Conwy Castle
About
Castell Conwy is the reason the town is the shape it is. Built between 1283 and 1287 under Master James of St George after Edward I's conquest of Gwynedd, it is a rectangular curtain-wall castle with eight towers and no keep, wedged onto a rock above the river so that its outline is dictated by the stone it stands on rather than by a plan. Together with its town walls it forms one of the four components of the UNESCO World Heritage Site inscribed in 1986 as Castles and Town Walls of King Edward in Gwynedd, the other three being Beaumaris, Harlech, and Caernarfon Castle and its town walls. That collective framing matters: Conwy is not a World Heritage Site on its own, it is one quarter of one. Cadw runs the site. Admission at the 1 June to 31 August 2026 band is £13.50 for an adult, £12.10 senior, £9.40 junior or student, £43.30 for two adults and up to three children, free for members, disabled visitors and under-fives, with a 5 per cent discount for booking online. Access from the visitor centre is via a steep path of roughly 50 metres with several sets of steps.
Photos
Highlights
- ✓Eight towers, an inner and outer ward, and no keep
- ✓Views down onto all three river crossings from the battlements
- ✓Part of the 1986 UNESCO inscription with Beaumaris, Harlech and Caernarfon
- ✓The castle and town walls were built together as one scheme in four years
Tips
- →Book online for the 5 per cent discount and to skip the ticket queue in August.
- →Winter hours drop to 10:00 to 16:00 from 1 November, with last admission half an hour before closing.
- →The towers involve spiral stairs and open drops. Cadw's access guide is worth reading first if that matters to you.
Best Season
Accessibility
Cadw states that access to the castle from the visitor centre is via a steep path of approximately 50 metres including several steps at various locations. The towers and wall-walks are not step-free. Cadw publishes a full access guide for the site.
Last verified 2026-08-17
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