11 Best Sights in Swansea, Wales

This peninsula, which stretches westward from Swansea, was the first part of Britain to be designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Its shores are a succession of sheltered sandy bays and awesome headlands. The seaside resort of Mumbles, on the outskirts of Swansea, is the most famous town along the route. It's a pleasant place to wander on a sunny afternoon, with a Norman castle, an amusement pier, and a seaside promenade, as well as a variety of independent cafés and boutiques. Farther along the peninsula, the secluded Pwlldu Bay can only be reached on foot from nearby villages like Southgate. A few miles westward is the more accessible (and very popular) Three Cliffs Bay, with its sweeping views and wide, sandy beach. At the far western tip of the peninsula, Rhossili has perhaps the best beach of all. Its unusual, snaking causeway—known locally as the Worm's Head—is inaccessible at high tide. Gower is a popular destination with surfers and you'll find many other water sports offered here.

This 568-acre, 18th-century estate is dotted with lakes, fountains, and a Japanese garden. The centerpiece is the Norman Foster–designed Great Glass House, the largest single-span greenhouse in the world, which blends into the curving landforms of the Tywi Valley. The greenhouse's interior landscape includes a 40-foot-deep ravine and thousands of plants from all over the world. The Ghost Forest is a stunning art installation, made from the carved stumps of 10 giant hardwood trees—a powerful statement on how rapidly the world's forests are being destroyed. Also here is the British Bird of Prey Centre, where you can watch native raptors flying daily, including a golden eagle. The grounds have lovely views across the Carmarthenshire countryside, especially from the Paxton's View lookout point. It's marked by Paxton's Tower, a Gothic folly built to honor Horatio Nelson, now owned by the National Trust (it's free to wander, though there's nothing to see inside). The garden, 20 miles northwest of Swansea, is signposted off the main road between Swansea and Carmarthen.

Dylan Thomas was born in this suburban Edwardian house, which remains a place of pilgrimage for the poet's devotees. You can wander the house with no restrictions (they're proud of the fact that nothing is roped off), or prebook tours that are tailored according to how much time you want to spend here. You can also arrange tours of other Thomas-related sites in Swansea and farther afield in the region. The whole house can be rented as self-catering accommodation for around £250 per night. You can also book lunch, afternoon tea, or dinner.

Situated on the banks of the Tawe in the Maritime Quarter, the Dylan Thomas Centre celebrates the life of the writer with an excellent permanent exhibition as well as literary events and activities. In summer, guided tours showcasing Dylan's Swansea start from here. There's also a cozy little café serving locally sourced products. Fans of the poet can buy a booklet here that outlines the Dylan Thomas Trail around South Wales. It includes the Boathouse (now a museum) in Laugharne, where the poet lived and wrote for the last four years of his life.

A substantial collection of ancient Egyptian artifacts is on display here, including bead necklaces from the time of Tutankhamun and the beautiful painted coffin of a Theban musician.

According to Dylan Thomas, this attractive estuary town 39 miles west of Swansea was the "strangest town in Wales"; nonetheless, he spent the last four years of his adult life here and is buried in the graveyard at St. Martin's Church. Visitors should first head to the Boathouse, where Thomas lived with his family from 1949 to 1953 and where he wrote Do Not Go Gentle and Under Milk Wood. Then head for a drink at Brown's, his local pub. Be sure to also check out the ruined castle, browse the secondhand bookshops, and enjoy a coastal walk. Laugharne buzzes in spring when the arts festival, Laugharne Weekend, takes place.

Housed in a construction of steel, slate, and glass grafted onto a historic redbrick building, the National Waterfront Museum's galleries have 15 theme areas, presenting Welsh maritime and industrial history through state-of-the-art interactive technology and a host of artifacts. Highlights of the collection include a monoplane built by amateur aviation enthusiasts in the early 1900s, one of the oldest British aircraft in existence, as well as one of the last carriages from the Mumbles Train, the world's first passenger rail service (1807–1960). You'll also learn about Swansea's important international role in copper smelting in the 19th century.

Built in the 12th century, this abbey was, in its day, one of the largest and most important in the British Isles. Though just a shell, the main church gives an impressive sense of scale, with its tall buttresses and soaring, glassless windows. Here and there small sections of the original building have survived unscathed, including an undercroft with a vaulted stone ceiling. Neath Abbey is 9 miles northeast of Swansea.

Swansea's covered market, part of the Quadrant Shopping Centre, is one of the best fresh-foods markets in Wales. In 2020, it was was even voted Best Large Indoor Market at The Great British Market Awards. You can buy cockles from the Penclawdd beds on the nearby Gower Peninsula, and laverbread, that unique Welsh delicacy made from seaweed, which is usually served with bacon and eggs.

Founded in 1841, this museum contains a quirky and eclectic collection that includes an Egyptian mummy, local archaeological exhibits, and the intriguing Cabinet of Curiosity, which holds artifacts from Swansea's past. In 2016, a forgotten Flemish masterpiece by Jacob Jordaens (1593–1678) was discovered in the museum's storeroom and is now on show.