I’m going to Cardiff with my wife this weekend. We’ll be staying with her cousin so will be well looked after and shown around I’m sure, but I’d still like to have some ideas for what to see/do. The only time I’ve been to Cardiff before was for a game at the millenium stadium so I’m starting from pretty close to zero in terms of local knowledge – any suggestions/recommendations would be very welcome.

I see there’s a reasonably recent thread on places to eat here but additions to that list (also good coffee/lunch spots and real/craft ale pubs) would be great too.

Thanks STW!

Bumble around shops – have a look at arcades that link streets.
Have a snoop around castle.
Go to Bute Park. Tea/cake at Pettigrew Tea rooms. Have a stroll.
Get Aqua Bus – takes you along river to Cardiff Bay.
Have a look around – maybe go to Dr Who Experience.
Eat somewhere fancy in Bay.
Get taxi back into city centre. Lots of crafy ale type places to explore – Tiny Rebel is good.

Have a coffee in the castle.
Wander the streets, particularly the arcades
Walk through Bute Park, they do make an effort with the gardens

Eat somewhere fancy in Bay.

Fine dining meets curry

I still salivate everytime I think of the food there.

Yes, if shopping is something you enjoy (I really don’t) there’s loads of it – your choices are the MASSIVE new indoor shopping arcades, which have expanded to the point it’s one massive building now really full of the exact same shops you can find in any shopping place, or the little 19th centry arcades in the ‘Castle Quarter’ which are lovely, they’re amazing looking buildings.

Cardiff Indoor Market is always worth a half-hour walk around, there’s not a lot to buy for tourists because it’s mostly food, but if you’re staying with friends you might be able to make a nice meal together.

There’s a museum, which is free, St. Fagan’s Museum of Welsh Life, it’s also free bar parking – it’s a village and the various buildings are done out in various historical points.

Cardiff Bay is a lot of bars a restaurants in a lovely setting (if the sun is shining) – there’s a fun fair there at the moment too.

If you fancy I night out Cardiff City Centre might not be ideal, it’s a massive Stag / Hen do type thing, there are some smaller bars that aren’t so crazy but I’m so out of the loop I wouldn’t have a clue where to start – there’s a pattern to it – a new area / bar will open that will be popular with the local, locals, after work drinks, ‘sophisticated’ AKA a bit stuck up, then the people who live in the surrounding towns and villages will find it and it goes a bit mental, then finally the stag parties turn up and it’s chaos. If you’re not 18-25 and fancy getting wankered on Aftershock and passing out in a bin, the suburbs are better – Whitchurch, Rhiwbina, Canton, Fairwater, Penarth (different town over the water) – in fact Penarth is worth a day all on it’s own – Victorian Seaside Resort, it’s had it’s ups and downs but there’s a nice seafront (not much of a beach though) nice little cafes and bars, a Pier and lots of parks – average age of resident is about 107.

In top of that there’s the usual stuff, ice rink, cinemas, pool with a sort of splash park feel – loads of massive, very ornate gardens which are nice to cycle through.

The odd bit of Mountain Biking, in pretty much any direction to care to look, bar south – because there’s where the sea is.

Castles: Cardiff Castle, Castell Coch, Caerphilly Castle

History & Culture: National museum and art gallery of Wales (in Civic center) for a bit of Monet, Renoir,Van Gogh etc.) Also if it is nice St Fagans National Museum of History is ace (well I think so).

Parks: Bute Park (right behind Cardiff Castle), Roath Park

Walks: Taff Trail, Forest around Castell Coch, Garth hill for view over Cardiff and over to England (on a nice day anyway).

Also if it is nice St Fagans National Museum of History is ace

It is yes.

Thanks all, great stuff

The Big Cheese festival is on in Caerphilly this weekend, maybe worth a gander.

Tiny Rebel have a bar in Cardiff now: http://www.tinyrebel.co.uk/bars/cardiff

Zerodegrees just up the road too.

+1 for Tiny Rebel.

Had a few pints of the Marshmallow Porter the other week and didn’t want to leave.

Tiny rebel, small bar and brewdog for decent drinking

Lego shop!

I liked the museum, it’s quite kiddy but in a good way, good displays etc. Things are only interesting if they happened in Wales though.

New York Deli in one of the arcades for amazing sandwiches. Chocolate cake is pretty good too.

It’s mostly shops, but the parks are a good size. Can hear music college rehearsals in Bute Park as it’s nextdoor.

And LEGO shop.