Conwy, GB

A small first-floor restaurant on the High Street run by a chef who did a long stint at the Fat Duck, serving a Welsh tasting menu from an open kitchen. The cooking leans hard on north Wales produce and lesser-known regional traditions. The town's special-occasion table.

A modern-British dining room at the Aberconwy resort on the edge of town, with a theatre-style kitchen you can watch from the table. The menu runs to Welsh lamb and a proper Welsh cheese board. A dressier dinner out without driving far from the walls.

A small family-run bistro tucked up Chapel Street against the town walls, marrying French bistro technique with local ingredients and a courtyard garden. Bread and ice cream are made in house and the menu shifts with the seasons. Good for an unhurried dinner away from the High Street crowds.

A long-running seafood room up Church Walks in Llandudno where the chef-owner lands much of the fish himself and cooks Great Orme lobster and Conwy mussels. Cosy, family-run, and squarely about what came out of the sea that day. The destination fish dinner of the area.

The Conwy outpost of a north Wales seafood group, in a glassy waterside building with Menai mussels and seafood linguine front and centre. Relaxed, dog-friendly, and busy with families at lunch. A reliable, lighter-touch alternative to the white-tablecloth spots.

A family-run Italian on Lancaster Square that claims to be the first Italian in north Wales, open since 1960 and still doing wood-oven pizza and traditional pasta. Welsh produce works its way into the kitchen. A dependable, unfussy dinner in the heart of the walled town.

A husband-and-wife Indian restaurant on Station Road in Deganwy cooking traditional dishes with real attention rather than the usual curry-house template. Small, warm, and proud of its spicing. The pick if you want a curry without driving into Llandudno.

A small family-run Thai kitchen in the middle of Llandudno where the chef tends to come out and greet tables. Curries, spring rolls, and the usual Thai standards done properly in a tight, friendly room. The area's go-to for Thai food.

An award-winning butcher and deli on the High Street with a takeaway counter doing fresh sandwiches, pies, and salt-marsh-lamb rolls. It is where locals grab lunch to eat on the quay or up on the walls. Quality counter food rather than a sit-down meal.

An independent coffee-and-bookshop on the High Street with barista coffee, a short fresh food menu, and a community feel built on quizzes and events. Dogs get treats and water at the door. A friendly daytime base in the middle of town.

A first-floor cafe behind a pink doorway in the centre of Conwy doing full Welsh breakfasts, eggs benedict, Welsh rarebit, and afternoon tea. The room is stylish and the brunch is the main event. Best for a leisurely late-morning sit-down.

A High Street parlour from a family that has made ice cream in north Wales for over fifty years, with dozens of flavours blending Welsh dairy and Italian method. Cones, waffles, sundaes, and milkshakes. The quay also has a Parisella's booth in summer.

A Georgian coaching inn inside the walls, refurbished into a foodie pub with cask ales, a good wine list, and a courtyard garden over several levels. Pies and roasts are the strength. A solid pub dinner with rooms upstairs if you over-order.

A 16th-century inn up the valley road that bills itself as the first licensed house in Wales, doing seasonal Welsh pub classics by log fires. The three-cheese-and-onion pie and the brewery burger are house staples. A short drive out for a cosy country dinner.

The village pub at the heart of award-winning Rowen, with a walled garden, a riverside garden, and home-cooked food by the fire. Roasts and hearty mains plus genuine vegetarian options. A proper local in a pretty Conwy Valley village.

The free rampart circuit around the old town, roughly three quarters of a mile of wall-top path with 21 towers and views down into the streets and out to the estuary. A short, flat-ish orientation walk you can do in under an hour. The best first thing to do in Conwy.

A flat, easy stroll from the quay along the estuary edge past the marina and into the small Bodlondeb woodland and park. Mostly level paths with water on one side and birdlife on the mud at low tide. Good for a gentle leg-stretch with kids or after lunch.

A wetland reserve on the east bank of the estuary with a flat network of trails between lagoons, hides, and watchpoints looking back at the castle. Warblers, waders, and wildfowl depending on the season. An easy, family-friendly loop with benches and bird hides throughout.

A ridge walk straight up from the edge of town to the open summit of Conwy Mountain, with an Iron Age hillfort and big views over the estuary and the Carneddau. The shorter circular is a couple of moderate miles; longer loops link to the Sychnant Pass. The best quick climb from the walls.

