Notable buildings include almshouses, two 17th-century chapels, and the Parish Church of St Grwst, which holds the stone coffin of Llywelyn the Great.

In 1276, Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, Prince of Wales, seized the town, declaring it the Free Borough of Llanrwst independent of the diocese of Llanelwy.

This the bishop contested, but the borough kept its freedom for the lifetime of Llywelyn and later through efforts by Aberconwy Abbey, which tore down banners relating to the bishopric or to Edward I.

[11] In 1610 Sir John Wynn of Gwydir had the historic Llanrwst Almshouses built to house poor people of the parish.

These closed in 1976, but were restored in 1996 with the aid of Heritage Lottery funding, reopening as a museum of local history and community focal point.

It held a collection of over 100 items relating largely to the rural Conwy valley, and a number associated with the renowned Llanrwst Bards of the late 19th century.

[14] It links the town with Gwydir, a manor house dating from 1492, a 15th-century courthouse known as Tu Hwnt i'r Bont, and a road from nearby Trefriw.

The A470 trunk route between North and South Wales runs through the town, joined by the A548 main road from Rhyl, Prestatyn and Chester.

On the hills above is Moel Maelogan wind farm; the power generated by its turbines is fed to the town sub-station.

In 1830 the local doctor and naturalist John Williams published a work Faunula Grustensis ('Crusty Plants') which described the fauna, geography and pathologies in and around Llanrwst.

[22] Llanrwst now divides into two such wards, Gower and Crwst, each sending a councillor to Conwy County Borough Council.