Introduction
Cardiff is the smallest capital city in the UK and uses that compactness well. The centre is genuinely walkable, the castle, the market, the Victorian arcades, and Bute Park all sit within 15 minutes of each other. The city punches above its size for food, culture, and nightlife, and the areas most visitors miss. Pontcanna, Canton, Roath, are often where the best of it lives.
The Victorian and Edwardian built fabric in the centre is excellent: the covered market, the Coal Exchange, the arcades (Cardiff has the highest concentration of Victorian shopping arcades outside London), and the castle, which contains one of the strangest interiors in Britain, medieval Norman shell keep on the outside, Victorian Gothic fantasy within. Don't skip it.
Getting There
Cardiff Central station is in the heart of the city, walking distance from almost everything. GWR trains from London Paddington run in about 2 hours. From Bristol, it's 50 minutes. Cardiff Wales Airport (CWL) is 12 miles southwest, connected by bus (50 minutes to city centre). The city centre is very walkable; Cardiff Bus and the Cardiff Bay barrage connect the wider city.
Neighbourhoods to Know
City Centre, the castle, the market, the arcades, the Civic Centre, is compact and busy.
Cardiff Bay is 2 miles south, the regenerated waterfront, the Wales Millennium Centre, and Mermaid Quay.
Roath and Penylan are the inner east. Victorian terraces, Roath Park, independent cafes along City Road.
Pontcanna and Canton are the inner west, the most characterful residential neighbourhoods, best independent food and drink.
