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    Wales

    Wales

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    Wales, at just over 20,000 square kilometers, is smaller than Hesse, yet it boasts three national parks, five mountain ranges, and a continuously accessible coastline. The country was conquered by England in 1284 and formally incorporated in 1536, but it has retained its language: About a fifth of the population speaks Welsh, significantly more in the northwest. All place signs are bilingual, and since 2023, the national parks officially bear their Welsh names.Mountains, Coast, CastlesThe north is dominated by Eryri, formerly Snowdonia, home to the 1,085-meter-high Yr Wyddfa. To the south lie the Bannau Brycheiniog, formerly Brecon Beacons, with their sweeping sandstone ridges. In between stretches thinly populated Mid Wales. The Wales Coast Path, since 2012, spans over 1,400 kilometers around the entire country, the first such project worldwide. Wales also boasts the highest density of castles in Europe: Around 600 sites, many from Edward I's campaign.Industry and SongThe valleys south of Merthyr Tydfil supplied a significant portion of the world's coal production in the 19th century. While mining disappeared in the 1980s, its culture has endured: The male voice choirs, rugby enthusiasm, and the Eisteddfod festival trace their origins back to this period and older bardic traditions. The former industrial facilities of Blaenavon and the Slate Landscape of Northwest Wales are now on the World Heritage List.When to VisitWales is among the rainiest regions of Great Britain, with over 3,000 millimeters falling annually on the western slopes of Eryri. May to September are the most reliable months. In the mountains, the weather changes quickly, so waterproof clothing is a year-round necessity, not a luxury.
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    • Places in the region
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    Places in Wales

    Cardiff

    Cardiff

    Cardiff has only been the official capital of Wales since 1955, having been an insignificant coastal town until the 19th century. Coal from the valleys to its north then transformed the city into the world's largest coal port. The Bute family, controlling the docks and mines, was for a time considered Britain's richest family.This wealth is reflected in the opulently designed Cardiff Castle and the Coal Exchange in the Bay, where the first million-pound contract was allegedly signed in 1904. After coal exports ceased, the docks fell into disrepair; since the 1990s, Cardiff Bay has been transformed by a dam into a freshwater basin and revitalized with cultural buildings like the Wales Millennium Centre.The city centre is compact and easily walkable, crisscrossed by covered Victorian shopping arcades. On rugby match days at the Principality Stadium, located right in the city centre, Cardiff becomes a single human tide.
    Pembrokeshire Coast National Park

    Pembrokeshire Coast National Park

    The Pembrokeshire Coast National Park in southwest Wales is Great Britain's only national park consisting predominantly of coastline. It stretches as a narrow strip for over 400 kilometres of coastline and is in places only a few hundred metres wide.The rock types vary over short distances between Precambrian volcanite, Old Red Sandstone, and limestone, creating bays, rock arches, and sea cliffs in close proximity. The Pembrokeshire Coast Path follows the entire route; whoever walks its full length ascends more metres in elevation than climbing Everest.Off the coast lie Skomer and Skokholm, two islands with one of the world's largest colonies of Manx Shearwaters; in early summer, tens of thousands of puffins also breed here. On land, the density of prehistoric monuments is striking, including the Pentre Ifan Dolmen. The bluestones of Stonehenge demonstrably originate from the Preseli Hills in the north of the park.
    Bannau Brycheiniog (Brecon Beacons)

    Bannau Brycheiniog (Brecon Beacons)

    Bannau Brycheiniog, known as Brecon Beacons until 2023, is located in South Wales and consists of four distinct mountain ranges of Old Red Sandstone. The characteristic shape is uniform throughout: gently sloping southern slopes and abruptly dropping northern faces, carved out by glaciers. The highest point is Pen y Fan at 886 metres.The reversion to the Welsh name was a deliberate decision by the park authorities: Beacon refers to signal fires and thus to fossil fuels, which no longer seemed appropriate given the park's climate goals. Bannau simply means peaks.To the south, Waterfall Country around Ystradfellte is a zone where limestone and sandstone meet; several waterfalls cascade over rock steps, and behind Sgwd yr Eira, one can walk through. Beneath these lie extensive cave systems. The entire park is designated as an International Dark Sky Reserve, where the Milky Way is visible to the naked eye on clear nights.
    Conwy

