Discover the Story of Wales
Map
Itineraries
Cymraeg
A walk around Wales – from Celtic times to the present day, St Fagans is one of Europe's leading open–air museums and Wales's most popular heritage attraction. Discover how people lived and worked in Wales in the past by visiting one of the many original re-erected historic buildings including family homes, a farm, a school, a church, shops. It even has its own Castle! Admission free.
Located in the heart of Cardiff’s elegant civic centre, National Museum Cardiff houses Wales’s national art, natural history and geology collections. There’s plenty to see and enjoy from Impressionist paintings to gigantic dinosaurs to space rocks! Admission free.
The Senedd, over-looking the waters of Cardiff Bay, is the main public building of the Welsh Parliament and the main centre for democracy and devolution in Wales.
www.senedd.wales/visit/our-estate/the-senedd-a-landmark-building/
The Pierhead Building is one of Cardiff's most familiar landmarks. Built in 1897 as the headquarters for the Bute Dock Company, it is part of the estate of Senedd Cymru (the Welsh Parliament). The clock on the building is unofficially known as the "Baby Big Ben" or the "Big Ben of Wales". Now, the Pierhead is a unique visitor, events and conference venue for the people of Wales.
www.visitcardiff.com/highlights/pierhead/
The Wales Millennium Centre is an arts centre located in the Cardiff Bay area of the city. The centre hosts performances of opera, ballet, contemporary dance, theatre comedy and musicals.
This beautiful cathedral is a focus of pilgrimage and spirituality. There has been a Christian presence at the site from the time of Saint Teilo in the 6th century and the present building dates from the Norman period, around 1120. The Cathedral was devastated in 1941 by the explosion of a German landmine.
A place shaped by the local community, Tredegar House and its surrounding gardens and parkland stand proudly at the heart of Newport’s heritage. Tredegar House is a 17th-century Charles II-era mansion and for over five hundred years it was home to the Morgan family, later Lords Tredegar.
www.nationaltrust.org.uk/tredegar-house
Rhondda Heritage Park is a tourist attraction which offers an insight into the life of the coal mining community that existed in the area until 1990. Visitors can experience the life of the coal miners on a guided tour through the Lewis Merthyr colliery. Tours are led by former colliery workers. Rhondda Heritage Park is an anchor point of ERIH, The European Route of Industrial Heritage.
Nantgarw China Works is the only surviving early 19th century porcelain works in the United Kingdom. In the years 1813-1814 and again in the period 1817-1820 the finest porcelain in the world was produced here in Wales by William Billingsley, one of the most remarkable porcelain painters and manufacturers of his time.
www.nantgarwchinaworksmuseum.co.uk
Tinkinswood Burial Chamber (also known as Castell Carreg, Llech-y-Filiast and Maes-y-Filiast) is a megalithic burial chamber, built around 6,000 years ago, during the Neolithic period, in the Vale of Glamorgan, near Cardiff. A spectacular feat of prehistoric engineering, the tomb is topped with one of the largest capstones in Britain. The site is also associated with a number of legends – it is said that anyone who spent the night here on the evenings before May Day, St John’s Day (23 June) or Midwinter Day would die, go mad or become a poet!
Located at the gateway to the South Wales Valleys, partly within the Brecon Beacons National Park, the Blaenavon Industrial Landscape is a testament to the human endeavour of coal miners and ironworkers of the past. Set in 33 square kilometres, it is an UNESCO World Heritage Site. All the attractions are within walking distance.
Set in a Georgian Stable Block, Pontypool Museum houses a collection of local artefacts with an outstanding display of Japanware, which was made in the town from the middle of the 18th century. Learn more about Pontypool Park and ponder on the very interesting collections of Victorian 'domestic life', Glantorfaen Dining Furniture, Churches and Chapels, commercial history, clockmaking, Rorke's Drift and industrial Torfaen.
