A few of the historic farmhouses survive at Cwm Bowydd, Neuadd Ddu, Gelli, Pen y Bryn and Cefn Bychan.

[6] Blaenau Ffestiniog town arose to support workers in the local slate mines.

[9] In 1819, quarrying began on slopes at Allt-fawr near Rhiwbryfdir Farm, on land owned by the Oakeley family from Tan y Bwlch.

These amalgamated to form Oakeley Quarry, which became the largest underground slate mine in the world.

There was a short post-war boom, but the long-term trend was towards mass-produced tiles and cheaper slate sourced from Spain.

Oakeley Quarry took over Cwmorthin, Votty & Bowydd and Diphwys Casson, while Llechwedd acquired Maenofferen.

[13] In August 1945 the secluded farmhouse of Bwlch Ocyn at Manod, belonging to Clough Williams-Ellis, became the home for three years of the writer Arthur Koestler and his wife Mamaine.

The revived Ffestiniog Railway and Llechwedd remain popular attractions, as does the Antur Stiniog downhill mountain-biking centre,[17] and more recently the Zip World Titan zip-line site, which includes the Bounce Below slate-mine activity centre.

Although the town is in the centre of the Snowdonia National Park, the boundaries exclude it and its substantial slate-waste heaps.

The main access to Blaenau Ffestiniog is the A470 road north to Llandudno and south to Dolgellau and beyond.

The A496 runs south to the coastal resorts of Harlech and Barmouth and connects with the A487 towards Porthmadog and the Llŷn Peninsula.

Just north of the town, the A470 climbs steeply to the Crimea Pass and meets the A5 at Betws-y-Coed, giving access to Llangollen, Wrexham and Shrewsbury in the east and Bangor and Holyhead in the west.

Town bus services are mainly provided by Arriva Buses Wales and Llew Jones, with routes to Porthmadog, Dolgellau and to Llandudno via Betws-y-Coed and Llanrwst.

The Conwy Valley line runs to the North Wales coast at Llandudno Junction, with links to Chester, Holyhead and Manchester.

At various times the town has been the terminus for four independent railway lines, each with its own station or stations: Blaenau Ffestiniog's tourist attractions include the Ffestiniog Railway and the Llechwedd Slate Caverns, a former slate mine open to visitors.

[21] Near Blaenau Ffestiniog there are miles of mountain landscape with derelict quarries, rivers, various lakes and walking routes.

The town centre has recently been regenerated, as funding from organisations, grants and the Welsh Government of £4.5 million are spent.

Poetry and local sayings have also been engraved on slate bands set in pavements in the town centre.

During the Second World War, the National Gallery stored art treasures in one of the mines in the town, to protect them from damage or destruction.

The local alternative-music training school Gwallgofiaid has over a dozen bands at its centre at the Old Police Station in Park Square, served by five rehearsal rooms, a 24-track studio and Cwrt performance space.