Celtic Ocean Home :  Places, Towns & Cities : Cardiff

Cardiff, City of Cardiff

Cardiff is an exciting, modern, European capital and celebrated its century as a city and its 50th anniversary as the capital of Wales in 2005.

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Events

Saturday 25th – Sunday 26th September

The Great British Cheese Festival

The Great British Cheese Festival has made its home, slap bang in the middle of the beautiful setting of Cardiff Castle.

Taste, try & buy over 450 British Cheeses.

Gather your foodie friends together, and make your way here, to try, taste and buy from the finest selection of Great British cheeses. With samplings and tastings, master classes and demonstrations, you will get a real insight into the subtle art of cheese making.

Tickets are available in advance via the website, or are available on the gate. Please note that the festival gets extremely busy, so get there early to avoid disappointment.

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About Cardiff

The elegant Civic Centre, constructed of White Portland Stone, gives the buildings a similar appearance to those at Whitehall, London. They include the Law Courts, City Hall and the National Museum & Gallery.

The National Museum & Gallery has exhibits relating to history, science, geology and archaeology. The Gallery has a superb collection of paintings, drawings, sculpture, silver and ceramics. This area of the city is just a five minutes walk from the busy shopping malls and arcades.

There are 4 shopping malls: St. David's Centre, Queen's Arcade, Capitol Centre and the St. David's 2 Centre that opened on Thursday 22nd October 2009. This £670m development includes a John Lewis Store, second in size only to their flagship store in London.

Shopping in Cardiff is not only easy, it's both a treat and a unique experience; In addition to the malls there are the Victorian Arcades that run off St. Mary Street and Castle Street populated with many differing, independent retailers, each with their own distinctive personality. The arcades are: Castle, High Street, Duke Street, Royal, Morgan and Wyndham. They offer customers a wide choice of merchandise that's always different, helping to give Cardiff city centre true 'character'. (See also 'Public Houses' and 'Retailers')

Add to that, a superb choice of excellent pubs, clubs, restaurants, cafes and hotels and you have everything that you need.

The world-famous 75,000 seat, Millennium Stadium is situated right in the heart of the city alongside the River Taff, with many national and international sports events taking place, especially Rugby Union, when famous national teams from around the world compete against Wales. During the re-construction of the Wembley Football Stadium, FA Cup matches were played at the Millennium Stadium. Conducted tours give visitors the experience of what it’s like to walk on the ‘hallowed turf’ and to imagine the furnace-like atmosphere of the Millennium Stadium on a 'match day'.

In Cardiff Bay the world-famous Wales Millennium Centre is situated adjacent to Y Sennedd - the Welsh Assembly Government. For more information go to the menu on the Home Page - 'Places Towns & Cities - Cardiff Bay'.

The city's history goes back to The Romans, who built a fortress at a major crossing point on the River Taff, for commercial and military movements to and from Caerleon, Neath and Carmarthen.

When the Normans invaded, Cardiff once again became a military base for the conquest of the coastal plain westwards. The Norman Keep is in the centre of the city, within the walls of the Marquess of Bute’s impressive mock castle. Beneath the present castle walls, some remains of the Roman Fortress can be seen.

Because the city centre is compact, there is no need to pay for expensive transport to get around, and attractions such as the National Museum and Gallery and the Museum of Welsh Life have free admission.

Llandaff Cathedral is situated in the northern part of the city, just off the A48 (A48M).
For visitors wishing to attend a service at the cathedral please go to the Website: http://homepage.ntlworld.com/llandaff

Directions

Cardiff' nearest towns: Penarth, Barry, Bridgend,Caerffili, Newport. Cardiff is just south of the M4 Jctns 32 & 33.