Y Dderwen

Chester Zoo is a conservation charity and one of the UK's largest zoos, covering 130 acres with over 30,000 animals from more than 500 species. You can explore over 10 indoor habitats, including the UK's largest tropical biodome, and walk through the lemur area to get close to the troop. The Monsoon Forest habitat and award-winning gardens add plenty more to see.

Tip: Book online in advance to save on gate prices, and parking in the zoo car park is free.

The Welsh Mountain Zoo is a zoological garden near Colwyn Bay in Conwy County Borough. It covers 37 acres and has been open since 1963, so it has built up a good range of animal areas over the years.

Tip: Check the zoo's website before you go, as the sources note that animal exhibits such as the sea lions have changed over time.

Plas Newydd in Llangollen was the home of Lady Eleanor Butler and Sarah Ponsonby, two Irish ladies who eloped and set up house together in the late 18th century. It began as a five-roomed stone cottage and was enlarged with many Gothic features. It is now a museum.

Tip: Look closely at the outside of the house as well as the rooms, since the patchwork of reclaimed oak carvings is its most unusual feature.

Conwy Castle was built by Edward I between 1283 and 1287 and is part of a World Heritage Site. Eight large towers and a high curtain wall still stand, and it has the best preserved set of medieval royal apartments in Wales. The ruins are split into an inner and an outer ward, with a Great Hall undercroft and chapels to explore.

Tip: Climb the spiral staircases and walk the full battlement circuit if you can. Cadw highly recommends it.

Pontcysyllte Aqueduct carries the Llangollen Canal across the River Dee in the Vale of Llangollen. Designed by Thomas Telford and William Jessop, it is a cast iron trough held 127 ft (39 m) above the river on eighteen hollow masonry piers, with 19 arched spans. It is 336 yards (307 m) long and about 12 feet wide.

Erddig is a late 17th-century country house near Wrexham, saved from dereliction in the 1970s. The Yorke family had an unusual relationship with their servants and commemorated them in portraits and poems, and the servants' quarters and estate workshops survive well. Outbuildings include the Joiners' Workshop, Smithy, Sawmill and Stables, and the house holds a fine collection of 17th-century furniture.

Tip: Postcodes aren't always recognised by sat navs, so follow the brown signs on the A525 or A483. Parking is free. Dogs are welcome in the garden and on the estate on a lead, but not in the Hall, Hayloft Restaurant, shop or Wolf's Den (assistance dogs are allowed everywhere). Check the National Trust dog page before you go, as rules can change.

Flint Castle (Castell y Fflint) was the first of the castles built during Edward I's campaign to conquer Wales, and it sits on the western shore of the River Dee estuary. Its ruins are looked after by Cadw, and access is free via a path. Most of the site, including the keep, is open to the public.

Tip: Head for the spiral staircase in the north east tower to reach the viewing platform over the estuary.

The Grosvenor Museum is a Grade II listed Victorian building in Chester, built in red brick with sandstone dressings and Dutch gables carved with peacocks. Inside, its galleries cover the area's archaeology and natural history, with items from the Roman period, paintings and musical instruments.