Cardiff: Guide, Hotels, Map & Photos
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GBP 35 - 115 Premier Inn Cardiff North
 On the A48, just off the M4 motorway, only 5 miles (8 km) from Cardiff´s city centre, the hotel offers great value, with free parking and spacio… MoreGBP 39 - 120 Premier Inn Cardiff City South
 Close to Cardiff´s city centre and less than a mile from the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff International Arena and Cardiff Bay, this modern hotel … MoreGBP 39 - 127 Premier Inn Cardiff City Centre
 Premier Inn Cardiff City Centre features modern en suite rooms and views across the city.
Within walking distance are Cardiff International Arena, th… MoreGBP 33 - 109 Premier Inn Cardiff Roath
 10 minutes from the M4 motorway, 2.5 miles (4 km) from Cardiff city centre and the Millennium Stadium, this Premier Inn hotel offers free parking and … MoreGBP 36 - 99 Premier Inn Cardiff West
 Within easy reach of the M4 motorway and only 8 miles (13 km) from Cardiff´s city centre, the hotel offers comfortable, great-value rooms, an on… MoreGBP 42 - 150 Regan Lodge
 Just 10 minutes’ walk from Cardiff Castle, The Regan Lodge offers free parking, cosy bedrooms and free Wi-Fi. The Millennium Stadium is a 15-minute… MoreGBP 63 - 300 Radisson Blu Hotel, Cardiff
 In the heart of the city centre, the 21-storey Radisson Blu Hotel offers panoramic city views, air-conditioned rooms and free Wi-Fi. Cardiff Central R… MoreGBP 71 - 199 Park Plaza Cardiff
 In the heart of the city centre, this luxury 4-star hotel has free Wi-Fi, a 20-metre indoor heated pool, a gym, and Elemis Spa treatment rooms.
Just … MoreGBP 44 - 208 Park Inn Cardiff North
 Just 3 miles from Cardiff, The Park Inn Cardiff North features a fitness suite, a grill restaurant and colourful bedrooms. With free parking, the hote… MoreGBP 33 - 150 ML Lodge
 The ML Lodge´s location is only 2 minutes´ from the Millennium Stadium and is ideal for shopping and nightlife. All rooms are en suite and… MoreGBP 66 - 141 Meridian Terrace Serviced Apartments
 In the heart of the city, just 500 metres from Cardiff Central Rail Station, Meridian Terrace offer stylish serviced apartments with free Wi-Fi.
Meri… MoreGBP 84 - 300 Mercure Holland House Hotel and Spa
 In a prime city centre location, this 4-star luxury hotel has a swimming pool, a gym and a spa. The main shopping district is a 5-minute walk away.
M… MoreGBP 12 - 88 Nomad Backpacker
 Just 5 minutes’ walk from Cardiff centre, Nomad Backpackers features a barbecue deck, games room and TV lounge. With 24-hour security and fair-trade… MoreGBP 41 - 87 NosDa Studio Hostel
 This hostel-style accommodation with a gym and free Wi-Fi has a great location along the banks of the river, in the shadow of the Millennium Stadium.
… MoreGBP 47 - 350 Park Inn Cardiff City Centre
 Adjacent to the MotorPoint Arena, this modern hotel has a superb city centre location. Bus and train stations are a 5-minute walk away.
Park Inn Card… MoreGBP 65 - 319 Novotel Cardiff Centre
 400 metres from the Cardiff International Arena, the Novotel Cardiff Centre has an indoor swimming pool, a gym and restaurant, and is ideal for shops,… MoreGBP 75 - 295 Serviced Apartments @ Landmark Place
 Situated in the lively heart of Cardiff, Serviced Apartments @ Landmark Place are just half a mile from the Millennium Stadium. They have free parking… MoreGBP 50 - 300 Sleeperz Hotel Cardiff
 This modern hotel gives great views across the city and offers free Wi-Fi and national UK calls. Cardiff Central Railway Station is a short walk away.… MoreGBP 38 - 100 Ty Rosa Boutique B&B
 The Ty Rosa is a boutique gay-run guest house just 15 minutes from Cardiff city centre. It offers stylish rooms with free Wi-Fi and an extensive break… MoreGBP 79 - 378 The St David´s Hotel & Spa
 Set in an iconic building, with stunning views across Cardiff Bay, the 5-star St David’s Hotel features a luxury spa, stylish bedrooms and an innova… MoreGBP 49 - 225 The Royal Hotel Cardiff
 The stylish, central Royal Hotel Cardiff is a 2-minute walk from the Millennium Stadium and a 5-minute walk from the train station and St David´… MoreGBP 109 - 190 Vicarage Mews @ Acityabode
 These stylish cottages are walking distance from Cardiff city centre and one mile from Millennium Stadium. Each has 2 double bedrooms, a fully equippe… MoreGBP 59 - 175 Village Hotel Cardiff
 Village Hotel is 4 miles (6.4 km) from Cardiff city centre and the Cardiff Bay area. It has extensive leisure facilities including a 25-metre indoor s… MoreGBP 12 - 22 YHA Cardiff
 The YHA Cardiff is located next to Roath Park and just 2 miles from the city centre. It offers affordable accommodation, free parking and self-caterin… MoreGBP 45 - 140 Wynford Hotel
 A short walk from Cardiff city centre and the Millenium Stadium, Wynford Hotel offers a late-night bar, a nightclub, free Wi-Fi and free parking. The … More | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Cardiff: Guide
Cardiff (Welsh, Caerdydd) is the capital of Wales and is located in the South Wales|south of the country. Though it had a reputation of being a rough, industrial city, Cardiff has changed dramatically in recent years. It is now a lively and modern capital city (population c. 321,000), gaining popularity with tourists interested in its history and culture. Summer is by far the best time to visit, as many of the attractions are outdoors.