    Conwy

    Conwy, on the north coast of Wales, is one of Europe's most completely preserved fortified towns. Edward I had the castle and town walls built between 1283 and 1287 in just four years, as part of the iron ring of fortresses with which he secured the conquered Gwynedd. The master builder was James of St. George from Savoy.The town walls are preserved intact for 1.3 kilometers, with 21 towers and three gates, and are largely walkable. The castle, with its eight towers, stands on a rock above the Conwy estuary. Both have been UNESCO World Heritage Sites since 1986.On the quay stands the Smallest House in Great Britain, 3.05 meters high and 1.8 meters wide, inhabited until 1900. Three bridges span the river side by side, including Thomas Telford's suspension bridge from 1826, whose towers are deliberately modelled on the castle's battlements.
    Eryri (Snowdonia) National Park

    Eryri (Snowdonia) National Park

    Eryri, officially Snowdonia until 2023, is Wales' oldest national park and covers 2,130 square kilometres in the northwest of the country. Unlike German national parks, it is a cultural landscape: around 26,000 people live within it, more than half of whom speak Welsh, and the slopes have been grazed for centuries.The highest point is Yr Wyddfa at 1,085 metres. Six marked paths lead up to it, along with a rack railway from Llanberis. The rock is predominantly of Ordovician volcanic origin, shaped by glaciers that left behind the characteristic corries and U-shaped valleys. The park is so well geologically exposed that significant parts of geological research originated here in the 19th century.Slate mining is also a defining feature. The quarries of Blaenau Ffestiniog and Llanberis once covered the roofs of half of Europe; the landscape with its grey spoil heaps has been on the World Heritage List since 2021. Yr Wyddfa is heavily frequented, while the Carneddau in the north and the Rhinogydd in the south are quieter.

    Sights in Wales

    Discover the most important sights and attractions

    Caernarfon Castle

    Caernarfon Castle

    Caernarfon Castle is the most powerful of the castles with which Edward I secured North Wales after 1283. It deliberately stands apart from the others: polygonal rather than round towers and colour-banded walls, echoing Constantinople's city walls. The message was imperial and addressed the subjugated Welsh.In 1301, Edward bestowed the title Prince of Wales upon his son here, a practice that continues to this day; in 1969, Charles's investiture took place in the castle. The complex was never fully completed; parts of the interior structures are still missing today. Together with Conwy, Beaumaris and Harlech, it is on the World Heritage List.
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    Portmeirion

    Portmeirion

    Portmeirion is a privately built village on the Dwyryd estuary, which architect Clough Williams-Ellis constructed as his life's work between 1925 and 1976. His stated aim was to prove that development need not destroy a beautiful landscape.The result is an ensemble in Mediterranean pastel tones with domes, colonnades, and a piazza, which appears Italian but copies no specific model. Williams-Ellis saved many architectural components from demolition sites across Great Britain and reassembled them here. The place became famous as the setting for the series Nummer 6. Surrounding it are subtropical forest gardens with rhododendrons and paths to the water.
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    Tintern Abbey

    Tintern Abbey

    Tintern Abbey in the Wye Valley was the first Cistercian abbey in Wales, founded in 1131. Henry VIII dissolved it in 1536, the lead was removed from the roof, and the complex fell into ruin. What remained was the skeleton of the 13th-century abbey church: tracery windows without glass, walls without roofs, grass instead of flooring.It was precisely this state that made the ruin famous in the late 18th century. Travellers on the Wye Tour, Britain's first organized scenic tour, came here to experience the picturesque. William Wordsworth wrote one of his most famous poems about the site in 1798, and J. M. W. Turner painted it multiple times. The abbey lies directly by the road in the narrow river valley, which enhances its impact upon arrival.
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    Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon)

    Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon)

    Yr Wyddfa, at 1,085 metres, is the highest mountain in Wales and the highest south of the Scottish Highlands. The Welsh name means roughly "burial mound" and refers to the legend that the giant Rhita Gawr lies buried beneath its summit.Six marked paths lead up, from the gentle Llanberis Path to the exposed ridge of Crib Goch, which demands a head for heights and climbing experience. In parallel, the Snowdon Mountain Railway, Britain's only rack railway, has been running from Llanberis to the summit since 1896. On the mountain grows the Snowdon Lily, an Arctic-alpine relict species found only here in Great Britain. The summit annually attracts well over 500,000 visitors, and the paths are accordingly strained.
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    Restaurants in Wales

    Locations nearby

    These places are nearby — perfect for additional days or a day trip.

