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Wales Ape and Monkey Sanctuary sits between Caehopkin and Abercraf in Powys. It began as a hill farm and grew into a final home for unwanted primates, including chimpanzees, baboons, spider monkeys, capuchins and marmosets. Its first chimpanzees arrived in 1999, when seven were taken in from Penscynor Wildlife Park after it closed.

Big Pit is a real coal mine and one of Britain's leading mining museums, standing on the heather-clad moors above Blaenavon. It worked as a colliery from 1880 to 1980 and opened to the public in 1983. The star attraction is the Underground Tour, which takes you 300 feet down with a real miner to see what life was like for the men who worked the coal face.

Tip: Underground tour places on the day aren't guaranteed a time slot and queues can build when busy, so book a timed Job-A-Knock ticket in advance to secure your spot.

Caerphilly Castle is the largest castle in Wales and the second-largest in the UK. Gilbert de Clare began it in 1268, and its concentric rings of walls, large twin-towered gatehouses and wide artificial lakes inspired Edward I's castles in North Wales. Historian Allen Brown called its water defences "the most elaborate water defences in all Britain".

Zip World Tower is an adventure park on the site of Tower Colliery near Aberdare, which was the oldest continuously working deep-coal mine in the UK until it closed in 2008. The preserved mining structures surround the rides, so you get a good look at the history as you go.

Tip: Book in advance, and arrive 30 minutes before your start time. Wear warm clothes with boots or trainers, and no sandals or open-toe shoes.

Castell Coch, Welsh for "red castle", is a 19th-century Gothic Revival castle above the village of Tongwynlais. Its conical-roofed towers rise out of the ancient beech woods of Fforest Fawr, and it has often been voted a favourite building in Wales. The architect William Burges rebuilt it for the third Marquess of Bute on the remains of a 13th-century fortress built by Gilbert de Clare.

Tip: The castle car park is free during site opening hours, and booking online saves 5% on tickets. Check Cadw's visitor notice for conservation work first.

Raglan Castle sits just north of the village of Raglan in Monmouthshire, south east Wales. Built and rebuilt between the 15th and early 17th centuries by the Herbert and Somerset families, it was once a luxurious, fortified home, and its large hexagonal keep is known as the Great Tower or the Yellow Tower of Gwent.

National Museum Cardiff is Wales's national museum of art and natural history, housed in a grand building in the civic centre of Cathays Park. Admission is free, kept so by Welsh Government funding, though some exhibitions, events and activities may be charged for.

Tip: Book a free day ticket in advance to get key visit information and updates. There is a car park behind the museum off Museum Avenue, or Cathays station is about a 5 minute walk.

Hay Castle is a medieval fortification with a 17th-century mansion alongside, right in the centre of the book town of Hay-on-Wye. Founded by the Normans and rebuilt in stone around 1200, it has been attacked and burnt several times over the centuries.

Tip: Use the large public car park off Oxford Road, which has free electric vehicle charging points. Dogs must stay on a lead, and are welcome on the ground floor, in the café and in the grounds.