Eight great towers above the estuary, and a walled town to match — one of Europe's finest surviving medieval fortresses
Open to visitorscheck opening times and admission before you go
Substantial ruinsruined, but plenty survives above ground
Conwy was raised in a single burst between 1283 and 1287, and that speed is why it survives so whole: there was no later rebuilding to blur the plan. Eight massive round towers guard a long, narrow enclosure along the rock above the estuary, and the castle came with a complete walled town attached — three-quarters of a mile of ramparts studded with towers, still almost intact.
It is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the Castles and Town Walls of King Edward in Gwynedd, and widely reckoned one of the great medieval fortresses of Europe.
Cadw runs the castle, open all year on a paid ticket. The town walls are free to walk and shouldn’t be missed, and the estuary below carries three landmark bridges — Telford’s suspension bridge, Stephenson’s tubular railway bridge and the modern road crossing — side by side. The mountains of Eryri are close, and the Wales Coast Path runs through the town.
