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CardiffPOP 346,000

Includes  Why Go? Sights...... 45 The capital of Wales since only 1955, Cardiff has embraced Activities...... 57 the role with vigour, emerging in the new millennium as Tours...... 57 one of Britain’s leading urban centres. Caught between an Festivals & Events . . . . 57 ancient fort and an ultramodern waterfront, compact Car- diff seems to have surprised even itself with how interesting Sleeping...... 58 it has become. Eating...... 62 The city has entered the 21st century pumped up on ster- Drinking & Nightlife. . . . 65 oids, flexing its recently acquired architectural muscles as if Entertainment ...... 66 it’s still astonished to have them. This newfound confidence Shopping...... 68 is infectious, and these days it’s not just the rugby that draws crowds into the city. Come the weekend, a buzz reverberates Vale of Glamorgan. . . . 73 through the streets as swarms of shoppers hit the Hayes, Penarth ...... 73 followed by waves of revellers descending on the capital’s Barry (Y Barri) ...... 75 thriving pubs, bars and live-music venues. Cardiff makes an excellent base for day trips to the sur- rounding valleys and coast, where you’ll find castles, beach- es, interesting industrial sites and ancient monuments. Best Places to Eat ¨¨Purple Poppadom (p64) ¨¨Fish at 85 (p64) ¨¨Mint & Mustard (p65) When to Go ¨¨ ¨¨Oz Urfa (p65) January and February are the coldest months, although Wales’ home matches in the Six Nations Rugby ¨¨Riverside Market (p64) Championship warm spirits in February and March. ¨¨June is the driest month but many of the big festivals hold out until July, including the Cardiff International Best Places Food & Drink Festival, the Everyman Open Air Theatre to Sleep Festival and the Welsh Proms. In August, the warmest ¨¨Number 62 (p61) month, knights storm the castle, classic motor boats converge and gay pride takes over the streets. ¨¨Lincoln House (p61) ¨¨Making the most of the December chill, Cardiff’s Winter ¨¨Park Plaza (p61) Wonderland brings ice skating and Santa’s grotto to the ¨¨River House (p62) Civic Centre. ¨¨Safehouse (p60) Cardiff SiSIGghHTSts 45

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.uk; . Welsh artists and Au such as Gwen . Welsh ac Sights City Centre . Cardiff National Museum The excellent art collection’s treasures The excellent art collection’s The Evolution of Wales exhibit whizzes of Wales The Evolution The from natural-history range displays Wales had no official capital and the need and the capital no official had Wales gustus John, Richard Wilson, Thomas Jones, Richard Wilson, Thomas Jones, gustus John, rep and Ceri Richards are well Jones David resented, along with famous names from Da Bacon, Francis as such border the across and Rachel Whiteread. vid Hockney est turtle (2.88m by 2.74m), a leatherback est turtle (2.88m by 2.74m), is also beach, was found on Harlech that here, suspended on wires from the ceiling. Monet’s of a trio include side his scenes of London, Rouen and Ven Theice; Sisley’s Cliff at Penarth (the artist was married in Cardiff); shim Renoir’s mering TheKiss; Auvers o (Map p50; wales tory and art,building neoclassical this grand sevenis the centrepiece of the institutions around the country togetherdotted that one It’s Museum. National form the Welsh best museums; you’ll need at of Britain’s least three hours to do it justice, but it could easily consume the best day. part of a rainy of through 4600 million years onlookers its rollicking multimedia history, geological context. into a global Wales placing display and aerial foot eruptions Films of volcanic explainlandscape itshow Welsh the of age scenerydinosaursmodel while formed, was kids the help keep mammoths and woolly interested. insectscoloured brightly 9m-longthe to washedskeleton of a humpback whale that larg The in 1982. up near Aberthaw world’s Butes packing their bags and leaving town leaving bags and their packing Butes castle the a large and donating in 1947, city. of land to the chunk as an important was seen for one focus for had the advantage Cardiff nationhood. Welsh and boastingbiggest the city of being Wales’ wasarchitecturalof the Civic Centre. It riches in 1955, of Wales capital first proclaimed the of the ballot of the members chosen via a 36 votes received Cardiff authorities. Welsh four. 11 and Aberystwyth’s to Caernarfon’s 1 1 Tue-Sun)

------racial work racial The post-WWI slump in the coal tradecoal in the slump Thepost-WWI The docklands expanded rapidly, the The docklands expanded rapidly, A year earlier the second marquess of second marquess the earlier year A The city owes its present stature to iron stature its present The owes city The first of the Tudor Acts of Union in Acts of Union The of the Tudor first and the Great Depression of the 1930s Depression and the Great this expansion.slowed The was badly city bombing,WWII by damaged claimedwhich Shortly 350 lives. afterwardsover the coal industry which led to the was nationalised, gurated. In 1913 Cardiff became the world’s the world’s became 1913 Cardiff In gurated. top coal port, exporting some 13 million tonnes of the stuff. ers’ community known as Tiger Bay grew up Bay Tiger as known community ers’ 1905in the harbourside area of Butetown. In and a a city, designated was officially Cardiff its elegant Civic Centre was inau later year ting off a kind of black gold rush – the Butes a kind of black gold ting off it be shipped in a position to insist that were and running. was off from Butetown. Cardiff Butes grew staggeringly rich and the city mushrooming to boomed, its population by the end of the 19th170,000 century and multi­ large, A 1931. by 227,000 to town, just south of Cardiff, getting the jump getting town, just south of Cardiff, ports. By the time it on other South Wales on everyone immense re dawned what serves in the valleys – set were of coal there organshire Canal for shipping iron from Mer 1840 this was In down to Cardiff. Tydfil thyr Railway. Vale supplanted by the new Taff Bute had completed Bute docks at the first 1536 put the English stamp on Cardiff and1536 put the English stamp on Cardiff impor But despite its brought some stability. port,a as tance market bishopric,and town living here in 1801. only 1000 people were valleysand coal mining in the to the north. aon exported first was Coal Cardiff from the Bute 1794 In small scale as early as 1600. owned much of the land from family,which coal was mined, built the Glam which Welsh fated rebellion against domination. English fated tle within the Roman walls and a small towntle within the Roman walls in agrew damaged up around it. Both were revolt in 1183 and the town was sacked Welsh in 1404 by Owain Glyndŵr during his ill- In AD 75 the Romans built a fort built a 75 the Romans AD Car where In Castle now stands. Thename Cardiff diff on the (Fort Caer Tâf from derives probably refer Fort), (Didius’ Didi Caer or Taff) River Aulus Didius. After general ring to Roman leftthe Romans Britain the site remained unoccupied Conquest. Norman until the named Robert knight 1093 a Norman In and(conqueror of Glamorgan Fitzhamon earl of Gloucester) built himself a cas later History