Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital and largest city of Wales.
Cardiff is the capital and largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of 381,516 in 2025 and forms a principal area officially known as the City and County of Cardiff. The city is the eleventh largest in the United Kingdom. Located in the southeast of Wales, the city sits within the Cardiff Capital Region, which consists of 1.5 million people, accounting for roughly half the nation's total population. Cardiff is the county town of the historic county of Glamorgan and from 1974 to 1996 of South Glamorgan. It belongs to the Eurocities network of the largest European cities. A small town until the early 19th century, its prominence as a port for coal when mining began in the region helped its expansion. In 1905, it was ranked as a city and in 1955 proclaimed capital of Wales. The Cardiff urban area covers a larger area outside the county boundary, including the towns of Dinas Powys and Penarth.
Adapted from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Worth seeing in and around Cardiff
10 places within 25 km that the world writes about, in the order of how widely: the ones a visitor has heard of first, then the ones only a local would name.
- 01Millennium Stadium
The Millennium Stadium, known since 2016 as the Principality Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is the national stadium of Wales in Cardiff. It has a retractable roof and a usual capacity of 73,931.
500 m · national stadium of Wales · Wikipedia - 02Cardiff University
Cardiff University is a public research university in Cardiff, Wales. It was established in 1883 as the University College of South Wales and Monmouthshire and became a founding college of the University of Wales in 1893.
600 m · public research university in Cardiff, United Kingdom · Wikipedia - 03Cardiff City Stadium
Cardiff City Stadium is a stadium in the Leckwith area of Cardiff, Wales. It is the home of Cardiff City and the Wales national team.
1.9 km · Stadium in Wales · Wikipedia - 04Cardiff Castle
Cardiff Castle is a medieval castle and Victorian Gothic revival mansion located in the city centre of Cardiff, Wales. The original motte and bailey castle was built in the late 11th century by Norman invaders on top of a 3rd-century Roman fort.
200 m · castle in Cardiff, Wales · Wikipedia - 05National Museum Cardiff
National Museum Cardiff, formerly known as the National Museum of Wales, is a museum and art gallery in Cardiff, Wales. The museum is part of the wider network of Amgueddfa Cymru – Museum Wales.
500 m · Main site of the national museum of Wales, United Kingdom · Wikipedia - 06Llandaff Cathedral
Llandaff Cathedral is a Church in Wales cathedral and parish church in Llandaff, Cardiff, Wales. It is the seat of the Bishop of Llandaff, head of the Church in Wales Diocese of Llandaff.
3.1 km · Anglican cathedral in Cardiff, Wales · Wikipedia - 07Ninian Park
Ninian Park was a football stadium in the Leckwith area of Cardiff, Wales, that was the home of Cardiff City for 99 years. Opened in 1910 with a single wooden stand, it underwent numerous renovations during its lifespan and hosted fixtures with over 60,000 spectators in attendance.
1.6 km · stadium in Cardiff, Wales · Wikipedia - 08Castell Coch
Castell Coch is a 19th-century Gothic Revival castle built above the village of Tongwynlais in Wales. The first castle on the site was built by the Normans after 1081 to protect the newly conquered town of Cardiff and control the route along the River Taff.
8 km · castle in Tongwynlais, Cardiff, Wales · Wikipedia - 09Cardiff Metropolitan Cathedral
The Metropolitan Cathedral Church of St David, also known as St David's Cathedral, Cardiff, is a Catholic cathedral in the city centre of Cardiff, Wales, and is the centre of the Archdiocese of Cardiff-Menevia. Located in Charles Street, the cathedral remains the focal point for Catholic life in Cardiff, and the country as a whole.
400 m · Roman Catholic cathedral in Cardiff, Wales · Wikipedia - 10SWALEC Stadium
The Cardiff Wales Stadium, which is part of Sophia Gardens Cardiff, is a cricket stadium in Cardiff, Wales. It is located in Sophia Gardens on the River Taff.
1 km · Cricket Stadium in Cardiff, Wales · Wikipedia
Ranked by the number of language editions of Wikipedia with an article on each, from Wikidata; the sentences are the openings of those articles, CC BY-SA 4.0.
