Cardiff (Caerdydd) Sights

  1. Bute Park

    To the west of Cardiff Castle flows the River Taff, which is flanked on either side by lovely parklands that extend northwest for 1.5 miles to Llandaff. Bute Park, landscaped in the 1870s by Scots landscape architect Andrew Pettigrew and donated to the city along with the castle in 1947, Sophia Gardens, Pontcanna Fields and Llandaff Fields were all part of the Bute holdings that once extended to Castell Coch.

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  2. Bute Park Animal Wall

    The southern edge of Bute Park, running west from Cardiff Castle along Castle St, is a low wall topped with stone figures of lions, seals, bears and other creatures. The Bute Park Animal Wall was designed by castle architect William Burges but only completed in 1892 after his death; it was extended and more animals added in the 1920s. A newspaper cartoon strip in the '30s brought the animals to life and many Cardiff kids grew up thinking the animals came alive at night.

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  3. Butetown History & Arts Centre

    The Butetown History & Arts Centre is devoted to preserving oral histories, documents and images of the docklands, and its exhibits put the area into both an historical and present-day context.

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  4. Cardiff Arms Park

    Just north of the Millennium Stadium, this is the home ground of the Cardiff Rugby Football Club, founded in 1876. Rugby union is this city's favourite sport, and the Cardiff Blues are Wales' richest, most star-studded club, having fed over 200 players into the national team.

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  5. Cardiff Bay

    Since 1987 the area surrounding the docks has been completely redeveloped as Cardiff Bay, a massive commercial centre filled with gleaming new shopping centres, hotels, restaurants and government buildings. A state-of-the-art tidal barrage has turned the once stinking mudflats into a vast freshwater lake, alive with yacht races on summer weekends.

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  6. Cardiff Bay Barrage

    The Cardiff Bay Barrage is a 0.75 mile-long dam enclosing the harbour. It took five years to build and created a new waterfront around 8 miles in length - a freshwater lake at the mouth of the rivers Taff and Ely. It was a controversial project, as its construction involved flooding mudflats that had provided an important habitat for migrating and breeding waterfowl. The barrage includes sluice gates to control the water flow, three lock gates to allow passage for boats, and a fish pass that lets migrating salmon and sea trout enter and leave the rivers.

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  7. Cardiff Castle

    The Bute family, who transformed Cardiff from a small town into the world's biggest coal port, also transformed Cardiff Castle from a medieval ruin into the landscaped grounds and kitsch Gothic fantasy you see today.

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  8. Cardiff International Arena

    Major musicals and pop concerts are staged at the Cardiff International Arena or, if they're really huge, at the Millennium Stadium.

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  9. Church of St John the Baptist

    Jutting above the city-centre shopping street is the graceful Gothic lantern tower belonging to the 15th-century parish Church of St John the Baptist with its delicate stonework that's almost like filigree. A church has stood on this site since at least 1180. Inside are simple, elegant arches: a calm retreat from the street. Regular lunchtime organ concerts are held here.

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  10. Civic Centre

    Northeast of Cardiff Castle is the Civic Centre, an early 20th-century complex of neo-Baroque buildings in gleaming white Portland stone, set around the green lawns and colourful flowerbeds of Alexandra Gardens. It houses the City Hall, police headquarters, law courts, crown offices and Cardiff University.

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  11. Coal Exchange

    Mount Stuart Square is the heart of Victorian Butetown, once the residential district that housed the dock workers. The old Coal Exchange was once the nerve centre of the Welsh coal trade, and for a time the place where international coal prices were set - it was here in March 1908 that a coal merchant wrote the world's first-ever around £1 million-pound cheque. The Exchange now houses a vibrant arts and performance venue.

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  12. Glamorgan County Cricket Ground

    This is the home to Glamorgan County Cricket Club, the only Welsh club belonging to the England and Wales Cricket Board. At the time of writing it was undergoing redevelopment.

