{"id":19531,"date":"2017-01-27T12:02:48","date_gmt":"2017-01-27T12:02:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/travelodgeblog.wpengine.com\/?p=19531"},"modified":"2024-08-16T11:00:45","modified_gmt":"2024-08-16T10:00:45","slug":"cardiff","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.travelodge.co.uk\/blog\/things-to-do\/cardiff\/","title":{"rendered":"Things to do in Cardiff"},"content":{"rendered":"

Wales\u2019 capital city is buzzy and cosmopolitan, yet easy to navigate by foot or bike \u2013 making it a perfect destination for a city break.<\/h3>\n

Cardiff weekend life is now largely focused around its handsomely redeveloped bay area, which is home to numerous shops, restaurants, and bars profiting from the lovely harbour-side location. But this city is so much more than just the coastline \u2013 it\u2019s home to the superb Principality Stadium, stately museums, vibrant arts venue and even an inner-city castle. That means a short break in Cardiff can be focused around sport, art, the coast, dining or shopping \u2013 or a little bit of all.<\/p>\n

Eat oysters with a 360-degree view of the bay<\/h5>\n

Cardiff Bay<\/span><\/a> is lively and beautiful. But it hasn\u2019t always been so \u2013 the area around the port was re-developed during the 1990s in a grand (and controversial) project that saw the extensive tidal mudflats inundated to make a non-tidal harbour. Now a real cultural and social hub, the Bayside Brasserie is a smart bistro style restaurant, with a stylish circular dining room and unrivalled views of the water. You couldn\u2019t have a better introduction to Cardiff than a plate of oysters, eaten with an unbeatable view of this lively bay.<\/p>\n

\"Cardigan<\/h5>\n
Take a seat at a world-class production at the Wales Millennium Centre<\/h5>\n

After languishing in the planning stages for many years, and abandoning two ambitious designs by Zaha Hadid, the Wales Millennium Centre<\/span><\/a> finally opened its doors in 2004. An incredible structure, the building is known by many as The Armadillo. Designed to reflect the Welsh nationality, the frontage is emblazoned with the words \u201cIn These Stones Horizons Sing – Creu Gwir Fel Gwydr O Ffwrnais Awen\u201d<\/em>. Architect Jonathan Adams used layers of multi-coloured Welsh slate to construct the main exterior walls, and oxidized coated steel cladding to give it its extraordinary copperish hue. Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber, who should know a thing or two about performance centres, has described it as \u201cthe best theatre built in the world in the last 50 years.<\/em>\u201d As such, it attracts theatrical heavyweights from Stewart Lee to the Welsh National Opera. Book tickets<\/span><\/a> well in advance for the big names, but call in on the day to pick up a ticket for an interesting piece of fringe theatre or dance.<\/p>\n

Avoid extermination at the Doctor Who Experience<\/span><\/a><\/h5>\n

If you see any members of the public dressed up as Daleks as you mill around Cardiff Bay, fear not \u2013 it is quite normal to see enthusiasts of this cult BBC show waiting to enter the multi-sensory experience dedicated to the Doctor. Why here? The show is filmed in the BBC studios just down the road. Fans can take an interactive journey through 50 years of sci-fi adventuring from TV\u2019s most famous time traveller. There are also permanent and pop-up exhibitions with original props and costumes on display. And if you\u2019re really keen, you can buy a ticket to tour the real set here \u2013 and set foot in the famous Tardis itself.<\/p>\n

Watch one of the world\u2019s best rugby teams play in one of the world\u2019s best stadiums<\/h5>\n

Cardiff was a major beneficiary when the millennium fund was doling out cash across the UK in the run up to 2000. The Principality Stadium<\/span><\/a> \u2013 formally known as the Millennium Stadium \u2013 was a product of that funding, and it opened in 1999 to host the Rugby World Cup. Cardiff is a true rugby town, and during international tournaments, the place really lights up. Buy your tickets<\/span><\/a> in advance and build your whole weekend around a home match at this fabulous stadium \u2013 you\u2019ll get a glimpse of Cardiff residents at their loudest and proudest.<\/p>\n

Eat out behind bars<\/h5>\n

A weekend break in Cardiff<\/a> could land you in the clink if you play your cards right. The Clink<\/span><\/a> is a restaurant in Cardiff prison \u2013 staffed by inmates who are training with City & Guilds to earn NVQs that might help them find employment when they are released. The restaurant has a very low re-offender rate amongst its staff and is an excellent and unconventional example of prison-based re-education at work. But philanthropy aside, prison food is great – the restaurant has won numerous awards for its locally sourced cuisine \u2013 with twists on old Welsh classics like haddock rarebit.<\/p>\n

This Welsh city has something for everyone to enjoy, so why not take a look at our hotels in Cardiff<\/span><\/a> and explore!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Bustling and cosmopolitan, the Welsh capital is the perfect destination for a city break.","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1361],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19531","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-things-to-do"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.travelodge.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19531","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.travelodge.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.travelodge.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.travelodge.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.travelodge.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19531"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.travelodge.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19531\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.travelodge.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19531"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.travelodge.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19531"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.travelodge.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19531"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}