Built as an extravagent folly by the architect Sir Clough William-Ellis between 1925 - 1975. The design was inspired by Portofino (see our Piedmont 2006 photos).
William-Ellis was the unfortunate architect of the previous tourist centre at the top of Snowdon, described by Prince Charles as "the highest slum in Wales". Never mind, he made amends with Port Meirion!
The intention was to show how a beautiful site could be developed without spoiling it. William-Ellis' motto was "Cherish the past, adorn the present and construct for the future".
Port Meirion is associated with popular culture in numerous ways. For instance Noel Coward wrote Blythe Spirit while staying here and it has been used as the backdrop of many films (check out the Wikipedia entry for a partial list). However it is best known as the Village in the 1960's cult, surreal spy classic The Prisoner, TV series.
Some of the "buildings" are just fascades.
