List of tourist attractions in Wales

This is a list of tourist attractions in Wales, sorting attractions by settlement, protected area and popularity from across the country of Wales, United Kingdom.

The Wales Millennium Centre

By settlement

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The following list are of attractions in notable settlements in Wales.

 
Tenby harbour.

National parks

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At present, Wales has three national parks: Snowdonia, Pembrokeshire Coast and the Brecon Beacons National Park, as well as five areas of outstanding natural beauty (AONB), which together form the Protected areas of Wales.[18]

Name Photo Principal area(s) Date formed[19] Area
Snowdonia (Eryri)   Gwynedd, Conwy

52°54′N 3°51′W / 52.900°N 3.850°W / 52.900; -3.850

18 October 1951 2,142 square kilometres (827.0 sq mi)
Pembrokeshire Coast (Arfordir Penfro)   Pembrokeshire

51°50′N 5°05′W / 51.833°N 5.083°W / 51.833; -5.083

29 February 1952 620 square kilometres (239.4 sq mi)
Brecon Beacons (Bannau Brycheiniog)   Blaenau Gwent, Carmarthenshire, Merthyr Tydfil, Powys, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Monmouthshire, Torfaen, Caerphilly

51°53′N 3°26′W / 51.883°N 3.433°W / 51.883; -3.433

17 April 1957 1,351 square kilometres (521.6 sq mi)

Landscape features

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Many features of the Welsh landscape that are popular with visitors, include:

 
Snowdon (Yr Wyddfa), the highest mountain in Wales.

Independent attractions

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There are several notable independent attractions:

Top 10 paid attractions

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Portmeirion

The following are the most popular paid attractions in Wales (2019) in order of the number of visits:

  1. LC, Swansea – a waterpark and leisure complex
  2. Cardiff Castle
  3. Folly Farm
  4. Bodnant Garden
  5. Portmeirion
  6. Zip World Fforest
  7. Dyffryn Gardens
  8. Welsh Mountain Zoo
  9. National Botanic Garden of Wales
  10. Zip World Penrhyn Quarry[32]

Top 8 free attractions

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St Fagans National Museum of History

The Association of Leading Visitor Attractions (ALVA) report for 2023 lists the following eight free-admission Welsh attractions in order of the number of visits (the first figure is visitor numbers the second, the attraction's UK ranking):[33]

  1. St Fagans National Museum of History (594,990) (61)
  2. National Museum Cardiff (378,349) (108)
  3. National Waterfront Museum (228,271) (157)
  4. National Slate Museum (135,809) (208)
  5. Big Pit National Coal Museum (116,906) (218)
  6. WWT Llanelli Wetlands Centre (57,179) (270)
  7. National Roman Legion Museum (57,030) (273)
  8. National Wool Museum (19,605) (322)

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "No more tourist information staff in Cardiff city centre, but businesses say they hope giving hotel staff city tour will help", Wales Online, 23 March 2015. Retrieved 23 January 2016.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "Welsh cities". Wales. 2019-06-19. Retrieved 2022-07-08.
  3. ^ 2011 Census: Usual resident population by five-year age group, local authorities in England and Wales – 2011 census Archived 21 July 2012 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ "2010 Ryder Cup | Celtic Manor Resort". Celtic Manor Resort. Retrieved 2022-07-08.
  5. ^ a b "Queen's Jubilee: Wrexham becomes Wales' seventh city". BBC News. 20 May 2022. Retrieved 3 August 2022.
  6. ^ "Things to do in Wrexham, the new city in North East Wales". VisitWales. Retrieved 2023-01-01.
  7. ^ Parish Headcounts for Pembrokeshire Archived 10 September 2012 at the Wayback Machine (based on 2001 Census) at Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 2011-08-01.
  8. ^ "GENUKI: St David's". Retrieved 4 November 2020.
  9. ^ "St Davids, Holiday Cottages, Hotels, Camping & Things To Do". www.visitpembrokeshire.com. Retrieved 2022-07-08.
  10. ^ a b "Tourism: Llandudno and Tenby still Wales' top holiday destinations as Cardiff enjoys visitor boom". 3 September 2014.
  11. ^ "Family days out in Llandudno". VisitWales. Retrieved 2022-07-08.
  12. ^ "Things to do on holiday in Llandudno and Colwyn Bay". VisitWales. Retrieved 2022-07-08.
  13. ^ "Alice in Wonderland Town Trail Llandudno". VisitWales. Retrieved 2022-07-08.
  14. ^ "Dolgellau | Visit Snowdonia". www.visitsnowdonia.info. Retrieved 2022-07-08.
  15. ^ "Things to do in Aberystwyth". VisitWales. Retrieved 2022-07-08.
  16. ^ CBC, Visit Merthyr-Merthyr Tydfil. "Attractions | visitmerthyr.co.uk". Visit Merthyr. Retrieved 2022-07-08.
  17. ^ "Things to do in Barry and Barry Island". VisitWales. Retrieved 2022-07-08.
  18. ^ "National Parks of Wales". npapa.org.uk. Retrieved 21 February 2021.
  19. ^ "National Parks Listed in Chronological Order of Date Designated". National Parks. 27 June 2005. Archived from the original on 21 April 2013. Retrieved 6 March 2012.
  20. ^ "Guide to walking routes up Snowdon". VisitWales. Retrieved 2022-07-06.
  21. ^ Nuttall, John & Anne (1999). The Mountains of England & Wales - Volume 1: Wales (2nd edition ed.). Milnthorpe, Cumbria: Cicerone. ISBN 1-85284-304-7.
  22. ^ "Offa's Dyke Path National Trail". National Trails. Retrieved 2022-07-08.
  23. ^ "Walk or cycle from Cardiff to Pontypridd and back". VisitWales. Retrieved 2022-07-08.
  24. ^ "Route Description - Glyndwr's Way". National Trails. Retrieved 2022-07-08.
  25. ^ "Afan & The Vale of Neath". Visit Swansea Bay. Retrieved 2022-07-08.
  26. ^ "Discover the Wales Coast Path". Visit Wales. Retrieved 2022-07-08.
  27. ^ "Padarn Country Park | Visit Snowdonia". www.visitsnowdonia.info. Retrieved 2022-07-08.
  28. ^ "WWT Llanelli Wetland Centre | VisitWales". www.visitwales.com. Retrieved 2022-07-08.
  29. ^ "Great Little Trains of Wales | Visit Snowdonia". www.visitsnowdonia.info. Retrieved 2022-07-08.
  30. ^ "Guide of what to do and see at Folly Farm". VisitWales. Retrieved 2022-07-08.
  31. ^ CBC, Visit Merthyr-Merthyr Tydfil. "Brecon Mountain Railway | visitmerthyr.co.uk". Visit Merthyr. Retrieved 2022-07-08.
  32. ^ "Most visited paid attractions in Wales". Statista. Retrieved 2022-07-08.
  33. ^ "Visits made in 2023 to visitor attractions in membership with ALVA". Association of Leading Visitor Attractions. Spring 2024. Retrieved 23 August 2024.