Bangor is one of the smallest cities in the United Kingdom, tucked between the mountains of Snowdonia and the Menai Strait in north Wales. A population of around 20,000 — about a third of them students at Bangor University — gives the place an energy that belies its size.
The city's origins stretch back to the 6th century, when a monastery was founded here by Saint Deiniol. The Bangor Cathedral that eventually replaced it still stands in the city centre, one of the oldest continuously occupied Christian sites in Britain. Bangor's setting is its real asset: the Menai Strait separates the city from Anglesey, crossed by the Menai Suspension Bridge — Thomas Telford's 1826 engineering masterpiece — and the peaks of Snowdonia rise to the south. Garth Pier, restored and stretching 450 metres into the strait, is a pleasant walk with views across to Anglesey.
The National Trust's Penrhyn Castle just east of the city is the most impressive single sight — a vast Victorian mock-Norman mansion built on the profits of Jamaican sugar and Welsh slate. For most visitors, Bangor also serves as a base for exploring the surrounding area — Snowdonia's walking trails, the castles of Caernarfon and Conwy, and the beaches of Anglesey are all within easy reach.