1-Bedroom Hot Tub Cottage with Log Burner in Newport

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".

Barry Island Pleasure Park is an amusement park on the coast of the Vale of Glamorgan, about 10 miles south west of Cardiff. It sits opposite the sandy beachfront and has fairground rides, games and stalls, and food outlets. Rides range from high-energy thrill rides to classic ones the whole family can share, and you pay for what you ride using tokens.

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.

Tredegar House is a Grade I listed Charles II-era mansion on the edge of Newport, run by the National Trust. For over five hundred years it was home to the Morgan family, later Lords Tredegar. It was rebuilt in red brick, a rare material in Wales at the time, and has been described as one of the outstanding houses of the Restoration period in Britain.

Tip: Dogs are welcome on a lead almost everywhere, but only assistance dogs are allowed in the mansion house. Keep them out of the lake.

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.

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.

Bristol Zoo Project is a wildlife conservation park in South Gloucestershire, run by Bristol Zoological Society. It covers a large site, and its areas are designed to link ecosystems and conservation programmes around the world. Current areas include Bear Wood, Benoué National Park and Discover Madagascar.

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.