Cardiff youth guide
About Cardiff
Cardiff is a confident city – intimately small but big enough to be cosmopolitan, managing to be lively and tranquil, ancient and modern. Only the Welsh capital since 1955, it’s been surging into its status as if on fast-forward. Sport is at its heart, with the huge Millennium Stadium looming over the city centre like a beached spaceship – the population ebbs and flows with the coming and going of the fixtures and each match floods the streets with a sense of hope.
The gleaming razzmatazz of Cardiff Bay – waterside restaurants, cafés, the National (or Welsh) Assembly and the Millennium Cultural Centre – has emerged phoenix-like from the industrial docklands. Right in the centre of the city is a comical, brilliant, Victorian-medieval castle. Bute Park fills the centre with vast parklands – Cardiff has more green space per resident than any other city in Europe.
Cardiff Visitor Centre (www.visitcardiff.info) on Wood Street can offer further guidance, or visit our Cardiff city guide.
Seeing
Must Do
If you possibly can, see a rugby or football match, or even a tour at the . It sits like a lost space ship that has crash-landed in the city centre. This 72,500-seat, three-tiered monster with a sliding roof was completed to host the 1999 Rugby World Cup. Tours are very worthwhile if you can’t get in another way.
The contrast with the two millennia of history on offer at Cardiff Castle (www.cardiffcastle.com/) couldn’t be bigger. You can only get in on a tour but it’s well worth the effort. The castle is surrounded by Bute Park, part of a two-mile corridor of verdant parkland that stretches out of Cardiff to the north.
Once an enormous coal dock, Cardiff Bay is now the most striking mix of the old and new. It is home to the National Assembly for Wales as well as several museums, bars and restaurants.
Off The Beaten Track
Take a train or bus a few miles down the road to Newport for two reasons. Legend has it Kurt Cobain proposed to Courtney Love in cult rock venue. It also has one of two working Transporter Bridges left in the UK. It’s free for foot passengers and dates from 1906.
Shopping
Within the angle formed by High St, St Mary Street and pedestrianised Queen Street are many arcades, a Victorian and Edwardian treasure trove of small shops and cafés. High St Arcade abounds with funky little shops, selling new and vintage clothing, jewellery and crafts.
Cardiff’s also the place to pick up unique Welsh items like lovespoons, stuffed dragons and even suits of armour.
For furniture, clothes, books and knick-knacks, try Jacob’s Market, just south of the railway line at the western end of Bute Square; it opens most days but it’s biggest on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
Insider Info
If music is your groove, check out the oldest record shop in the world. Established in 1894, Spillers is a favourite in the city, a great all rounder, small, independent, reasonably-priced, well-stocked and with a friendly staff. 36 The Hayes.
Eating
The Cardiff restaurant scene is booming. Whether you’re after a bacon butty or a bed of rocket, the city centre offers an eclectic range for all budgets. It’s a good idea to book at the weekend.
Celtic Cauldron
Cosy with reasonable health-food versions of traditional Welsh dishes such as laver bread and cawl (a hearty dish of bacon and lamb). Tel: +44 (0)29 2038 7185; 47-49 Castle Street.
Café Bar Europa
Super small and cosy with exposed brickwork and scattered books. Metamorphoses into a bar at night, when there are poetry readings, DJs, comedy and live music. Tel: +44 (0)29 2066 7776; 25 Castle Street.
Norwegian Church
Famous for being the place where the author Roald Dahl was baptised and has a lovely little café that does excellent cakes, waffles, sandwiches and light lunches, oh and it's a church as well. Tel: +44 (0)29 2045 4899; Harbour Drive.
Café Naz
Stylish Indian with a carpeted wall and Bollywood projections. Tel: +44 (0)29 2049 6555; Mermaid Quay.
Nightlife
Buzz is a useful, free monthly magazine with up-to-date event listings in the city.
Cayo Arms
Proper pub with proper real ale, lots of wood inside and tables out the front. 36 Cathedral Road.
Bsb
Laid-back, smartish, smallish bar playing a mix of house, hip-hop and funk on various nights, and live music on Sundays. Tel: +44 (0)29 2023 8228; Windsor Place.
Toucan Club
Good independent venue for live music and DJs playing anything from tribal house to hippy funk. Tel: +44 (0)29 2037 2212; 95-97 St Mary Street.
Clwb Ifor Bach
Founded in the early 1980s, this is a Cardiff institution and the place to hear live music by unsigned talent as well as the big names. There are three dance floors featuring anything from drum‘n’bass to ’60s nights. Tel: +44 (0)29 2023 2199; 11 Womanby Street.
Sleeping
Welsh Institute for Sport
Just off Cathedral Road, offers plain rooms with breakfast; other meals are available, and guests can use the pool and fitness room for free. Gets booked out for big weekend sports events so call ahead. Tel: +44 (0)29 2030 0500; Sophia Gardens.
Cardiff YHA
Modern, well-appointed hostel in the student area, north of the city centre. 0870 770 5750 UK only; 2 Wedal Road, Roath Park.
Cardiff University
The student accommodation here is a good option. Over 3000 single rooms become available from June to September, with options for breakfast and self-catering. Many of the rooms are within a 15-minute walk of the city centre. Tel: +44 (0)29 2087 4702.
Beaufort Guest House
Smart refurbished rooms decorated with bright colours and traditional furniture. Tel: +44 (0)29 2023 7003; 65 Cathedral Road.