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  13. Goleulong 2000 Lightship

    Near the Norwegian Church on the harbour is the bright-red Goleulong 2000 Lightship, which used to be stationed off Rhossili, warning sailors away from the Helwick Swatch, a treacherous sandbank. It now houses a Christian centre with bookshop, café and exhibitions; you can also check out the neat little cabins and climb to the top of the light tower for the view.

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  14. Llandaff

    Llandaff is a peaceful suburb 2 miles north of the centre, a village clustered around a green that has been swallowed up by the expanding city.

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  15. Llandaff Cathedral

    Set in a hollow on the west bank of the River Taff is the imposingly beautiful Llandaff Cathedral, built on the site of a 6th-century monastery founded by St Teilo.

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  16. Mermaid Quay

    Located by the harbour, Mermaid Quay is crammed with cafes, shops, banks and people out for slice of cosmopolitan Cardiff. A carnival takes place here as part of the Cardiff Festival, with samba bands and dance troupes adding to the lively waterfront atmosphere. A great place for a leisurely shop and stroll.

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  17. Millennium Stadium

    The giant Millennium Stadium squats like a stranded spaceship on the east bank of the River Taff. Attendance at international rugby and football matches has increased dramatically since this 72,500-seat, three-tiered stadium with sliding roof was completed in time to host the 1999 Rugby World Cup.

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  18. National Assembly Building

    Looming over the Pierhead Building like a giant manta ray is Wales' most controversial architectural project, the National Assembly Building - Y Senedd in Welsh - a striking structure of concrete, slate, glass and steel with a dramatic canopy roof. The underside of the roof is lined with red cedar and undulates in waves, mimicking the waves in the bay. It houses the debating chamber of the Welsh National Assembly, committee rooms and a public gallery where you can observe the debating chamber.

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  19. National Assembly Visitor Centre

    The National Assembly Visitor Centre, inside the Pierhead Building, is a glitzy PR exercise explaining who's who and what's what at the nearby National Assembly using state-of-the-art exhibits and interactive computer displays.

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  20. National Museum & Gallery of Wales

    The Civic Centre houses the City Hall, police HQ, law courts and one of the best museums and galleries in Britain. The Evolution of Wales exhibit clips through 4.6 billion years; the Natural History displays include the world's largest turtle; and there is a collection of impressionist and post-impressionist masterpieces the French would envy.

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  21. National Museum Wales

    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.

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  22. Norwegian Church

    On the east side of the harbour, looking like it's popped out of the pages of a storybook, is the Norwegian Church, a white-slatted wooden building with a black witch's-hat spire. Built in 1869 beside the long-gone Bute West Dock, it was a seamen's mission, modelled on the lines of a traditional Norwegian village church. It fell into disrepair, but remained a place of worship until 1974; the Cardiff-born writer Roald Dahl was christened here, and served as president of the preservation trust that restored and renovated the church. It has now been reincarnated as an arts centre with an excellent café, interesting exhibitions, concerts and arts courses.

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  23. Pierhead Building

    The Pierhead Building is one of the area's few Victorian survivors, a red-brick French-Gothic Renaissance confection built with Bute family money for the Cardiff Municipal Railway Co to impress the maritime traffic; the architect was a pupil of William Burges (who designed Cardiff Castle and Castell Coch). It now houses the National Assembly Visitor Centre.

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  24. Techniquest

    The biggest and best science and technology discovery centre in Britain, Techniquest has more than 160 engrossing, fun, hands-on exhibits with absorbing explanations. You can explore whirlwinds, race bubbles, play a harp with no strings and more - equally enjoyable for under-fives, stoned students and inquisitive adults. The shop has lots of quirky stuff and is reasonably priced. There's also a planetarium which stages night-sky demonstrations and science shows.

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  25. Wales Millennium Centre

    The centrepiece and symbol of Cardiff Bay's regeneration is the outstanding Wales Millennium Centre, an architectural masterpiece of stacked Welsh slate in shades of purple, green and grey topped with an overarching bronzed steel shell.

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