Rugged beauty and casual fun in Cardiff

Why Cardiff?

The capital of Wales is a young and vibrant city, and an ideal base to explore the beautiful surrounding countryside of South Wales. Cardiff was granted city status only in 1905 and became the Welsh capital in 1955. It may be new but it's full of history, with Cardiff Castle at its centre. The site was the home of a Roman fort in 55 AD, rebuilt by the Normans in 1081 and renovated in 1868 by the Bute family, who gave it to the people of Cardiff in 1947. A few hundred metres away is the second fortress of the city, Millennium Stadium, home to matches of the Welsh rugby and football teams. The Bay area of Cardiff, formally the docks, was completely renovated to accommodate new residential and commercial areas with views across Bristol Channel. It's home to the modern Welsh Millennium Centre, an arts and culture centre that stages musicals, theatre and art exhibitions.

A comfortable bed

The modern St David's Hotel and Spa (www.thestdavidshotel.com; 00 44 2920 454 045) provides five-star accommodation in Cardiff's Bay area. Close by is the more intimate boutique hotel, and former seaman's lodge, Jolyons Hotel (www.jolyons.co.uk; 00 44 2920 488 775; rooms from £75 [Dh454] per night), with six individually designed rooms, including a Moroccan-themed room, looking across to the Welsh Millennium Centre. Downstairs is the cosy Bar Cwtch (cwtch is a Welsh word that loosely translates into English as a safe place akin to a hug). The 1920s Holm House (www.holmhouse.co.uk; 00 44 2920 701 572) in nearby Penarth offers a more peaceful, coastal setting. The seaside town, six kilometres from the Bay, was popular in the Victorian era, with views across Bristol Channel to the Islands of Flatholm and Steepholm. The hotel is fitted with modern rooms, and suites come with Bang and Olufsen technology. In the city centre is the Big Sleep Hotel (www.thebigsleephotel.com; 00 44 2920 636 363; rooms from £58 [Dh351]), part-owned by the Hollywood actor John Malkovich.

Find your feet

The Taff Trail cuts its way from Cardiff Bay through the city and to the beautiful Brecon Beacons, nearly 88km away. A bit too much to walk in a day, but tackling part of it is a great introduction to the more scenic side of the capital city. The trail starts at Roald Dahl Plass, named after the famous children's author who was baptised at the nearby Norwegian Church, a landmark wooden church built in the 1860s by Norwegian sailors.

The Bay is an architecturally diverse area, with the Welsh Millennium Centre and Senedd (the home of the Welsh Assembly), which sports a steel ceiling, wooden roof and glass facade - to make visible the inner workings of the assembly, or so they say - alongside the Grade-One listed, 113-year-old Pierhead building with a clock tower dubbed Wales's very own Big Ben (www.pierhead.org; open Monday to Saturday; open from 10.30am to 4.30pm). The trail leaves the Bay towards the city, following the bank of the river, opposite the city centre, but you can cross a bridge to visit the Millennium Stadium and Cardiff Castle. Then continue through Sofia Gardens and past the Swalec Stadium, and the smart Pontcanna neighbourhood, locally known as the Chelsea of Cardiff. The trail becomes more rural as you head to Castell Coch or Red Castle, a 19th-century Gothic Revival-style building surrounded by woods and perched on a rock ledge.

Meet the locals

The best day to meet the locals is when the city is home to a rugby international, particularly during the six nations tournament in the spring months, and when one of the other Celtic nations, Scotland or Ireland, is visiting - that's when the city really comes alive.

Book a table

Most people's knowledge of Welsh cuisine starts and ends with Welsh Rarebit (cheese on toast), or leeks, but the Armless Dragon (www.armlessdragon.co.uk; 00 44 2920 382 357) has been attempting to further people's culinary understanding, with dishes such as the starter cockle and laverbread cakes on leek fondue, white truffle oil and dill (£5.95; Dh36), Welsh sirloin steak with baked field mushrooms and red onion marmalade, root vegetable Dauphenoise, cherry tomatoes and port hus (£17; Dh103).

Bullys (www.bullysrestaurant.co.uk; 00 44 2920 221 905) has built a reputation in the city over the past 16 years, and championing local produce. Main courses cost from £11 (Dh66).

Shopper's paradise

With only Swansea to the West and Bristol over the Severn Bridge in England, Cardiff is home from home to shoppers from all over the south and mid-Wales area. Cardiff also boasts the oldest record shop in the world. Spillers (www.spillersrecords.co.uk) was founded in 1894 and, more recently, was saved after a public campaign in 2006 kept it from closing after rents in the city centre rose because of the influx of high-street chains.

The Morgan Arcade and the nearby Royal Arcade house a number of smaller independent stores. In Morgan Arcade, A Vintage Affair stocks good quality vintage clothing from the 1940s to 1980s and chintzy homewares such as embroidered tablecloths and mismatched china. In Royal Arcade, stop at Melin Tregwynt for traditional Welsh woven blankets.

In Castle Arcade, near the castle, is Madame Fromage, ideal for foodie gifts or a quick bite, and Folk Farm, an eclectic shop crammed with antiques, vintage suitcases and clothes, and Welsh blankets - if you rummage you might find an old-school Burberry trench.

Craft in the Bay, as the name suggests, is in the Bay area, and sells locally made wooden and metal crafts. It also offers short courses and holds exhibitions of contemporary craft and applied art. Pethau Bychain sells furniture, crafts, ceramics and small accessories for the home (the name is Welsh for "little things"). And while you're in the Bay, pop into Fabulous Welsh Cakes (www.fabulouswelshcakes.co.uk; 00 44 29 2045 6593) for freshly made cakes, and some packaged for gifts back home, if they last that long.

What to avoid

The city centre on a Friday or Saturday night. All the horror stories of drunken Britain come to life after dark and it is not a pleasant or particularly safe place to be. Visitors are better off staying in Pontcanna, or Llandaff, the Bay outside the centre.

Don't miss

The countryside. Cardiff is surrounded by scenery that is said to have inspired JRR Tolkein when he sat down to write The Lord of the Rings. The rugged coastline to the west of the city, towards Swansea, is home to numerous scenic spots, such as Rhossilli Bay on the Gower Penisula - familiar to the Welsh poet Dylan Thomas. At nearby Llangennith you can hire surfboards and wetsuits from PJs surf shop (www.pjsurfshop.co.uk; 00 4 1792 386 669).

North of Cardiff is the Brecon Beacons, perfect for hiking, cycling, caving or canoeing. The waterfalls walk in the Vale of Neath allow for a delightful diversion from the city. Two museums just outside the city that are both free and well worth a visit are St Fagans, the open-air natural history museum featuring buildings from past centuries, and Big Pit: National Coal Museum, which has an interesting multimedia tour of a mine (for information on these museums and others, visit www.museumwales.ac.uk).