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Photo: Herbert Ortner, CC BY 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
(Welsh: Castell Caernarfon). An impressive work began in 1283 by England's King Edward I as his planned seat of power in his attempt to subjugate Wales. Like Beaumaris, this castle was quite functional, although never 100% completed.
Caernarfon Castle is a medieval fortress in Gwynedd, north-west Wales. The first fortification on the site was a motte-and-bailey castle built in the late 11th century, which King Edward I of England began to replace with the current stone structure in 1283. The castle and town established by Edward acted as the administrative centre of north Wales, and as a result the defences were built on a grand scale. There was a deliberate link with Caernarfon's Roman past—nearby is the Roman fort of Segontium—and the castle's walls are reminiscent of the Walls of Constantinople.
© OpenStreetMap contributors
Thought to date back to 1522, it is one of the oldest inns in North Wales. Northgate Street — 'Stryd Pedwar a Chwech' ('Four and Six Street') in Welsh — is within the medieval town walls, with low-slung black beamed ceilings and walls up to 1.5 m thick. The Inn is steeped in history, with four Inn signs each showing a 'black buoy' on one side and a 'black boy' on the other.
Caernarfon's the starting point for the Welsh Highland Railway, offering a journey on one of the world's most powerful 2' gauge steam locomotives through the fabulous scenery of the Snowdonia National Park and onward to Porthmadog.
Victoria Dock
Set alongside the beautiful harbour of Caernarfon, it includes a creative arts centre, a minute or two by foot from the town walls. It has a bar, cafe and restaurant, art exhibition, hosts concerts, films and events and is packed with small arty companies.
Site of a historic Roman fort founded by Agricola around 77 AD.