    Bannau Brycheiniog (Brecon Beacons)

    Bannau Brycheiniog (Brecon Beacons)

    Bannau Brycheiniog, known as Brecon Beacons until 2023, is located in South Wales and consists of four distinct mountain ranges of Old Red Sandstone. The characteristic shape is uniform throughout: gently sloping southern slopes and abruptly dropping northern faces, carved out by glaciers. The highest point is Pen y Fan at 886 metres.The reversion to the Welsh name was a deliberate decision by the park authorities: Beacon refers to signal fires and thus to fossil fuels, which no longer seemed appropriate given the park's climate goals. Bannau simply means peaks.To the south, Waterfall Country around Ystradfellte is a zone where limestone and sandstone meet; several waterfalls cascade over rock steps, and behind Sgwd yr Eira, one can walk through. Beneath these lie extensive cave systems. The entire park is designated as an International Dark Sky Reserve, where the Milky Way is visible to the naked eye on clear nights.
    Eryri (Snowdonia) National Park

    Eryri (Snowdonia) National Park

    Eryri, officially Snowdonia until 2023, is Wales' oldest national park and covers 2,130 square kilometres in the northwest of the country. Unlike German national parks, it is a cultural landscape: around 26,000 people live within it, more than half of whom speak Welsh, and the slopes have been grazed for centuries.The highest point is Yr Wyddfa at 1,085 metres. Six marked paths lead up to it, along with a rack railway from Llanberis. The rock is predominantly of Ordovician volcanic origin, shaped by glaciers that left behind the characteristic corries and U-shaped valleys. The park is so well geologically exposed that significant parts of geological research originated here in the 19th century.Slate mining is also a defining feature. The quarries of Blaenau Ffestiniog and Llanberis once covered the roofs of half of Europe; the landscape with its grey spoil heaps has been on the World Heritage List since 2021. Yr Wyddfa is heavily frequented, while the Carneddau in the north and the Rhinogydd in the south are quieter.
    Cardiff

    Cardiff

    Cardiff has only been the official capital of Wales since 1955, having been an insignificant coastal town until the 19th century. Coal from the valleys to its north then transformed the city into the world's largest coal port. The Bute family, controlling the docks and mines, was for a time considered Britain's richest family.This wealth is reflected in the opulently designed Cardiff Castle and the Coal Exchange in the Bay, where the first million-pound contract was allegedly signed in 1904. After coal exports ceased, the docks fell into disrepair; since the 1990s, Cardiff Bay has been transformed by a dam into a freshwater basin and revitalized with cultural buildings like the Wales Millennium Centre.The city centre is compact and easily walkable, crisscrossed by covered Victorian shopping arcades. On rugby match days at the Principality Stadium, located right in the city centre, Cardiff becomes a single human tide.
    Conwy

    Conwy

    Conwy, on the north coast of Wales, is one of Europe's most completely preserved fortified towns. Edward I had the castle and town walls built between 1283 and 1287 in just four years, as part of the iron ring of fortresses with which he secured the conquered Gwynedd. The master builder was James of St. George from Savoy.The town walls are preserved intact for 1.3 kilometers, with 21 towers and three gates, and are largely walkable. The castle, with its eight towers, stands on a rock above the Conwy estuary. Both have been UNESCO World Heritage Sites since 1986.On the quay stands the Smallest House in Great Britain, 3.05 meters high and 1.8 meters wide, inhabited until 1900. Three bridges span the river side by side, including Thomas Telford's suspension bridge from 1826, whose towers are deliberately modelled on the castle's battlements.
    Pembrokeshire Coast National Park

    Pembrokeshire Coast National Park

    The Pembrokeshire Coast National Park in southwest Wales is Great Britain's only national park consisting predominantly of coastline. It stretches as a narrow strip for over 400 kilometres of coastline and is in places only a few hundred metres wide.The rock types vary over short distances between Precambrian volcanite, Old Red Sandstone, and limestone, creating bays, rock arches, and sea cliffs in close proximity. The Pembrokeshire Coast Path follows the entire route; whoever walks its full length ascends more metres in elevation than climbing Everest.Off the coast lie Skomer and Skokholm, two islands with one of the world's largest colonies of Manx Shearwaters; in early summer, tens of thousands of puffins also breed here. On land, the density of prehistoric monuments is striking, including the Pentre Ifan Dolmen. The bluestones of Stonehenge demonstrably originate from the Preseli Hills in the north of the park.