Cardiff, Wales - Guide

Cardiff - General Information

The capital of Wales since 1955, Cardiff is not only an important destination within the UK; it’s also – thanks to the huge success of Dr Who, which is filmed there – one of the most important destination in the Universe! For conventional travellers, it offers a compact city centre, where innovative architecture sits alongside historic buildings. Six Nations rugby and pop concerts can be enjoyed at the Millennium Stadium and the vibrant bay side area boasts trendy bars and restaurants galore.

Cardiff first came to prominence as a major port city for the transport of coal during the Industrial Revolution. Later the steel industry also played a large part in its prosperity. As with many UK cities, it went through some tough times in the 1970s and 80s, but since the 1990s it has seen significant redevelopment with the advent of the new waterfront area, which contains the new Welsh Assembly Building and the Wales Millennium Centre arts complex (home to the national opera, dance, theatre and literature companies, as well as the national orchestra).

Today, Cardiff boasts a wealth of attractions. As well as the Millennium Stadium and the waterfront area, there’s Cardiff Castle, which has undergone many transformations over the years, from Roman fort to Norman keep to Victorian Gothic revival mansion. It now houses a regimental museum, as well as the ruins of the old castle and the Victorian reconstruction.

Other highlights include plentiful parkland, the Cardiff National Museum (which contains work by Poussin, Monet and Renoir), the National History Museum at St Fagans (a large open air museum housing dozens of buildings from throughout Welsh history that have been moved to this Cardiff site), the strikingly designed Senedd (home to the National Assembly for Wales) and the Cardiff International Arena.