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Cardiff
Capital and largest city of Wales

Cardiff

Cardiff is the capital and largest city of Wales.

Plan a trip to Cardiff→From London

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.

Get in

Getting to Cardiff

= =

  1. 01
    Cardiff Airport
  2. 02
    Rhoose Cardiff International Airport
  3. 03
    Cardiff Central
  4. 04
    Cardiff Queen Street

    Entry and exit to the platforms are controlled using ticket barriers.

See

Worth seeing

  1. 01
    Cardiff Castle
  2. 02
    The Millennium Stadium
  3. 03
    The Wales Millennium Centre
  4. 04
    The 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.

  5. 05
    The Norwegian Church

    It was established in Cardiff Bay to serve the large community of Norwegian sailors working in the docks.

  6. 06
    Llandaff Cathedral
Do

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.

  1. 01
    New Theatre
  2. 02
    Sherman Theatre

    Independent theatre.

  3. 03
    Chapter Arts Centre

    Canton.

  4. 04
    Odeon

    Hemingway Rd, Cardiff Bay, CF10 4JY.

  5. 05
    Cineworld

    Mainstream multiplex cinema, across the road from Motorpoint Arena Cardiff.

  6. 06
    The Glee Club

    Mermaid Quay, Cardiff Bay, info@glee.co.uk.

Eat

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.

  1. 01
    The Prince of Wales

    A great city centre location offering great food all day at some good prices considering its very central location.

  2. 02
    Blue Bell

    33 High Street, CF10 1PU, info@bluebellcardiff.co.uk.

  3. 03
    The Rummer Tavern

    Sun-Thu 11AM-11PM, Fri Sat 10AM-midnight.

  4. 04
    Vegetarian Food Studio

    115-117 Penarth Road, Grangetown, enquiries@vegetarianfoodstudio.co.uk.

  5. 05
    Crumbs Kitchen

    33 Morgan Arcade.

How locals move

Getting around Cardiff the local way

  • 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. Last edited 2026-09.

Text adapted from Wikipedia and Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA 4.0. Photograph: mattbuck (CC BY-SA 3.0), Wikimedia Commons.