About
Castell Caernarfon, Caernarfon Castle, is recognised around the world as one of the greatest buildings of the Middle Ages, a fortress-palace on the Seiont and a World Heritage Site with Conwy, Beaumaris and Harlech. Edward I and Master James of St George raised castle, town walls and quay together from 1283 in a project that took 47 years and cost £25,000, its polygonal towers, eagle statues and banded masonry echoing the walls of Constantinople. The future Edward II was born here in 1284 and two Princes of Wales were invested here in 1911 and 1969. The Eagle Tower's three turrets and 18-foot walls, the wall walks and the Royal Welch Fusiliers Museum, included in the ticket, fill several hours, and reviewers praise how much of the castle is open, the battlement views and the Eleanor of Castile story. Tips: the waterfront car park below means a short steep climb, and the best full view is from the Seiont footbridge.
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- Castell Caernarfon09:30 – 17:00last admission 16:30
Opening times may change at short notice.
Open daily all year: 1 March to 30 June 9.30am to 5pm; 1 July to 31 August 9.30am to 6pm; 1 September to 31 October 9.30am to 5pm; 1 November to 28 February 10am to 4pm. Last admission 30 minutes before closing. Closed 24, 25 and 26 December and 1 January. Cadw may close monuments at short notice in extreme weather.
Visitor notices (October 2026): the upper floors of the King's Gate, with its rooftop deck and lift, are not currently accessible while Cadw works to reopen them. The King's Gate cafe is closed; a pop-up serves light refreshments on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. Visitors who would need help to evacuate the King's Gate should pre-book, as only two can be accommodated at once (01286 677617).
Terrain level 4, strenuous: ramp access from the pavement through the King's Gate to admissions; cropped grass and even paths in the wards, but much of the site, including the wall walks and some rooms, is reached by steep, narrow, uneven spiral stairs with threshold steps and low doorways, windy on the towers; gravel and cobbles can defeat some mobility scooters. Two sets of toilets, one reached by a ramp with individual cubicles and changing areas, with baby changing. Audio guide to buy on arrival (free for Cadw members), portable induction loop, defibrillator, exhibitions and a video presentation, a loud audio-visual show with flashing lights in the North-East Tower, benches throughout, gift shop with guidebooks, free Wi-Fi. The Royal Welch Fusiliers Museum in two towers is included in the ticket. Drones are not permitted.
Dogs: Pet dogs on short leads may use the ground-floor levels from 1 November to 28 February only; from April to October only assistance dogs are admitted, and March is not covered by either rule.
Photo: The Eagle Tower and south curtain wall of Caernarfon Castle seen across the Seiont river, with the swing footbridge on the right. Mervyn Hughes, CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Caernarvon_Castle_taken_from_the_south_side_of_the_Seiont_river.jpg. Licence: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0. Resized and cropped for display; derivatives retain the source licence.
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Walking routes1 route
Menai Bridge to Caernarfon (Wales Coast Path)(opens the full route on the National Trust site)
WalkDog access not confirmed3 km distance
