Sailing boats moored on the wide Conwy estuary at low tide, with sandbanks, the quayside road and green hills beyond

Wales, United Kingdom

Conwy

Conwy Quay and the estuary of the River Conwy. (Jeff Buck / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 2.0)

A small walled town on the west bank of the River Conwy in North Wales, facing Deganwy across the estuary. Edward I built its castle and walls in the 1280s to hold his conquest of Gwynedd; today the castle, the walls and the fishing quay draw visitors, and historians have called its defences one of the most impressive walled circuits in Europe.

Neighbourhoods

  • Inside the walls
    • First-time visitors
    • Historic district
    • Close to public transport

    The medieval town within Edward I's walls, laid out around the castle, the High Street, Lancaster Square and the parish church. Plas Mawr, Aberconwy House and the railway station are all inside the circuit, and almost everything is a few minutes' walk apart.

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  • The quay
    • Waterfront
    • Best for food

    The quay along the river below the walls, where Conwy mussels brought in by the fishermen are sold, the Smallest House in Great Britain stands and fish and chips come with views of the river.

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  • Deganwy
    • Quiet and residential
    • Views

    The village on the east bank of the estuary, part of the same community, with views back across the water to the castle and walls.

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  • Llandudno Junction
    • Close to public transport
    • Local life

    The town across the bridges on the east bank, a separate post town that has the main railway junction for the area, with direct trains to London and the Victorian resort of Llandudno.

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Things to do

Castle and walls

  • Conwy Castlelandmark

    The fortress Edward I built between 1283 and 1289 during his conquest of Wales, part of the Castles and Town Walls of King Edward in Gwynedd UNESCO World Heritage Site.

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  • Conwy town wallslandmark

    The circuit of walls and towers built with the castle to enclose the new English town, which can be walked along large stretches for views over the rooftops and estuary.

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  • Conwy Suspension Bridgelandmark

    Thomas Telford's bridge of 1826, which replaced the ferry, its chains carried over castellated towers; now passable only on foot and in the care of the National Trust.

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Historic houses and the quay

  • Plas Mawrmuseum

    An Elizabethan town house built between 1576 and 1585 by Robert Wynn, restored by Cadw largely as it might have appeared in 1665.

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  • Aberconwy Housemuseum

    A 15th-century merchant's house, one of the oldest dateable houses in Wales, now cared for by the National Trust.

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  • St Mary and All Saints Churchlandmark

    The parish church, originally the church of Aberconwy Abbey, whose monks Edward I moved up the valley to Maenan in 1283; parts of its walls and buttresses are original.

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  • Smallest House in Great Britainattraction

    A tiny house on the quay, 3.05 by 1.8 metres, listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the smallest in Great Britain.

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Walks and nature

  • Conwy Mountaintrail

    The hill rising just west of the town, with walking paths above the estuary and the coast.

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  • RSPB Conwypark

    A nature reserve for birdwatching beside the estuary, on the east bank opposite the town.

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Short trips from the town

  • Bodnant Gardenpark

    A large National Trust garden in the Conwy valley about 3 miles south of the town.

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  • Llandudnoattraction

    The Victorian seaside resort on the north coast, a short ride away, with its pier and promenade.

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  • Great Ormeviewpoint

    The limestone headland above Llandudno, the high ground visible across the estuary from Conwy's quay.

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Seasonal events

  • Conwy Honey FairSeptember

    A honey fair held in the streets of the town on 15 September each year for more than 700 years.

Eat and drink

Long-standing places and food districts in Conwy. Hours, ratings and directions come from your maps app, always current.

Conwy classics

  • Mussels and fish on the quaymarket

    Conwy mussels, brought in by the fishermen from the estuary's beds, can be bought on the quay.

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  • Fish and chips by the waterneighborhood

    The town has several fish and chip shops, some near the waterfront, and the quay is a place to eat them with a view of the river.

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Pubs and cafés

  • Pubs and cafés inside the wallsneighborhood

    Pubs, tea rooms and restaurants along the High Street, Castle Street and around Lancaster Square.

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Experience Conwy

History

Before the castle there was an abbey. Llywelyn the Great founded Aberconwy Abbey here. When Edward I of England conquered Gwynedd he took over the site and moved the monks up the Conwy valley to a new abbey at Maenan. Between 1283 and 1289 his builders raised the castle and the town walls on the west bank of the river, and in 1284 he gave the new English borough a charter. Parts of the abbey church survive in the walls of the parish church of St Mary and All Saints.

For centuries Conwy stayed small — it had 1,358 people in 1841 — but its place at the crossing of the river made it a key point on the road and later the railway to Holyhead. Thomas Telford's suspension bridge replaced the ferry in 1826, and Robert Stephenson's tubular railway bridge carried the Chester and Holyhead Railway across beside it; Conwy station, inside the walls, opened in 1848. The town's surviving houses span the centuries, from the 15th-century merchant's house of Aberconwy House to Plas Mawr, built by Robert Wynn between 1576 and 1585.

A modern road bridge now serves the town, and the A55 was taken under the river in a tunnel built between 1986 and 1991, Britain's first immersed tube tunnel. The castle and walls are now part of the Castles and Town Walls of King Edward in Gwynedd World Heritage Site. Conwy's borough was abolished in 1974, and since 1996 the town has given its name to Conwy County Borough, which covers a much larger area.

