Cardiff Travel Guide

Cardiff Castle layers a Roman fort, a Norman motte-and-bailey and lavish Victorian Gothic Revival interiors. In the 19th century the Marquess of Bute and architect William Burges turned the medieval walls into dazzling rooms of gilt, heraldry and myth — the most colourful chapter of Wales's capital.

Cardiff Bay is the regenerated waterfront of the old docklands, gathering the Welsh Parliament (Senedd), the Wales Millennium Centre and riverside dining. Promenades, water and festivals link together — both a citizen's backyard and the liveliest sample of contemporary Welsh cultural identity. At night water and lights mingle, and the bay grows gentle.

The Senedd, the Welsh Parliament building, opened in Cardiff Bay in 2006 to designs by Richard Rogers, famed for its transparent debating chamber and sustainable ethos. Visitors can watch debates from the public gallery — the most direct political landmark of contemporary Welsh self-government and identity.

St Fagans National Museum of History lies just west of Cardiff, the Welsh capital, and is one of Europe's best-known open-air folk museums and one of Wales's most popular attractions. Set in an Elizabethan estate, it gathers dozens of historic buildings moved here from across Wales, including farmhouses, a church, a school, workshops and shops, recreating Welsh rural life across the centuries. Craftspeople give live demonstrations of traditional skills and folk events are held at festivals. The grounds are large and green and admission is usually free, so it suits a family outing; allow at least half a day to explore the buildings, gardens and woodland.