Get in
By plane
The main airport is Cardiff International Airport, located nine miles south of the city. This is the only major airport in Wales, and is served by the following airlines.
operate domestics to Manchester and Newquay.
There are regular bus services from the centre to the airport. Alternatively, you can also get to the airport using a bus service from Barry Station, which is closer to the airport and on local rail lines. In 2005, a nearby railway line was reopened, including a station at Rhoose, where there are shuttle buses to the airport.
It is often easier to fly to an airport in England such as Bristol or even one of the London airports when visiting South Wales, as a greater range of airlines and cities flown from are available from there.
Cardiff Central station is two hours from London Paddington by train. Trains depart half hourly during the day and are operated by . These services also continue to Swansea. They also run a service from Cardiff to Portsmouth Harbour via Newport, Bristol, Bath, Salisbury and Southampton. The rail service provides quick and easy links to other interesting areas (such as Bath), making Cardiff a pleasant and cheaper place to use as a home base while exploring the surrounding areas.
provide local service around the city, along with longer distance services to other parts of Wales and North West England.
From London, Cardiff is most swiftly reached by taking the M4 motorway west across the Severn Bridge and into south Wales. Don't forget the bridge charges a toll to cross (cash only)! This is £4.90 at the moment for a car and usually increases by 10p each year.
Getting around Cardiff is really quite easy, Local bus provider Cardiff Bus offer a comprehensive network of services across the city and to the nearby City of Newport aswell as to destinations in the Vale of Glamorgan, Penarth, Barry and LLantwit Major. Fares could be seen as a little exorbitant given the often unpunctual and unreliability of some of their services but nonetheless you won't have to wait anymore than around 10minutes for a bus to turn up. Some of their services run even more frequently usually around every 7/8mins (Monday-Saturday) on services to the east of the city.
The Millennium Stadium
At near-by Penarth, cruise the Bristol channel during summer months to the likes of North Devon, Gower Peninsula and even occassionally Pembrokeshire on the paddle steamers Balmoral and Waverly. Penarth to Ilfracombe is particularly spectacular, taking in the massive cliffs of North Devon.
Cheese from Madame Fromage in the Castle Arcade.
Records, tapes and CDs from Spiller's Records, The Hayes, claimed to be the 'world's oldest record store'. This is the place to buy your Welsh music.
Things are getting better in Cardiff for eating and it can be very difficult to book a table in the better restaurants on a Friday or Saturday evening. A useful guide to Cardiff Restaurants can be found at .
The Armless Dragon
Benedictos
Le Gallois - Roughly translated from French it means "The Welsh". This is a fantastic gourmet restaurant specialising in bringing Gallic flair to traditional Welsh food such as cockles and lavabread. Expect to pay somewhere around £40 per head.
Cibo Italian Café on Pontcanna Street (at the non-city-centre end of Cathedral Road). Great little café-restaurant with superb food. Can get busy - booking strongly recommended. Expect to spend about 8-12 GBP for a main course.
Brazz (Cardiff Bay) serves good food, and is a stylish place to sit.
The Goat Major pub has some very good bar style food in an authentic Welsh atmosphere. Try the Welsh faggots (a type of meat ball) in peppercorn gravy.
There are lots of little Mom and Pop eateries with reasonable, plentiful and quite tasty takes on the Full English breakfast, sandwiches, fish and chips, etc.
Café Mao is worth seeking out on Whitchurch road. Very good quality sandwiches for similar prices elsewhere.
City Canteen on Mount Stuart Sq is also worth a look
Cardiff is a place to drink, favoured by Stag and Hen Parties from all over the UK. St Mary St contains many pubs and clubs and becomes wild, exciting and sometimes dangerous on Friday and Saturday nights. There are numerous clubs only a block from the train station that are bumping into the wee hours. The bars and nightclubs in Cardiff aren't quite on par with nearby Bristol, but at least offer very competitive prices in comparison.