What Wikivoyage says to see
- 01Cardiff Castle
- 02The Millennium Stadium
- 03The Wales Millennium Centre
- 04The Welsh Parliament or Senedd Cymru
The seat of Wales' national government and was opened on St David's Day, 1 March 2006 by Queen Elizabeth II.
- 05The Norwegian Church
It was established in Cardiff Bay to serve the large community of Norwegian sailors working in the docks.
- 06Llandaff Cathedral
From Wikivoyage: Cardiff, CC BY-SA 4.0. Not yet checked by us.
Things to do
Relax in Bute Park or in the grounds of the castle, for a break from the hustle of the city centre. Visit Cardiff Bay a truly cosmopolitan experience full of restaurants, bars and cafes. A good place for a 'passeggiata' on a Sunday afternoon.
- 01New Theatre
- 02Sherman Theatre
Independent theatre.
- 03Chapter Arts Centre
Canton.
- 04Odeon
Hemingway Rd, Cardiff Bay, CF10 4JY.
- 05Cineworld
Mainstream multiplex cinema, across the road from Motorpoint Arena Cardiff.
- 06The Glee Club
Mermaid Quay, Cardiff Bay, info@glee.co.uk.
From Wikivoyage: Cardiff, CC BY-SA 4.0. Not yet checked by us.
Where to eat
It can be very difficult to book a table in the better restaurants on a Friday or Saturday evening. As a rule of thumb Mermaid Quay and the city centre are jam packed full with a varied contrast of eateries allowing you to experience many different tastes within a small area. Vegetarian options are easy to find, and vegan options reasonably so.
- 01The Prince of Wales
A great city centre location offering great food all day at some good prices considering its very central location.
- 02Blue Bell
33 High Street, CF10 1PU, info@bluebellcardiff.co.uk.
- 03The Rummer Tavern
Sun-Thu 11AM-11PM, Fri Sat 10AM-midnight.
- 04Vegetarian Food Studio
115-117 Penarth Road, Grangetown, enquiries@vegetarianfoodstudio.co.uk.
- 05Crumbs Kitchen
33 Morgan Arcade.
From Wikivoyage: Cardiff, CC BY-SA 4.0. Not yet checked by us.
Getting to Cardiff
- Airports
- Cardiff (CWL), 15 km · Bristol (BRS), 34 km · Birmingham (BHX), 146 km
- Stations
- Cardiff Central railway station, 700 m · Cardiff Queen Street railway station, 600 m
- London → Cardiff211 km · quickest by road, 3h 57m · £22–29
- Birmingham, West Midlands → Cardiff142 km · quickest by road, 2h 50m · £16–21
- Nottingham, Leicestershire → Cardiff214 km · quickest by road, 3h 56m · £23–31
- Plan a tripFrom anywhereThe planner compares every way there from wherever you are.
Road and air are today’s quick answer; timetabled trains, buses and ferries load on the results page from the operators’ feeds.
No local-transport research exists yet for Cardiff
Our researched notes are written from a sourced entry: every shared taxi, boat and village bus with its operator, its rule, its fare and the year we saw it, and what could not be confirmed. Nobody has done that work for Cardiff. What is above is what we hold from open sources; nothing here pretends to be more.
- Go nextIt is possible to visit Hereford as a day trip, using either train or car.
From Wikivoyage: Cardiff, CC BY-SA. Not yet checked by us; that article was last edited 2026-09.
- 01109 km
- 02158 km
- 03473 km
- 04481 km
- 05509 km
If you know how people move in Cardiff – the stand, the rule, the fare – tell us, and the note gets an entry.
Next door to Cardiff
Cardiff is 40 km from Bristol, the nearest large city, whose note carries the wider picture.
- Penarthtown and community in the Vale of Glamorgan, south Wales5.1 km
- Llandaffdistrict of Cardiff, Wales, UK2.7 km
- Dinas Powysvillage and community in Vale of Glamorgan, Wales5.7 km
- Wenvoevillage and community in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales, UK7.2 km
- Peterston-super-Elyvillage and community in Vale of Glamorgan, Wales10 km
- Llanrumneydistrict and community of Cardiff5.9 km