The museum is situated on the ground floor of the Metropole Theatre on Market Street. It is a vital part of any visit to Abertillery, and an invaluable resource for local people wishing to learn more and enjoy and understand the rich cultural and industrial heritage of the area.
www.abertilleryanddistrictmuseum.org.uk
Abergavenny Museum is set in the grounds of a 'ruined' Norman Castle. The museum building was formerly a hunting lodge built by the Marquess of Abergavenny. The displays tell the story of this historic market town from prehistory through to the present day.
The luxury and bloodshed of life in a Roman fortress! Explore the remains of the immense natation, or open-air swimming pool, that once held more than 80,000 gallons of water. Visit the cramped rooms where the men slept and stored their weapons – the only Roman legionary barracks still on view in Europe – and walk through the great north entrance into the most complete Roman amphitheatre in Britain and imagine the din of 6,000 people baying for blood.
Step back in time at the National Roman Legion Museum and explore life in a far-flung outpost of the mighty Roman Empire. Wales was the furthest outpost of the Roman Empire. In AD 75, the Romans built a fortress at Caerleon that would guard the region for over 200 years. Learn what made the Romans a formidable force and how life wouldn't be the same without them. See exhibitions and artefacts that show us how they lived, fought, worshipped and died and enjoy the sights, sounds and smells of the beautiful Roman Garden. Admission free.
The Newport Transporter Bridge is a bridge that crosses the River Usk in Newport, south east Wales, and is one of fewer than 10 transporter bridges that remain in use worldwide. As well as a working transport link, the bridge is also open as a tourist attraction, visitors can climb the towers and walk across the upper deck for a small charge.
The Newport Medieval Ship is a 15th century merchant vessel unearthed in the heart of Newport in 2002. Today, the ship remains in pieces whilst the timbers are being conserved. When this process is complete, it will be reconstructed in a permanent display space. To learn more about the ship you can visit the Ship Centre on one of their regular open days.
Newport Museum and Art Gallery tell the story of Newport from prehistoric times to the 20th Century. There are also temporary exhibitions always offering something new to explore.
Llanyrafon Farm is a museum in Cwmbran. The museum features exhibits related to science, technology and social history.
An elegant Georgian villa, set in the wooded Aeron valley, Llanerchaeron has remained remarkably unaltered for over 200 years. This self-sufficient estate includes a farm, walled gardens and lake and is a rare example of a self-sufficient 18th-century Welsh gentry. The villa, designed in the 1790s, is the most complete example of the early work of John Nash.
The Swansea Museum is the oldest museum in Wales and a real treasure house of the ordinary and the extraordinary from Swansea past and present. Visit Swansea Museum at two locations - the Museum itself on Oystermouth Road, and the Tram shed in Dylan Thomas Square in the Marina.
Opened by former U.S. president Jimmy Carter in 1995, the Dylan Thomas Centre is now home to all things literary and cultural for the city and county of Swansea. The permanent exhibition is dedicated to Wales’s premiere poet, Dylan Thomas, and simultaneously provides a platform for new and established writers. The centre operates as home to the literature and arts programme for the city, with a busy and thriving calendar of events.
The Egypt Centre is Wales' largest collection of Egyptian antiquities. It is based in Swansea University and has an exciting programme of events, talks and activities for all ages.
Take in the sights and sounds of more than 300 years of Welsh industry and innovation, using cutting-edge interactive technology that puts the past right at your fingertips. Housed in an original listed warehouse linked to an ultra-modern slate and glass building, discover the transport, materials and networks that were so important and the 'big things' that contributed so much to the industrial history of our nation. Soak up the history with a breath-taking mix of old and new in the city's rapidly developing maritime quarter. Free entry.
Located in the heart of Padarn Country Park at the foot of Mount Snowdon, the National Slate Museum is a living museum telling the story of the slate industry in Wales. Visit the original engineering workshops including the enormous waterwheel, wander through the quarrymen's houses and watch our craftsmen split slate in daily demonstrations. Admission free.
