After spending a few days in the North Wales rural hinterland, BANGOR , across the bridges from Anglesey, makes a welcome change. It is not big, but as the largest town in Gwynedd and home to Bangor University, it passes in these parts for cosmopolitan. The students decamp for the summer, leaving only a trickle of visitors to replace them. Bangor is a hotbed of passionate Welsh nationalism, hardly surprising in such a staunchly Welsh-speaking area, and it's a dramatic change from the largely English-speaking north-coast resorts. The university takes up much of upper Bangor, straddling the hill that separates the town centre from the Menai Strait. The shape of the college's main building is almost an exact replica of the thirteenth- to fifteenth-century cathedral (daily 11am-5pm), which boasts the longest continuous use of any cathedral in Britain, easily predating the town. Pop in if only to see the sixteenth-century wooden Mostyn Christ , depicted bound and seated on a rock. Just over the road, the Bangor Museum and Art Gallery , Ffordd Gwynedd (Tues-Fri 12.30-4.30pm, Sat 10.30am-4.30pm; free), offers snippets of local history enlivened by a traditional costume section and an archeology room, containing the most complete Roman sword found in Wales. The art gallery concentrates on predominantly Welsh contemporary works. For a good look down the Menai Strait to Telford's bridge, walk along Garth Road to Bangor's rejuvenated and pristine Victorian Pier (50p), which reaches halfway across to Anglesey. All trains on the North Coast line stop at Bangor train station , on Station Road, at the bottom of Holyhead Road. The tourist office is in the Town Hall on Deiniol Road (Easter-Sept daily 10am-6pm; Oct-March Tues-Sat 10am-5pm; tel 01248/352786). Bangor doesn't have a huge choice of places to stay , although the Garden Hotel (tel 01248/362189, ; £60-70) is handy for the station and is pretty good. Most of the cheaper accommodation is bundled at the northern end of Garth Road, about twenty minutes' walk from the train station: try Dilfan (tel 01248/353030; £40-50). Eryl Môr , 2 Upper Garth Rd (tel 01248/353789; £50-60), is a quiet and comfortable hotel with views over Bangor's pier and the Menai Strait. The university lets out clean, functional rooms on Ffriddoedd Road (tel 01248/372104; under £40) from late June to late September and over the Easter vacation. Bangor's YHA hostel , Tan-y-Bryn (tel 01248/353516, ; Jan-Nov), is signposted off the A56, ten minutes' walk east of the centre (bus #6 or #7 along Garth Road). The nearest campsite is the very laid-back Treborth Hall Farm (tel 01248/364104), fifteen minutes' walk (or bus #5) from Upper Bangor, on the road out towards the Menai Bridge. With the possible exception of Llandudno, Bangor offers the widest selection of eating possibilities in North Wales. Packed out with students and locals, the Fat Cat Café Bar , 161 High St, has a menu ranging from huge burgers to salmon and broccoli pasta quills; another good bet is the classy Greek Taverna Politis , 12 Holyhead Rd. Herbs Cookshop , 307 High St (tel 01248/351249), is a great veggie daytime cafe that is also open for swankier (and meatier) meals on weekend evenings. The expensive restaurant of the Menai Court Hotel , Craig-y-Don Road, earns plaudits from foodies for its traditional British and European dishes. If you've tried to learn any of the language you can put it to good use at Tafarn Y Glôb , a traditional pub on Albert Street, where ordering in Welsh is pretty much a house rule. For "a pint of beer, please" try un peint o gwrw, os gwelwch chi'n dda (pronounced "een paint o gooroo, os gweloch un tha"). Y Castell , on Glanrafon, a street opposite the cathedral, is a very popular and studenty pub, while O'Shea's , on High Street, is your best bet for local live music . Europe > Wales > North Wales > Bangor
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