FEATURES

Sometimes, if you live in Bristol and Bath, great as they are, you might just fancy a wee slice of city life further afield. Joe Spurgeon cools his heels at the newly opened Jolyon’s at No.10 and gives a first-time tourist’s guide to Cardiff.

Amazing what you can find slap bang in the centre of Cardiff. A castle. A prison. A stadium. Another stadium. A stone circle. A brilliant white Norwegian church. A massive stone ant-eater.

In fact, Wales’s buzzy, bustling capital, with a population smaller than Bristol, is full of surprises. As one of Europe’s newest (as recent as 1955) and (tour guides will tell you it’s the) fastest-growing capital cities, you can trace its portside rise, fall and redevelopment much in the way you can Bristol’s, and an excellent way to orientate yourself and take in the always fascinating above-eyeline architecture, is to kick off with one of those red City Sightseeing double decker bus tours (www.city-sightseeing.com) where a 50-odd minute scoot round the main central zones gives you a solid intro to what’s where and why. The declining dockland industries, the renovated mud flats and the burgeoning, leafy white stone civic centre (hone to the Welsh Assembly et al) are all worth returning to for deeper exploration. Trips clock in at £10/head, but you can hop on and off all day and tickets remain valid for two days.

Back on ground level, the renamed, revamped Cardiff Bay area is populated by monuments of famous former sons and daughters (including, most obviously, Roald Dahl), a vast concrete plaza, the ground-breaking 19th century Pierhead building (aka “Wales’s Big Ben”) and unquestionably the city’s most spectacular eye-catcher, the Millennium Centre (aka the Cycling Helmet, the Armadillo, the Turtle etc - pictured) which, pre-Christmas, is teeming with mulled wine-slurping shoppers eyeing up the made-with-love-made-with-care festive market as carol singers merrily trill away. The Bay’s also swamped with chain bars and a drinking culture to rival any city’s, which may or may not be a (non-)sticking point, but is hardly surprising given Cardiff’s obvious pedigree and passion for all things sporty. The Millennium Stadium (tours cost £7.50 for adults, £4.95 for children), the mecca for such pursuits, might seem an odd thing to drop into the heart of any city, but plentiful satellite parking does ease if not completely alleviate traffic congestion. A cabbie might tell you different.

Then there’s the multi-million pound monstrous International Sports Village, Cardiff City FC’s Ninian Park, the historic rugby ground Cardiff Arms Park (named after a pub, no less) and Sophia Gardens/SWALEC stadium for walking/cricket fans.

No visit to Cardiff is complete without a meander round the refashioned mock gothic (mothic?) Cardiff Castle either, a hugely elaborate Victorian eccentricity built by William Burges at the behest of the (very rich) 3rd Marquees of Bute, John Patrick Crichton-Stuart. Imagine the gaudiest MTV crib, then flush with added pimp. You can nose round the opulence from £11 (adults) and £8.50 (children).

Culturally/arty-wise, Cardiff has a fistful of large-medium-scale venues with St David’s Hall hosting big league comedians, choral, orchestral and pop musicians (from Stephen Merchant to Erasure to the National Orchestra Of Wales) alongside the equally monstrous Motorpoint Arena, WMC (see below), the National Museum of Art and the West Endy New Theatre; then there’s the progressive leftfield Chapter arts centre boasting theatre, cinema and exhibition space as well as the student showings at the prestigious Welsh College of Music and Drama, touring work by the National Theatre of Wales and Sherman Cymru (currently being refurbished).

Finally, with so much on offer, you’ll need at least a full weekend to “do” Cardiff properly and you can’t go far wrong resting your head on one of the pillows at Jolyon’s at No.10 (actually one of two in a mini-chain of boutique hotels in the city - pictured below) which offers comfortable, clean accommodation as well as a thriving bar bursting with restored ornate furniture, swept frames and plump upholstery. We enter through the bustling bar (our mistake - the reception is sign-posted down the side of the building, but still) and the welcome’s a very warm one. The local staff will happily (and proudly) talk you through the world on your doorstep and advise on transport, the best bars and where to shop. The food’s basic in an upmarket gastropub kinda way, but you can’t argue with the expertly seasoned, eminently affordable Welsh burgers (£7.50), or super succulent chilli and lime tiger prawns (£4.45). Rooms start from £75/night for a small double which includes includes a full Welsh Breakfast, fluffy bath robes, in-room tea and coffee making facilities and luxury bath products (with variable online discount available from www.jolyons10.com).

CARDIFF: FIVE TO TICK-OFF

CARDIFF CASTLE

The 2,000-year-old castle has been a Roman Garrison, a Norman stronghold, a gothic fairytale fantasy and a WWII military base. Cor.

www.cardiffcastle.com

MILLENNIUM CENTRE

Y’know – the breathtaking three-pronged arts venue with the big writing out front (it actually says “In these stone walls, horizons sing” and “Creu Gwir fel gwydr o ffwrnais awen” which means “Creating truth like glass from the furnace of inspiration” – catchy, huh?)

www.wmc.org.uk

PIERHEAD

The unmistakable red brick clock tower and meeting house in the bay provides a focal/research point for the city’s social and political development and continues to “give voice to issues that matter to you as individuals, communities or organisations.”

www.pierhead.org

THE NORWEGIAN CHURCH

A poignant picturesque reminder of Cardiff’s sea port past and affinity with Scandinavia. Now a stonking arts, music and food centre.

www.norwegianchurchcardiff.com

THE MILLENNIUM STADIUM

Go on, walk in the footsteps of Wales’s sporting legends like Ryan Giggs and… er…