Caernarfon Castle

The grandest and most deliberately imperial of Edward I's castles, begun in 1283 on the site of an earlier Norman and Roman stronghold. Its banded stonework and polygonal towers were modelled on the walls of Constantinople — propaganda in masonry, meant to echo Roman imperial power over the newly conquered Welsh. The vast Eagle Tower, turreted and crowned with carved eagles, looks out over the Menai Strait and the yacht-filled harbour below. It was here that the Princes of Wales were invested in 1911 and again in 1969, and it remains a World Heritage Site and the ceremonial heart of the town. Cadw charges admission; allow a couple of hours, and eat afterwards down at Doc Fictoria.

Getting there

Caernarfon Castle is in Caernarfon, Llŷn Peninsula. It's roughly 0 min (0 miles) from Caernarfon , and within reach of Llanberis (21 min) and Menai Bridge (23 min).

The nearest parking: Slate Quay car park beside the castle. Grid reference SH 477 625 — works on any OS map and doesn't need a phone signal.

Good to know

The Eagle Tower views over the Menai Strait are superb; the town's Doc Fictoria has good food after.

On the map

View Caernarfon Castle on OpenStreetMap ↗, or open it in the Explore Wales trip planner to add it to a day out with drive times and offline maps.

Staying over?

Caernarfon makes a relaxed base for exploring the area — worth staying over to catch an early start or a golden-hour finish.

Browse places to stay near Caernarfon ↗ opens Booking.com — needs signal