For a quieter drink seek out Floyds above the clothing store.
If coffee is your drink of choice, there are at least six Starbucks outlets.
This "Travel Guide" section is drawn from the Wikitravel article "Cardiff". We hope you will edit and improve it. It is available under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.5 license.
operates domestic services to Edinburgh, Glasgow, Jersey and Belfast, and international services to Alicante, Amsterdam, Faro, Malaga, Palma Mallorca and Prague.
operates services to Amsterdam.
operates services to Dublin, Cork and Galway in Ireland and also to Lorient in France.
operates seasonal summer services to Toronto and Vancouver.
operate flights to Newcastle, with flights to Brussels and possibly Aberdeen to start soon.
operate flights to Jersey and various airports in Spain, plus some other charters.By train
By car
Get around
See
Cardiff Castle , Castle Street. ph 029 2087 8100. fax 029 2023 1417. Cardiff Castle is a large castle whose foundations are based upon a Roman fort. In the nineteenth century it was the one of the homes of the Marquis of Bute. The Norman fort in the centre, the Welsh regimental museum and and excavated Roman ruins are open, and tours of the Bute household are available. The Bute part of the castle is quite amazing. The interior was all done in the early 1900's in a very ideosynchratic and interesting style. There is barely an inch that is not adorned with some sort of artistic work. Yet, it is not overwhelming. The craftsmanship is well worth a look. Admission is £3 for adults, £1.90 for children and seniors and £2.45 for students. Admission with a tour is £6 for adults, £3.70 for children and seniors, and £4.85 for students. There are family group discounts.
The Museum of Welsh Life at St Fagans , free admission. Great for kids. Also features one of the most beautiful gardens in Wales.
National Museum & Gallery of Wales , free admission. An excellent collection of paintings from all periods (strong on Impressionists), plus archaeological and geological exhibits, cafes and shops. Buy parking vouchers here if needed.
The Wales Millennium Centre Stylish new arts venue in Cardiff Bay, with cafes and shops.
Cardiff Bay Mostly restaurants, bars and cafes, but a good place for a 'passeggiata' on a Sunday afternoon. Boat rides in the Bay (permanently water-filled since the barrage was built), a few shops, and a children's playground at the far end (near the historic Norwegian church). Beautiful views across to Penarth.
Techniquest - great for kids. Regular toddler days.Do
Cardiff is excellent for shopping, especially clothes. The Victorian arcades are worth a visit in themselves. They have lots of little shops, food markets, etc. Up-market homestores include Melin Tregynt (blankets, cushions and trinkets), and Banana Custard (for kids). There is a five block shopping district that is closed to cars, so it is easy to walk from shop to shop. All the usual suspects, such as Marks and Spencer, Boots, Virgin music, etc. are here. There is also a reasonably useful Sainsbury's anchoring one end of the road, if you are looking for take out food. But all the shops are closed up tight by 6:00 P.M. except Sainsbury's. Buy
Fish from Ashton's stall in the atmospheric indoor market, off the Hayes, Church Street or St Mary St.Eat
Top End
Castell Restaurant in the Angel HotelMiddle
Low End
Cafés
Drink
Sleep
: for £19 (adult without YHA membership) it's the cheapest place to stay and – for a Youth Hostel – really quite funky: no curfew, modern, clean, friendly personnel, and a sumptuous English breakfast is included; the only setback is that it's situated a 45-minute schlepp away from the city centre
, Longuiel Close. Clean hotel in Cardiff Bay. 15 minutes walking distance from the centre.
Cardiff Marriott hotel is located within a block of the train station, right across from at least ten clubs. It has reasonably comfortable rooms (not yet with the Marriott upgraded beds). They have high speed internet connections in the rooms, but the fee is 15 pounds per day for the service. The staff is friendly and helpful.Get out
The Vale of Glamorgan to the southwest of Cardiff contains the Victorian seaside towns of Penarth and Barry.
Cowbridge is a picturesque town to the west. The superb Glamorgan Heritage Coast is around 10 miles west of Cardiff, stretching from Llantwit Major to Ogmore-by-Sea, the majestic liassic/carboniferous cliffs provide sparkling views across the bristol channel, and the small little back roads (particularly the road to ogmore-by-sea) provide some of the most spectacular driving routes in wales.
The Brecon Beacons and the town of Brecon are to the north.
The Taff Trail cyclepath runs from Cardiff to Brecon. There's a good beach at Southerndown, around 30 minutes' drive to the West.
Try taking the train to Newport and visiting the Roman amphitheatre there. It is quite well preserved and gives a real feel for how the Romans would have used the space.