Exploring Cardiff

If you're heading into South Wales you should spend a couple of days exploring Cardiff before heading out.

HOP ON HOP OFF BUS

Once again a Hop on Hop off sightseeing bus will take you around the attractions of Cardiff. You can start from Cardiff Castle, having a commentary on the buildings of Government, parks and museums as well as the history of Cardiff. Exploring Cardiff is made easier and more informative with this transport.

View of the Clock Tower at City Hall from the open top of the Hop on Hop off Bus

With stops around the city, it departs every half hour on the half hour from 10.00am from outside the Castle.

CARDIFF CASTLE

Located centrally in the city, Cardiff Castle is definitely a place you have to visit while you're here.

The Keep which has great views over the city of Cardiff

First a Roman fort, then an impressive Norman Castle ending up a fantastical Victorian house owned by the Marquess of Bute.

The Keep, Battlement Walk, Roman Wall and Wartime shelters are some of the things you can learn about with a free audio guide giving you information on them.

The Victorian House that you can take a guided tour of

You can walk through the Victorian House but taking a guided tour is best to hear all of the stories of the rooms which are decorated ornately and have to be seen to be believed.

The incredible biblical decorations that adorn the rooms of the Victorian House this one in the small dining room

The tour lasts about 50 minutes and is a great way to end your visit in Cardiff Castle.

CARDIFF BAY

This waterfront area is known as Cardiff Bay and is packed full of things to do and places to eat.

Cardiff Bay Waterfront

It is home to the Welsh National Assembly and Wales Millennium Centre which has been the location for T.V. shows such as Doctor Who and Torchwood. Down on Mermaid Quay, there is the Ianto Shrine, a memorial to a character who died on an episode of Torchwood.

Scott Antarctic Commemoration and Norwegian Church on the Cardiff Bay waterfront

Also along the waterfront is the Norwegian Church, now a coffee shop, it's still a beautiful building with the Scott Antarctic Commemorative Memorial in front.

Also along the Mermaid Quay is where all the restaurants, cafes and bars are. You can also spend time with the family here at Techniquest, an interactive science museum, that's also a great entertainment and educational place.

NATIONAL MUSEUM AND ART GALLERY

The National Museum and Art Gallery has free entry. It is a great museum to learn about prehistoric history and how climate change is affecting Wales and the rest of the world.

It has life-sized models and skeletons of Woolly Mammoths and Giant Deer as well as skeletons of Dinosaurs. You can learn how Wales has changed over many millennia in the Evolution of Wales exhibit.

Woolly Mammoth

World-class art is featured here and there is plenty to see to keep you entertained and educated over a morning or afternoon and enjoy a coffee in the cafe.

ST. FAGANS MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY

St. Fagans Museum of Natural History is another free attraction. If you drive, as it is out of the city centre, it is £5 all day.

Farmhouses, outbuildings, historic buildings and St. Fagans Castle are in this parkland which you can easily walk around and is wheelchair and pram friendly.

The inside of these building are furnished as they would have been in their time.

Inside the Iron Age Roundhouse

You can buy a map at the entrance for .50p, which leads you around the numbered buildings. There is also detailed information at each location, telling you when the building was built and what it was used for.

Abernodwydd Farmhouse which was built about 1678

The last place to visit is St Fagans Castle, an Elizabethan Manor House, that was owned by the Earl of Plymouth. It was used as a Red Cross Hospital for wounded soldiers during WW1. In 1946, the Earl gifted the castle and grounds to the nation to create this museum.