Part of the Slate Landscape of Northwest Wales World Heritage Site: www.llechi.cymru
Portmeirion is the renowned Italian style coastal tourist village designed and built by the famous Welsh architect, Sir Clough Williams-Ellis, between 1925 and 1975. It has been the location of several films and dramas, including the 1960s television show The Prisoner. Wander through the captivating landscape found all over the village and take a walk in the beautiful gardens as you wander down to the coastline.
Storiel is a museum and art gallery in Bangor housing a unique local collection and a changing programme of exhibitions.
Yr Ysgwrn is the family home of poet Hedd Wyn and reflects a period of social, cultural and agricultural history at the turn of the 20th century. Hedd Wyn's life and death are representative of an entire generation of young men from Wales, Britain and Europe, who gave the ultimate sacrifice during the First World War. The location is peaceful, set in a landscape of moving grandeur and beauty, and offers opportunities for reflection.
www.yrysgwrn.com/our-story/introduction
The Lloyd George Museum on the Llŷn Peninsula tells the inspirational story of the boy from the small village of Llanystumdwy that became the Prime Minister during the First World War. A reformer who changed all our lives by introducing fundamental social reforms like National Insurance and the State Pension. Visit the cottage where Lloyd George grew up, restored to the time when he lived there, between 1864-1880.
Cae’r Gors is the childhood home of literary heroine Kate Roberts and a showcase for a unique industrial landscape. She grew up in Cae’r Gors, a humble quarryman’s cottage and smallholding on the slopes above the Nantlle Valley near Caernarfon. It shaped her imagination and stayed with her long after she left home at the age of 18 and her books, clogs and cloak are there to remind you of this remarkable period of Welsh industrial history.
www.cadw.gov.wales/visit/places-to-visit/caer-gors
Llanddwyn Island is a magical place and its rolling dunes, large rock outcrops and mixture of historic buildings makes it an ideal place for an afternoon of exploration. The name Llanddwyn means "The church of St. Dwynwen," the Welsh patron saint of lovers, and her feast day on 25 January is celebrated by the Welsh with cards and flowers. Visit the chapel that was built in the 16th century on the site of Dwynwen's original chapel, the ruins of which can still be seen today.
www.naturalresources.wales/days-out/places-to-visit/north-west-wales/newborough/
South Stack is one of Anglesey’s must-see landscapes, located on Holy Island. It is Anglesey’s most westerly point, lying some 3 miles to the west of Holyhead. The lighthouse was built in 1809 and is reached by a descent of 400 steps down a steep cliff face. South Stack Cliffs are a wonderful reserve for birds with guillemots, razorbills and puffins breeding on the iconic cliffs.
www.rspb.org.uk/reserves-and-events/reserves-a-z/south-stack-cliffs/
The World Heritage Site of Pontcysyllte Aqueduct is a navigable aqueduct that carries the Llangollen Canal across the River Dee in the Vale of Llangollen in north east Wales. You can walk across it or save your legs and take a leisurely boat ride.
www.pontcysyllte-aqueduct.co.uk
Holywell takes its name from the town’s major feature, the world famous St. Winifride’s Holy Well; one of the Seven Wonders of Wales. St Winefride’s Well is a Grade 1 listed building and it is claimed to be the oldest visited pilgrimage site in Great Britain having welcomed pilgrims and visitors for over 1,300 years.
Erddig is located on an escarpment above the winding River Clywedog a mile south of Wrexham. It comprises a country house built during the 17th and 18th centuries amidst a 1,900 acre estate, which includes a landscaped pleasure park and the earthworks of a Norman motte-and-bailey castle. Erddig has been described as 'the most evocative Upstairs Downstairs house in Britain’ due to the well-rounded view it presents of the lifestyles of all its occupants, family and staff. The collection, coupled with well-preserved servants' rooms and an authentic laundry, bake house, sawmill, and smithy, provide an insight into how 18th to 20th century servants lived. The state rooms contain fine furniture, textiles and wallpapers and the fully restored walled garden is one of the most important surviving 18th century gardens in Britain.
