Welsh towns named among country’s must-visit destinations

A global geography site has highlighted ten “can’t-miss” Welsh towns that prove “the best of Wales is discovered one town at a time”.

WorldAtlas, which launched as a cartographer’s passion project in 1994, now serves around 165 million readers as a leading geography resource.

Highlighting that much of Wales’ heritage is found outside its cities, WorldAtlas listed the locations, including “harbour communities and mountain destinations”, based on a signature attraction and other reasons to visit.

The ten can’t-miss towns in Wales include:

Tenby

The seaside town of Tenby is much loved for its three beaches, North, Castle, and South Beach, but is perhaps most recognisable for the colourful terraced houses that line its harbour.

With a long history, thought to date back to the late-11th century, Tenby has plenty of medieval sites including the town walls, the Five Arches gatehouse, and St Mary’s Church on Tudor Square, the largest medieval parish church in Wales where Henry Tudor once hid before fleeing to Brittany.

WorldAtlas recommends taking a trip from Tenby to Caldey Island, “where a small community of Cistercian monks has lived since 1929 and still produces shortbread, chocolate, and perfume sold across the UK.”

Conwy

Another medieval town with the walls to prove it, Conwy’s castle, part of Edward I’s ‘Iron Ring’ built in the late 13th century, has long attracted visitors from across the UK and the world. The castle still welcomes visitors today, offering views over Eryri.

In the town sits the Smallest House in Great Britain, several independent shops and eateries, and another home of note – Plas Mawr, the “best preserved Elizabethan town house in Britain”, which WorldAtlas notes still has its original intricate lime-plaster ceilings.

Hay-on-Wye

As the world’s first Book Town, Hay-on-Wye is unsurprisingly filled with book shops catering to readers of all tastes. There are 26 bookshops, and one of the most famous was opened by Richard Booth in 1961. The Hay Festival, held every May in the town since 1988, also celebrates all things literature.

Other spots to visit in Hay include the 12th-century castle, which reopened in May 2022 following a £5m restoration effort, a number of record stores, stationery and clothes shops, several historic pubs, and the beautiful River Wye, which provides the perfect place for a day of watersports or wild swimming.

Caernarfon

The site of a former Roman fort, Segontium, Caernarfon “was occupied by Roman troops between around 77 CE and 394 CE, and the partial walls and bath ruins remain free to visit.”

The town also boasts another of Edward I’s Welsh strongholds in its 13th-century castle, a UNESCO’s World Heritage Site. The castle is often noted as playing host to the investiture of two Princes of Wales, including the future Edward VIII in 1911 and Charles in 1969.

WorldAtlas notes that, next to the castle, visitors can catch the Welsh Highland Railway steam trains through Eryri to see the surrounding landscape.

Aberystwyth

The seaside town of Aberystwyth is a UNESCO City of Literature and is home to Wales’ oldest university college. As well as the university, the National Library of Wales is also located in Aberystwyth, holding the oldest existing copy of the Mabinogion.

The town’s Victorian promenade has attracted visitors to the town for centuries, and still has a number of hotels and pubs. On one end of the promenade sit the ruins of Aberystwyth Castle, while at the other visitors can take a trip to the top of Constitution Hill on the longest electric funicular cliff railway in Britain.

Beaumaris

The Tudor town of Beaumaris is somewhat smaller than others listed, with a population of just over a thousand in the 2021 census. However, WorldAtlas highlights that the views it provides across the Menai Strait to Eryri are some of the most photographed in Wales.

In Beaumaris, another UNESCO World Heritage castle sits surrounded by a moat, though technically it was never fully completed. Taking a stroll from the castle, visitors can see characteristic Georgian buildings including the Old Courthouse, built in 1614, and the Bull’s Head Inn.

Regular cruises run to Ynys Seiriol, also known as Puffin Island, from the end of the town’s 174-metre pier. Wildlife lovers can also see bottlenose dolphins and porpoises at the harbour and during the crossing.

Llandudno

Wales’ largest seaside resort, Llandudno was laid out in the 1850s, with its North Shore promenade stretching 3km around the bay. Its Victorian amusement arcade, pier, an abundance of quirky shops, as well as a number of nearby beaches, still attract visitors.

WorldAtlas notes that much of the town still has the same charm it would have boasted in the Victorian era, and encourages readers to try The Great Orme Tramway, “Britain’s only cable-hauled tramway on a public road”. At the summit of Great Orme, visitors can meet “a herd of feral Kashmiri goats descended from a Victorian gift”.

Llangollen

Located in the Dee Valley beneath the Berwyn hills, Llangollen is famous for hosting the International Musical Eisteddfod, which has welcomed performers from around the world since 1947. Among its most celebrated success stories is Luciano Pavarotti, who won a competition there as a teenager in 1955 before returning four decades later as an international star.

The town is also a popular base for exploring the surrounding landscape and industrial heritage. Visitors can take horse-drawn boat trips from Llangollen Wharf, ride on heritage steam trains along the Dee Valley, or travel across the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct.

Dolgellau

Dolgellau is best known as the gateway to Cader Idris, the mountain that dominates the southern edge of Eryri. Built largely from dark local stone, the market town has rows of grey buildings giving its centre a distinctive character.

The town also has a unique place in Welsh history, once serving as the country’s last major Quaker stronghold before many local families emigrated to Pennsylvania in the late 17th century. Beyond the town, visitors can follow the Mawddach Trail, a former railway line which now offers a scenic walking and cycling route between Dolgellau and Barmouth.

Harlech

Perched above Tremadog Bay, Harlech Castle remains one of the best-preserved fortresses in the ‘Iron Ring’. The castle is also associated with the legendary seven-year siege during the Wars of the Roses, immortalised in the song Men of Harlech.

The town also briefly held a world record thanks to the cobbled Ffordd Pen Llech, which briefly held the title of the world’s steepest residential street in 2019. A short distance away, visitors can explore miles of sandy coastline at Harlech Beach and the dunes of Morfa Harlech National Nature Reserve.

The full list of ‘The 10 Can’t-Miss Towns In Wales’ is available here.