Culture & Customs

Conwy's identity is bound up with its walls. People born inside them are called Jackdaws, after the birds that nest on the towers, and the town even keeps a jester, following the example of Tom le Fol, said to have served Edward I. The castle, the walls and the houses run by Cadw and the National Trust draw visitors all year, and the quay remains a working place where fishermen land mussels from the estuary. Since 1986 the castle has been part of the World Heritage Site of the Castles and Town Walls of King Edward in Gwynedd.

The oldest tradition is the Honey Fair, held in the town's streets on 15 September each year for more than 700 years. On the waterfront, the RNLI lifeboat station on Lower Gate Street, established in 1966, is a familiar part of the waterfront.

Welsh is a living language in this part of North Wales: at the 2021 census about a quarter of the residents of Conwy County Borough said they could speak it.

Daily Life

The walled town itself is small: the ward on the west bank had about 4,000 people at the 2011 census, and the wider community, which also includes Deganwy and Llandudno Junction across the river, about 14,750. Conwy County Borough, named after the town, has an estimated population of about 116,000, and Conwy is its administrative centre.

Tourism is the main business inside the walls, from the castle and the historic houses to the cafés, pubs, galleries and shops of the High Street and Castle Street. Fishing for mussels continues on a small scale from the quay, and the marina beyond the walls holds leisure boats. The A55 and the North Wales Coast Line link the town with the rest of the coast, and Llandudno Junction across the river is the area's railway junction.

The rhythm of the town follows the seasons: in summer the quay and walls are crowded with day visitors from the coast resorts and further afield, while the winter months are quiet, and the town belongs to its residents again.

Food

Conwy's own food is from the river. The estuary has mussel beds, and Conwy mussels, landed by the town's fishermen, can be bought on the quay. Fish and chips is the town's everyday treat, sold by several shops in the town and eaten on the quay with views of the river.

The wider Welsh table is easy to find in the pubs and tea rooms inside the walls. Cawl, recognised as a national dish of Wales, is a broth of lamb or beef with leeks, potatoes and root vegetables; Welsh rarebit is a hot cheese sauce, often with ale or mustard, on toast; and Welsh cakes, or picau ar y maen, are small spiced fruit cakes cooked on a bakestone or griddle. Bara brith, a fruit loaf made with tea-soaked dried fruit, is the classic teatime slice.

Honey has its own day on 15 September, when the Honey Fair is held in the town's streets. Further along the coast, Halen Môn on Anglesey produces a sea salt that has Protected Designation of Origin status.

Planning tools

Budget

Conwy is a compact day-trip and short-break town, and costs are typical for North Wales: lower than most of England, but rooms inside or near the walls fill and rise in price in the summer holidays. Walking the walls, the quay and the bridges costs nothing; the castle and historic houses charge for entry.

Daily Budget Midrange
USD 160–300 (B&B or guest house, restaurant dinners, castle and house tickets, local trains)
Daily Budget Shoestring
USD 65–110 (hostel or campsite, fish and chips and pub meals, buses and trains)

The joint ticket for the castle and Plas Mawr cuts the cost of visiting both.

Best Time to Visit

May to September, when the walls and quay are at their best and the days are long; the town is busiest in July and August. The Honey Fair fills the streets in September, and spring and autumn are quieter times to walk the walls and the hills around the town.

Suggested Number of Days

The walled town itself is seen in a day. Three or four days make Conwy a base for the coast, the Conwy valley and the edge of Eryri, which is how many visitors use it; bad weather or a love of walking adds time.

First Visit
1 day
With Surroundings
3–4 days

Transportation

Everything in the walled town is on foot. Conwy station, inside the walls on the North Wales Coast Line, has local trains; long-distance services stop at Llandudno Junction across the river, a short taxi or bus ride away. Arriva buses run along the coast to Bangor and Llandudno and up the valley to Betws-y-Coed.

Most built-up roads in Wales have a 20 mph limit; parking inside the walls is very limited, so use the car parks outside.

Airport & Station Connections

Most visitors arrive by train or car along the North Wales coast. Llandudno Junction has direct trains from across the UK, including from London Euston in about three hours, and the A55 expressway passes the town in a tunnel beneath the river. National Express coaches serve nearby Bangor and Llandudno.

Walkability

Excellent. The walled town is small and almost everything is a few minutes apart, though some streets climb steeply towards the upper walls. The wall walks have steps and narrow stretches, and the bridges lead on foot across the river towards Deganwy and the nature reserve.

Safety

The UK is generally safe, with the main risks being pickpocketing and phone theft in crowded parts of London and other cities, occasional late-night antisocial behaviour, and drink-related trouble around nightlife. Conwy itself is a quiet small town; the hazards are the estuary's tides and sandbanks and the weather on the hills nearby.

Take care on the steps and narrow sections of the wall walk, and check the weather before walking on Conwy Mountain. Check current official travel advice before travelling.

Climate

A mild, changeable maritime climate. The North Wales coast is milder than the mountains of Eryri just inland, which are among the wettest places in Britain; weather changes quickly and rain is possible in any month.

Summer
warm and often sunny at low elevations in Wales, with average maximum temperatures of about 19–22°C
Winter
fairly wet across Wales, with temperatures at low levels usually staying above freezing (0°C)

Local Customs

People born inside the town walls are nicknamed Jackdaws, after the birds that live on the walls. About a quarter of the people of Conwy County Borough can speak Welsh. Tipping is not a strong custom in Britain; something extra for good service in a restaurant is welcome but not expected.

The parish church is a working place of worship — visit quietly outside services.

Common Payment Methods

The currency is the pound sterling. Many shops accept foreign credit and debit cards, and cash machines are very widely available in Britain; some businesses no longer accept cash.