About
Castell Conwy, Conwy Castle, is one of the most magnificent medieval fortresses in Europe, built with the town walls by Edward I and Master James of St George in just four years from 1283, and a World Heritage Site with Beaumaris, Caernarfon and Harlech since 1986. Eight lofty towers and a high curtain wall enclose the most intact set of medieval royal apartments in Wales, and restored spiral staircases let you walk a complete circuit of the battlements with Eryri's mountains beyond and the harbour below, still ringed by an unbroken 1.3 km of town walls that are free to walk. Richard II took refuge here in 1399 and Glyndwr's supporters seized it in 1401. Reviewers climb every tower for the estuary views, single out the model of medieval Conwy in the exhibition and warn of steep spiral stairs and a steep path up from the visitor centre. Dogs on short leads may use the ground floor from November to February only.
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- Castell Conwy09:30 – 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 notice (October 2026): the stretch of Conwy's town walls between the Watch Tower and the Wing Gate is closed while Cadw plans stronger railings and protective mesh, with reopening hoped for by Easter 2027; the walls are a separate free Cadw site and the castle ticket does not cover them.
Terrain level 4, strenuous: from the visitor centre at the foot of the castle a steep path of about 50 m with several steps leads up to the castle; inside, grass and flat cobbles with short flights of stairs to the great hall and east barbican, and steep, narrow, uneven spiral stairs with low light in the eight towers and on the wall walks; the castle can be enjoyed at ground level, and gravel and cobbles can defeat some mobility scooters. Visitor centre with low desks and wide automatic doors; toilets with baby changing on its lower level down a flight of stairs, and an accessible toilet at ground level by the entrance. Portable induction loop, water refill station, defibrillator, free Wi-Fi, exhibition with a model of medieval Conwy, gift shop with guidebooks; audio guide £3 for non-members (£2.50 for groups, free for Cadw members); no cafe. Drones are not permitted; beware low historic walls and gulls on the high parts.
Dogs: Pet dogs on short leads may use the ground-floor levels from 1 November to 28 February only; from March to October only assistance dogs are admitted.
Photo: Conwy Castle's great round towers and curtain wall, flying Welsh flags, seen from the town under a blue sky. Nilfanion, CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Conwy_Castle_(7989).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 routes2 routes
Conwy Town Walls (Cadw)(opens the full route on the National Trust site)
WalkstrenuousNot suitable for dogs
