Cardiff, Wales, Europe
Welsh capital Cardiff is a political, sporting and artistic centre and one that has been reborn. Once desolate and disused, the city’s Victorian docklands were redeveloped into gleaming Cardiff Bay – a complex of government buildings, arts centres, restaurants, bars and hotels. The town gained not only the Welsh National Assembly, with its cutting-edge Senned building, but also the Wales Millennium Centre, home of the Welsh National Opera.
But Cardiff is not only about the new: besides lots of fine Victorian architecture, there’s the extraordinary neo-medieval Cardiff castle and the tranquil Llandaff Cathedral. The National Museum & Gallery of Wales, a fine and fascinating museum, is a splendidly updated relic of the town’s 19th-century prosperity. |
Full day city tour should include visit to Cardiff Castle, Millennium Stadium, SWALEC Stadium, National Museum Cardiff, Museum of Welsh Life, Llandaff Cathedral, Castell Coch, St. David's and in Cardiff Bay, Techniquest, Cardiff International Pool, Cardiff International White Water, the Senedd and the Pierhead Building.
Child-friendly activities include Team Sport Cardiff, AMF Hollywood Bowl, Parc, Techniquest, Planet Ice Cardiff, Cosmeston Medieval Village, Time Machine Museum, Seaquarium, Cheeky Monkeys Cwmbran, The Helicopter Museum, Brean Sands Funpark, Apex Leisure and Wildlife Park, Middlemoor Water Park, Whirlikidz...Click here for more. |
Newport
A beautiful seaside city in Rhode Island that is famous for its mansions, shopping, and scenery. Newport is also known for hosting the Newport Folk Festival and the Newport Jazz Festival and many other Festivals and Fairs. Cobblestone streets and brick sidewalks accent an upscale touristy downtown area with many shops, galleries and great restaurants and its all located along water. Newport sits on the southern end of Aquidneck Island and features several fine beaches, rocky cliffs and much history including an old fort. Attractions include Tredegar House and Gardens, the Transporter Bridge, the ancient Roman fortress at Caerleon, and St. Woolos Cathedral. The Big Pit National Coal Museum is at Blaenavon, 15 miles to the north. |
Aberystwyth
Called the true capital of Wales by some, this is a smallish town on the Ceredigion coast, just below the Dyfi estuary. Politically, it's in the heart of Nationalist Wales, and is the birthplace of the Welsh Language movement. It is home to one of the oldest parts of the University of Wales. It is also home to the National Library of Wales, one of the UK's few copyright libraries, meaning it has the right to claim a copy of every book published in Britain, which also means that it has one of the highest figures for books per head of population in the world. Its other notable - and notorious - feature is the remarkable number of pubs in the town. The best thing to see in Aber is probably the sunset! The view over Cardigan Bay on a summer's evening can be quite stunning. |
Swansea
A coastal city and county in Wales. Swansea is in the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan. Situated on the sandy South West Wales coast, the county area includes the Gower Peninsula and the Lliw uplands. During its 19th-century industrial heyday, Swansea was one of the key centres of the world copper industry, earning the nickname 'Copperopolis'. Attractions here include the National Waterfront Museum, Dylan Thomas Centre, Plantasia, Oystermouth Castle, Mumbles Pier and the beach and promenade along Swansea Bay and the adjoining Gower Peninsula. The Swansea Valley, which runs north towards Brecon is home to the National Showcaves for Wales, Wales Ape and Monkey Sanctuary and Craig-y-Nos Castle. |
Snowdon
In Snowdonia is the highest mountain in Wales and a popular mountaineering destination. Snowdonia National Park, is like a little slice of the Alps tucked above the rolling moors and hills of North Wales. Lakes, castles, waterfalls, and steam railways create a surreal experience right out of Lord of the Rings. Local signs are often both English and Welsh and many aspects of traditional Welsh life, including food, clothing, and crafts, are still to be found. The region is very popular for hiking, mountaineering, white-water kayaking, and other outdoor pursuits. Snowdonia National Park is an ornithologists paradise with buzzards, ospreys, choughs, peregrines, thrushes, blackbirds, robins, wrens, tits, finches, owls, cuckoos, jays.... you get the idea. |
Hay-on-Wye
A small town in Mid Wales, on the River Wye, very close to the English border and within the borders of the Brecon Beacons National Park. A "town of books", with at least 41 separate bookshops (mostly second-hand / antiquarian / collectors), Hay-on-Wye is probably best known as the location of a prestigious annual Hay Festival, sponsored by the Guardian newspaper. It is often referred to as the "book capital" of the UK. Since 1988, Hay-on-Wye has been the worthy venue for a literary festival which draws over 80,000 bibliophile visitors over 10 days at the end of May / beginning of June, in order to buy books, attend book launches and to see and hear big literary names from all over the world. High profile visitors to the Book Fair have included former US President Bill Clinton. |
Bangor
A picturesque university town. Bangor is a small coastal city in North Wales, and although it does not have an abundance of attractions, it is a picturesque place offering views over the Menai Strait (especially attractive at sunset), and also serves as a convenient base for visiting the nearby Snowdonia National Park. The city is also a popular place to spend the night for travellers leaving for Ireland on the Holyhead to Dublin ferry. Around half of the people in the city can speak Welsh, but if you took away all of the students in the University, this figure would be much higher. Bangor Peir is the quaint fishing harbour and Victorian Pier. Other attractions include Penrhyn Castle, Bangor Cathedral, Gwynedd Museum and Art Gallery, Bangor City FC among others. |