To the west is Kinmel Bay and Towyn, to the east Prestatyn, and to the south-east Rhuddlan and St Asaph.

[citation needed] Prior to being in Denbighshire since 1996, it was in the Clwyd district of Rhuddlan, and before that the historic county of Flintshire.

Another suggestion is that it could have referred to a now-forgotten man-made structure, such as a motte outpost of Rhuddlan Castle guarding the mouth of the River Clwyd.

[4] One etymology that gained popularity in the twentieth century suggests that the original dwelling of Ty'n Rhyl derived from Tŷ'n yr haul (House in the Sun/House of Sunshine).

These include the Parish Church of St Thomas in Bath Street, which is listed as Grade II*.

[6] Others are the Midland Bank building, the railway station along with two signal boxes and the public telephone box on the up platform, the Royal Alexandra Hospital, the Sussex Street Baptist Church, Rhyl Town Hall, the Swan public house in Russell Road, the war memorial, and the Welsh Presbyterian Church in Clwyd Street.

The Marble Church was built by Lady Margaret in memory of her late husband, Sir Henry Peyto Willoughby de Broke.

Up until 2014, Rhyl Suncentre was also an attraction on the East Parade; an indoor water leisure centre which opened in 1980 at a cost of £4.25 million and featured a heated swimming pool, water chutes and slides, and Europe's first indoor surfing pool.

[15] Redevelopment of the Pavilion theatre in 2017 provided for a new façade, entrance foyer and restaurant, and refurbished bar areas.

[16] The Marine Lake, an artificial excavation in the west of the town, used to be a tourist destination, with fairground rides and a zoo.

[18] However, work on Ocean Plaza never went ahead as scheduled and the land lay vacant for several years after the original developers, Modus Properties, went bankrupt in 2009.

[19] Now called Marina Quay, the plans no longer include the building of new apartments on the land as Natural Resources Wales' flood regulations now prohibit this.

In August 2015, The Range retail chain signed a 20-year lease and opened a new outlet on the site in March 2018.

[23] The 22 councillors on Rhyl Town Council are divided among nine community wards: Bodfor, Brynhedydd, Cefndy, Derwen, Foryd, Pendyffryn, Plastirion, Trellewellyn, and Tynewydd.

Rhyl railway station on the North Wales Coast Line is served by through trains of Avanti West Coast between Holyhead and London Euston, and by Transport for Wales Rail services: to Cardiff Central via Newport and Crewe, and to Manchester Piccadilly.

Other stations nearby include Abergele & Pensarn, Prestatyn, Flint, Colwyn Bay and Llandudno Junction.

[30] The direct Transport for Wales and Avanti West Coast services to Holyhead give connections by Stena Line or Irish Ferries to Dublin Port.

[31] Several Arriva Buses Wales bus services are run along the main coast road between Chester and Holyhead, linking the resorts.

The first Welsh-medium secondary school in Wales started in Rhyl, as Ysgol Glan Clwyd was opened in the town in 1956 before moving to its present site at St Asaph in 1969.