Caernarfon Castle

I visit castles wherever I can, I love them. So far this has been the most disappointing experience. One star is given for the friendly front staff and complimentary brochure.
Usually there’s a gasp of amazement when I first see a castle. On this occasion my reaction was do I want to stay here?
The first thing I saw was a huge amount of scaffolding covering the left side of the castle. I know there has to be restoration work etc but honestly why would they not advise at the start the castle is covered in scaffolding do you still want to view it? I would have said no.
I love taking photos of the castles however I was unable to take any of the outside because of the scaffolding. The large posters placed all around and the modern benches propped up against the castle also prevented me from taking photos. It’s fantastic visitors have somewhere to sit but honestly why would I want a photo of a castle with a picnic bench propped up against it? Hardly in keeping with the history is it? Just move the benches to a segregated area.
I think younger children would like the experience of the videos and talks on the castle history in the different areas. I didn’t stay for these.
I left feeling I had wasted half a day, wasted £10 on entry and feeling very deflated.

Booking for our visit the day before due to the corona virus was well worth it. Although building work is ongoing and restricted viewing to half of the castle our visit was fascinating. Built around 1283 and to hear about it's history and viewing the architecture was fascinating. Edward born to King Edward 1 and Queen Eleanor was invested as the first Prince of Wales and was to speak only Welsh and not English. The title Prince of Wales has carried on for 700 years. Prince Charles being the the current Prince of wales.

During covid-19 pandemic, you must book a slot at least 24hrs before visit. We're Cadw members so luckily knew this, many people were being turned away if they hadn't booked with no availability for 2-3 days.
This castle is very impressive, large and plenty to see. We spent just over an hour exploring. There is a one way system in place and admission capacity has been reduced to ensure social distancing is possible. This does take away the ability to return to see another part again as once you're on the route, you cant change. Make sure you sit and watch the video on the projector, which details the history of the castle. Very interesting. Cadw have done very well to ensure the publics safety whilst visiting. Bear in mind too, that the shop closes 1pm-2pm, so if you're likely to want to purchase something, make sure you book a slot outside of that time.

Visited here as a family August 2022. We found the castle to be easy enough to walk around although some of the steps were tricky for our youngest (3 and a half). Plenty of information around to learn about the castle. There is a room that showed a video of the history of the castle, which we found interesting and informative. The Royal Welch Fusiliers Museum inside the castle was also very interesting. It was a shame there is currently work ongoing at the castle, we would like to return when it’s completed. We paid for a family Cadw membership which entrance was included, which I would recommend if planning on visiting multiple places within a year. Parking a bit expensive in main car park outside as can only buy a ticket for the whole day at £6.

A supposed highlight of castles in Wales disappoints, with misunderstood focus on tourist comfort.

After having visited several castles across Wales and as a history buff, it was with particular excitement, that I arrived at the Caenarfon Castle with its rich history. Unfortunately I was quickly disappointed.

Welsh authorities have correctly identified a large interest from tourists, but for some reason have interfered with the authenticity of the castle. A café in the courtyard, large wheelchair ramps, benches and other accommodation being built above the King's Gate, plateau outside the queens gate and finally odd alien installations in different chambers within the castle make it impossible to take in the history of the place.

Whilst trying to accommodate a completely understandable interest from the public, it has become almost impossible to get an authentic feel for a grandiose castle built in the 1300s.

Money and time would be much better spent in Beaumaris Castle, Conwy castle or in particular the smaller Harlech - if you are looking to experience the breath of history, rather than an ice cream amongst the other tourists at Caenarfon Castle.

Well worth the visit, lots to see. During covid they offer time slots which was good to manage the number of people inside - didnt feel at all busy.

Friendly staff.

We did this castle and conwy- would certainly choose Caernarfon!

We visited on a very sunny day and it was nice to get into the cool insides of this impressive castle. Imposing and visible from the whole town it's a very well fortified castle with an interesting history that I wasn't aware of but is well documented in some interesting formats and 'sets' around the various rooms. There is a very good flow to walking around the castle some inside, some outside which culminates with a museum tour focussing on the Welsh regiments of the British Army's involvement at all the major campaigns over the centuries. You need to book ahead (or we did and you could not walk in off the street last week w/c2nd Aug) - It will take you a good couple of hours to half a day depending on how interested you are on reading everything.
Parking is all over town and easy to find.

This castle is so much fun to explore! You can walk along the battlements, up and down lots of tiny stone staircases and climbing the winding steps up to the top of the castle towers for some great views

This is a proper stone castle so yes sometimes the walkways are uneven, but this is all part of the charm! We spent around 2 hours here, before having to move on. We highly recommend, especially for those wit adventurous kids who like to explore.

Entry was £9.90 each in August 2019, we parked Parking by the river in the large carpark for £5.

I spent around 5 hours wandering around the castle and museum recently and I thoroughly enjoyed the experience. There are a lot of steep narrow steps to climb if you want to experience the towers, so bear that in mind, but it was well worth it, if a little bit hair-raising at times! There are some renovations ongoing so part of the castle has been cordoned off but there is still plenty to see with views from the towers and the museum pieces which explain the history of the castle, and also the Royal Fuselier's museum, which was incredibly detailed, and full of information and exhibits. Lovely small cafe which I thought was very reasonably priced, good range of food and drinks and very friendly staff. There was no audio guide when I visited but I was given a printed guide book which would normally have cost £5 and there are a couple of spots within the castle where you can watch a film which narrates and shows you footage and artist impressions of the history of how Caernarfon was built and the various sieges it withstood. Actual news footage of the investiture of both (now) King Charles and King Edward VIII who went onto abdicate. Really fascinating stuff. Your day ticket enables you to literally spend all day if you wish and you can come in and out of the castle at any point with your ticket during that day. Really enjoyable time, thoroughly recommend.

The weather on our weekend away was pretty awful so we decided to go into the castle and we loved it! For a modest entry fee, you are free to explore all the nooks and crannies, go up all the towers and finish off with the museum of the Welsh Fusiliers. This was unexpectedly engaging and Stuart was most knowledgable and brought the exhibits to life for us. Low key compared to a lot of castles but well worth a visit. Looks like some regeneration/improvements are happening to the outside, will definitely return. Coffee shop was nice too.