National Museum Wales

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Lonely Planet review

In the southeast corner of the Civic Centre is the splendid National Museum Wales, one of Britain's best museums, covering natural history and geology, art and archaeology.

The Evolution of Wales exhibit takes you through 4600 million years of geological history, with a rollicking multimedia display that places Wales into a global context. Spectacular films of volcanic eruptions and aerial footage of the country's stunning landscape explain how its scenery was formed, while model dinosaurs and woolly mammoths help keep the kids interested.

The natural-history displays range from cunningly camouflaged insects to the awesome 9m-long skeleton of a humpback whale that washed up near Aberthaw in 1982. The world's largest turtle (2.88m by 2.74m), which was found on Harlech beach, is now stuck here, suspended on wires from the ceiling.

The art gallery houses an incredible collection - many impressionist and postimpressionist pieces were bequeathed to the museum in 1952 (with more in 1963) by the Davies sisters, Gwendoline and Margaret, granddaughters of 19th-century coal and shipping magnate David Davies. Treasures include luminous works by Monet and Pissaro, Sisley's The Cliff at Penarth (the artist was married in Cardiff) and portraits by Renoir, including the shimmering, soft and extraordinarily attractive La Parisienne . The sisters' favourite was Cézanne, but there are works by Matisse too, and the anguished Rain: Auvers by Van Gogh, who killed himself a few days after finishing the painting. The Pre-Raphaelites are well represented, as is Rodin, with a cast of The Kiss . Older works include those by El Greco, Poussin and Botticelli.

Welsh artists such as Richard Wilson, Thomas Jones, David Jones and Ceri Richards are all here, as well as Gwen and Augustus John - a highlight is John's beguilingly angelic portrayal of Dylan Thomas. Modern works include pieces by Francis Bacon, David Hockney and Rachel Whitread.

The museum's Glanely Gallery is an interactive area where you can peer at items from the collection through microscopes and use interpretive computers. There are numerous changing exhibitions, recitals and a holiday programme of children's events.

You'll need at least three hours to see the museum properly - and it could easily take up a whole day. There are half-hour tours focusing on various aspects of the gallery every Saturday at , and regular classical and jazz concerts - call or check the website for information.