A circular hill walk from the top of the Sychnant Pass over rough grass and stone tracks, with the Conwy Valley, the Carneddau, and the Great Orme spread out around you. Around four and a half miles with some moderate-to-steep pulls. A proper upland loop without a long drive.

A circular walk around the limestone headland above Llandudno from the summit, about three and a half miles past grazing goats, sea cliffs, and old mine workings. Views stretch over Liverpool Bay, the Menai Strait, and Anglesey. A breezy, moderate loop best done on a clear day.

Beyond ticking off the World Heritage box, the castle is a genuine couple of hours of exploring: spiral stairs, tower climbs, and the great hall, with information panels that bring the Edwardian conquest to life. Engaging for kids who like to climb and adults who like history. The town's headline attraction.

Half-hour boat trips from the quay down the estuary past the castle, the bridges, and the Great Orme, with live commentary and wildlife on the water. Longer wildlife runs out toward Puffin Island go in season. An easy, scenic outing the whole family can do.

Wales's royal-chartered art academy, tucked behind Plas Mawr off the High Street, showing contemporary and historical Welsh painting, prints, sculpture, and craft across changing exhibitions. Entry is free and there is a lift to the upper floors. A quiet, indoor half-hour, ideal on a wet day.

A Llandudno craft brewery with a taproom pouring ten of its own beers next to the brewhouse, with a kitchen turning out New York-style pizza. Industrial, lively, and aimed at people who want to taste through a range. The evening-and-adult option in the area.

Britain's only cable-hauled street tramway, running 1902-era cars up the Great Orme from Llandudno to the summit. The open-top ride climbs through the streets and out onto the headland with widening sea views. A short, gentle outing that doubles as transport up the hill.

A Bronze Age copper mine on the side of the Great Orme, the largest of its kind in the world, with a self-guided route down into 3,500-year-old tunnels plus a surface walk around the opencast workings. About 45 minutes underground and out. A genuinely unusual rainy-day option for families.

The National Trust's terraced hillside garden up the valley, with formal terraces, a famous laburnum arch, and a wooded water dell to wander. Plenty of room for kids to roam and a tea-room for afterward. A relaxed outdoor half-day that changes completely with the seasons.

North Wales's main theatre and arena, on the Llandudno promenade, programming touring musicals, drama, comedy, and concerts year-round. A proper night-out venue with sea-view foyers and in-house Welsh-produce catering. The area's go-to for an evening show.

Edward I's late-13th-century fortress with eight drum towers wrapped around the estuary, and the centrepiece of Conwy's UNESCO World Heritage listing. Climb the towers for a full sweep over the walled town, the quay, and the Carneddau beyond. Allow a couple of hours if you do the battlement circuit properly.

Three quarters of a mile of medieval wall built alongside the castle, still ringing the old town with 21 towers and three gateways intact. The wall-walk is free and gives a rampart-level look down into back gardens and out to the estuary. The single best way to get your bearings on arrival.

The best-preserved Elizabethan townhouse in Britain, built in the 1570s by merchant Robert Wynn and crammed with original lime plaster ceilings and painted heraldry. The free audio guide walks you through 17 rooms and the kitchens. A quiet, indoor counterpoint to the castle just up the hill.

A red two-room cottage on the quay, 72 inches wide, verified by Guinness as the smallest house in Britain and lived in until the 1900s. A guide in Welsh costume lets you peek inside the single bed and tiny hearth. A two-minute novelty stop, but a genuine one with a real history.

The working harbour where mussel boats still land their catch and the smallest house sits at the end of the wall. It is where locals walk after dinner and where the sightseeing boats and crab-line sellers set up. Best at high tide when the boats are floating rather than sat on mud.

Thomas Telford's 1826 suspension bridge, built to match the castle's battlements and now in National Trust hands, closed to traffic and free to walk. The restored toll keeper's house at the far end shows how the family lived. A short, photogenic crossing right beneath the castle walls.

An 80-acre National Trust garden on the Conwy Valley hillside, famous for its Italianate terraces and the laburnum arch that drips yellow in late spring. Paths drop from formal lawns down to a wild water garden of giant conifers. A half-day for keen gardeners, a calm hour for everyone else.

The limestone headland rising over Llandudno, grazed by feral Kashmiri goats and laced with paths to a summit cafe and ancient copper mines. You can drive the toll road, ride the historic tram, or walk up from the pier. A breezy half-day with sea views toward Anglesey and, on clear days, the Isle of Man.