7 Fairy-Tale Small Towns In Wales
If desiring a fairy tale vacation, make the whimsical trip to Wales. A constituent country in the United Kingdom, Wales not only abounds with fairy tale hallmarks (a dragon on its flag, more castles per square mile than any other European country, etc.) but it also birthed many legends of European folklore. These legendary cradles surround small settlements, where you can frolic like a fairy tale hero after conquering real mountains and slaying metaphoric dragons. Enjoy seven of the most fantastical small towns in fantastic Wales.
Caernarfon
Castles center many a fairy tale realm, and Wales is no different. Fortifying the nation's northwestern corner are the Castles and Town Walls of King Edward in Gwynedd, a UNESCO World Heritage Site comprising medieval architecture built after the titular English king's conquest of Wales. Awe tinged with terror emanates from those colonial relics, especially Beaumaris Castle in Beaumaris, Harlech Castle in Harlech, Conwy Castle in Conwy, and Caernarfon Castle in Caernarfon. A "royal" settlement, as designated by Queen Elizabeth II in 1963, Caernarfon boasts not just the eponymous castle, but also town walls that date back to the same medieval period. Moreover, Caernarfon is situated in the county of Gwynedd, which was once the Kingdom of Gwynedd. Kingdoms and realms are literal parts of Wales that furnish the fairy tale fantasies of outsiders.
Merthyr Mawr
Beyond kingdoms and realms, Wales has vales. Journey through South Wales to arrive at Merthyr Mawr, a village in Bridgend County Borough (historic Glamorgan). This village hosts just a couple of hundred people, many of whom live in colorful thatch-roof cottages seemingly designed by Disney. Yet they, along with the central Merthyr Mawr House, predate the Mouse House by about a century. In fact, their architectural style inspired the homes of Snow White, Aurora, and other Disney princesses. Merthyr Mawr's cottages complement nearby castles, though they are nowhere near as grand as those on the big screen—nor as preserved as the Edwardian fortresses in Gwynedd. Yet Candleston Castle and Ogmore Castle, both of which date to the Middle Ages, are picturesque in their ivy-strewn decay. But while exploring the latter's ruins, be wary of Y Ladi Wen (The White Lady), an alleged apparition and one of numerous legends wonderfully woven into real Welsh attractions.
Cardigan
Cardigan is a small town off Cardigan Bay, the supposed site of a legendary sunken kingdom called Cantre'r Gwaelod, AKA the "Welsh Atlantis." But do not spend long scanning the bay for quasi-Atlantean illusions. Instead, turn to Cardigan for real-life legends, especially Cardigan Castle, a medieval fortress where the first recorded eisteddfod, now the foremost Welsh cultural festival, took place in 1176. Although it will be held in a different town in 2026, the National Eisteddfod will commemorate 850 years since the initial Cardigan event. Other castle-held events include the Craft Festival Wales and Christmas at the Castle. After such festivities, you can continue your fairy tale foray outside ornate Georgian homes and inside the Welsh Wildlife Centre & Teifi Marshes.
Betws-y-Coed
Betws-y-Coed's slogan is "The Gateway to Snowdonia." Though it sounds like an icy kingdom, Snowdonia is an icy highland preserved as Eryri (Snowdonia) National Park. Pass through Betws-y-Coed, making sure to admire its charming shops and vintage architecture, before exploring the mountains, lakes, waterfalls, and Arthurian legends of Snowdonia. According to Welsh folklore, King Arthur was bestowed Excalibur by the Lady of the Lake, who resided in Snowdonia's Llyn Llydaw. Further, after facilitating King Arthur's birth, Merlin is said to have recuperated at Snowdonia's Fairy Glen, an enriching gorge that, true to its name, is also full of fairies. More fantastical sights can be found in Gwydir Forest Park, which surrounds Betws-y-Coed and contains a couple dozen of diverse trails.
Laugharne
Laugharne is known more for poems than for fairy tales, but that does not lessen its magic. For nearly two decades, this tiny South Wales town was the on-again, off-again home of renowned Welsh poet Dylan Thomas. Do go gentle into that good town via the Dylan Thomas Birthday Walk, a roughly two-mile route around St John’s Hill, which Thomas walked on his 30th birthday and commemorated with 1944's Poem In October. Along "the hill's shoulder," you shall see the estuary of the River Tâf, the Gower Peninsula, Caldey Island, and the Dylan Thomas Boathouse, a museum today where Thomas once lived from 1949 to 1953. Follow that up with a tour of Thomas's other haunts, such as The Cross House Inn at 1 The Grist. And if you are lucky, Dylan's Mobile Bookstore will be in town to provide an authentic souvenir.
But you need not restrict your visit to Thomas-related sights. As with almost any Welsh town, Laugharne enchants with medieval structures, chief of which is Laugharne Castle overlooking the estuary.
Tongwynlais
Not all Welsh castles date back to the Middle Ages. Castell Coch, perched above the South Wales village of Tongwynlais, is a 19th-century fortification on a 13th-century foundation. Multiple medieval castles stood on that site before falling into ruin. Those ruins inspired a Victorian-era reconstruction project that resulted in fantastical Castell Coch. Because it was built for style rather than substance, Coch looks more like a fairy tale fortress than its authentically ancient brethren. It helps that Fforest Fawr (the Great Forest) flanks Coch like an enchanted forest. After storming the castle and wandering the woods, head to nearby Cardiff for Cardiff Castle, another historic site with fantastical furnishings in Norman, Victorian, Gothic, and even Moorish styles.
Portmeirion
Portmeirion has scant medieval roots. Rather, this enchanting North Wales "village" was built from scratch by architect Sir Clough Williams-Ellis between 1925 and 1976. Village is in quotes because nobody lives there permanently. But many people—more than 200,000 per year—temporarily lose themselves in Williams-Ellis's oasis. Wanting to prove "that buildings properly situated within a landscape could actually enhance the scenery," as the BBC reported, Williams-Ellis filled his plot of wilderness with plenty of whimsical buildings to the delight of tourists, many of whom were celebrities. You do not have to be a celebrity to stay overnight in Portmeirion. While you cannot stay forever, you can book the Hotel Portmeirion, Village Rooms, and/or Castell Deudraeth for an extended fairy tale adventure.
Find Your Fairy Tale in Wales
Beyond resembling a fairy tale, Wales is the substrate from which fairy tales grow. The most fertile sites are tiny towns in the far reaches of the country, which have the time and space to produce legends of epic proportions. Conjure King Edward in Caernarfon, wake the White Lady in Merthyr Mawr, raise Welsh Atlantis in Cardigan, retrieve Excalibur in Betws-y-Coed, resurrect Dylan Thomas in Laugharne, storm Castell Coch in Tongwynlais, and make new fairy tales in Portmeirion during your whimsical Welsh vacation.
