Cardiff (Caerdydd) Entertainment

  1. Bar Cuba

    A colourful Cuban-themed bar, where you can lounge on the big sofas and sip a San Miguel or Cuba libre (happy hour from Friday) before heading to the dance floor to show off your red-hot Latin moves (if they're not so hot, there are salsa classes.)

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  2. Bar Icon

    A newcomer on the scene, Icon is an ultra-stylish cocktail bar decked out in designer shades of olive green and chocolate brown, that pulls in a mixed crowd of gay and straight, male and female, young and old, with comfy sofas and laid-back tunes.

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  3. Barfly

    Part of a UK-wide chain of music clubs, the Cardiff Barfly is a major live-music venue with gigs six nights a week, providing a stage for local talent as well as major bands on tour.

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  4. Bute Dock Hotel

    Originally a Victorian coaching inn, the Bute Dock is a proper local pub, a welcome antidote to the trendy bars of Mermaid Quay. Open-mic sessions on Friday nights keep the pub-singer tradition alive, with amateurs belting out renditions of Tom Jones classic hits.

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  5. Café Bar Europa

    Café Bar Europa is super small, but in a good, cosy way, with exposed brickwork, album covers, and books scattered around. At night it metamorphoses into a bar, where there are poetry readings, DJs, comedy, and acoustic live jazz, blues, folk and rock.

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  6. Café Jazz

    It's not exactly your traditional smoky jazz basement, but this appealing hotel café-bar is the city's main jazz venue, with live jazz kicking off at Monday to Thursday, and blues from Friday (on Saturday nights it's a piano bar). Monday-night jam sessions give new talent a chance to sit in with the house band.

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  7. Cantaloop

    Set in a lovely old red-brick building, Cantaloop is a terminally hip designer lounge bar, with lots of polished wood and leather sofas, an extensive cocktail menu and a Havana cigar bar. There's also a nice outdoor terrace for summer-evening drinks.

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  8. Cayo Arms

    This is a real-ale pub with warm atmosphere and a loyal band of regulars. It serves a fine range of Tomos Watkins real ales, plus guest beers such as Old Speckled Hen, and is filled to bursting on match days.

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  9. Chilli's

    Formerly the University of Wales student union, Chilli's is a stylish chill-out bar and terrace with two dance floors, popular with students on weeknights, but pulling in a mixed crowd at weekends when they have Lamerica (www.lamericapromotions.com), a brilliant soulful/funky house night.

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  10. Cineworld

    Huge 15-screen multiplex screening all the movies you could want.

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  11. City Arms

    A friendly, unpretentious, old-fashioned pub with a classics-crammed jukebox, the City Arms is predictably packed out on rugby weekends (the Millennium Stadium is right across the road), but offers a pleasant place for a quiet pint on weekday afternoons.

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  12. Club X

    Cardiff's biggest gay club has two dance floors, with a great chill-out bar and covered beer garden upstairs. Wednesday night is student night, with cheap drinks, but Saturday is the big one, with chart hits out front and dirty house in the back room. It's also open on the last Sunday of the month ( to ).

    Read more about Club X

  13. Coal Exchange

    Butetown's historic exchange building is a regular venue for Cool House (www.cool-house.co.uk), Cardiff's most famous house-music night, with top UK and international DJs attracting clubbers from as far afield as London and Manchester.

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  14. Cottage

    A long, narrow pub with a traditional atmosphere - wooden floor, brass drip trays, polished mahogany bar - the Cottage attracts a mix of characters, from weary shoppers to local office workers, and offers guest real ales as an alternative to the ubiquitous Brains.

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  15. Creation

    Creation is a huge restaurant, bar and nightclub, all inside a Victorian dark-red brick building. Lunches are good, and the nightclub is cheesy but fun, with DJs talking over the music, and an age range from 18 to at least 65.

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  16. Eli Jenkins

    Named after the vicar in Dylan Thomas' Under Milk Wood, this is a trad-style pub set in a Victorian terrace, with wood-panelling, bookcases and a big screen for the rugby. It's a popular spot for an after-show drink for performers at the Wales Millennium Centre across the square.

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  17. Exit Bar

    A friendly, attitude-free bar with DJs filling the two dance floors with retro disco hits and dance music every night of the week till or . The Exit is another popular, long-standing gay venue.

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  18. Glee Club

    The Glee Club is another comedy chain providing a similar mix of acts.

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  19. Goat Major

    Solidly traditional, with armchairs, a fireplace, and lip-smacking Brains Dark real ale on tap, the Goat Major (ask the bar staff about the name) is an oasis of old-fashioned calm amid the noise and bustle of trendy city-centre bars.

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  20. Golden Cross

    One of the oldest pubs in the city and a long-standing gay venue, this Victorian bar retains it's handsome stained glass, polished wood and ceramic tiles. A daytime atmosphere of relaxed local drinking den escalates into full-on party mode in the evenings, with a crowded programme of drag, cabaret, quiz and karaoke nights.

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  21. Jongleurs

    This well-established comedy chain stages regular stand-up shows on Friday and Saturday nights, with a trademark mix of well-known names, regulars and raw newcomers.

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  22. Kings Cross

    Prominently positioned at one end of Cardiff's café quarter, the recently tarted-up KX (as its known) is a stalwart of the gay scene, with cabaret on Wednesday, DJs on Friday and Saturday, and karaoke on Sunday

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  23. Moloko

    An industrially decorated vodka bar with good cocktails and Russian lettering on the walls - so you don't forget the theme after too many shots. Moloko is a relaxing place with a good mixed crowd, and the music ranges from Motown to hip-hop.

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  24. New Theatre

    This restored Edwardian playhouse - Anna Pavlova and Sarah Bernhardt are among those who have trod the boards here - hosts various touring productions, including big West End and Broadway shows, as well as musicals and pantomime.

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  25. Point

    Set in a beautifully converted Victorian church, the Point has hosted gigs by a wide range of bands since opening in 2003, including the Stereophonics, Super Furry Animals and the Darkness. It's now one of the city's best live-rock and metal venues, with gigs several nights a week.

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