built as a harbor to export slate from nearby Blaenau Ffestiniog, stands at the gateway to the Ll?n Peninsula...

  • 2 Restaurants
  • 3 Hotels
  • 10 Things To Do

Ruthin

Once a stronghold of the rebel Welsh prince Owain Glyndwr (c. 1354–1416), Ruthin is a delightful market town with elegant shops, good inns, and a...

  • 0 Restaurants
  • 2 Hotels
  • 4 Things To Do

South Wales

The most diverse of Wales's three regions, the south covers the area around Cardiff that stretches southwest as far as the rugged coastline of Pembrokeshire...

  • 0 Restaurants
  • 0 Hotels
  • 0 Things To Do

St. David's

Despite its minuscule size, this community of fewer than 1,800 people isn’t a village or a town—it's actually Britain's smallest city. Historically, little St. David's...

  • 0 Restaurants
  • 2 Hotels
  • 4 Things To Do

Swansea

The birthplace of poet Dylan Thomas (1914–53), Swansea adores its native son. Citywide celebrations in 2014 marked a century since his birth, and every year...

  • 6 Restaurants
  • 4 Hotels
  • 11 Things To Do

Tenby

Pastel-color Georgian houses cluster around a harbor in this seaside town, which became a fashionable resort in the 19th century and is still popular. Two...

  • 2 Restaurants
  • 3 Hotels
  • 5 Things To Do

Explore Wales

Sights 112

Shopping 14

Nightlife 8

Performing Arts 11

Restaurants 48

Hotels 58
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