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Cardiff Accommodation

Cardiff's Mammoth Millennium Centre, Cardiff Bay

Butetown History at the Butetown History/Arts Centre, Cardiff Bay

The Norwegian Church, Cardiff Bay. Roald Dahl was Christened in here!

Cardiff Bay Views - Take a Boat Trip from Pierhead

Dr Who Exhibition - Scenes from the series shot in Cardiff Bay

Winter fun in Cardiff city centre

Cardiff Bay History, Cardiff Bay Attractions, Cardiff, Wales

The Cardiff Bay area is fast becoming a hotspot for a variety of arts, entertainment, watersports, deluxe accommodation and more. Run down as recently as the 1980s, through the 1990s this area of Cardiff has seen the regeneration money pour in, transforming it slowly into something very different from its docklands history. Just over 100 years ago the picture was different - Cardiff's Tiger Bay was a thriving docklands built on the back of coal. The area became multi cultural, pulling in workers from as far away as Somalia. Explore that history at the Bute Art Gallery & Museum, and be reminded of it by the occasional remaining Victorian building such as the Coal Exchange, the Norwegian Church and the Pierhead Building. Contemporary art, the new mammorth Millenium Centre, the Red Dragon Atlantic Wharf Leisure complex and more muscle for attention. Something for everyone's entertainment down here on Cardiff Bay, including plenty for kids - check out Techniquest!

Cardiff Bay Visitor Centre, The Tube, Harbour Drive, Cardiff Bay, Cardiff, CF10 4WZ. Tel: 029 20463833. The Tube, as the visitor centre on Cardiff Bay is fondly known is worth a visit for the building itself - shaped like a telescope it's got to be one of the most unusual visitor centres on the planet! For tours of the Welsh Assembly Buildings near the Visitor centre Tel: 029 2089 8200, Y Senned, National Assembly Debating Chamber, Cardiff Bay, Cardiff. CF99 1NA. See also the exhibition on the Welsh Assembly in the Pierhead Building (you won't miss it - the looming waterfront red brick gothic revival building).

Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff Bay

There's a rather interesting history to the construction of the Wales Millennium Centre you see today in Cardiff Bay which opened it's doors finally in 2004. For starters, initially it was to be a pure opera house, and back in the early days of the project in the mid-1990s the design concept, by Iranian designer Zaha Hadid whose creative and internationally acclaimed work can be seen in many a European city, looked very different than the current Wales Millennium Centre designed by Welsh architect Jonathan Adam of Capita Percy Thomas who won another competition on the design in 2000. Political wrangling and accusations of elitism saw finally the collapse of Hadid's design when the Millennium Commission pulled out in 1995, deeming the project as not economically viable.

The Wales Millennium Centre built by Capita Percy Thomas (recipients of rather a few regeneration projects a la hospital entrance halls, new schools and the like these days) now plays host to no less than 7 big cultural organisations including the Welsh National Opera, Academi which is the Welsh National Literature Promotion Agency and Diversions the dance company. Inside the building there's a mix of performance spaces and public areas, with the big Donald Gordon Theatre (named after the South African businessman who donated the most funds to the project!) forming the heart of the centre. In the public spaces you'll find cafes, bars, gift shops and corporate and venue space for conferences, weddings, kids parties and functions.

Various sponsorship sources, with companies like Tesco featuring heavily, mean that much is available within the centre free (a payoff for the advertising anyway!). Checkout the Tesco stage in the Glanfa public space area where free performances run regularly. It's a mile away from the original concept, but economics and accessibility are the arguments used to support the new Wales Millennium Centre as it functions today. Architecture and big business are indeed merging.

Wales Millennium Centre, Bute Place, Cardiff, CF10 5AL.Tel. 08700 40 2000. Admission is free. Check the Millennium Centre's weblink right for details on forthcoming shows and events.

Butetown Cardiff History & the Butetown History & Arts Centre, Cardiff Bay

Move slightly away from the waterfront in the Cardiff Bay area to Mount Stuart Square (a 2 minute walk at most) and note the old Coal Exchange building built on the back of the booming coal trade (see weblink right) and pay a visit to the superb Butetown History & Arts Centre. The Butetown area of Cardiff, running parallel today with Lloyd George Avenue down to the Harbourside, like other major port and dockland areas in cities such as Liverpool, Manchester, Southhampton and London, attracted large numbers of immigrant workers, especially at the height of the coal boom in the late 19th century. Roald Dahl was born in the area and christened in the Norweigan church in Butetown. Cardiff grew off the back of coal, and the docklands area known as Tiger Bay thrived in the late 19th century. Upto around 45 different nationalities, including Jewish, Spanish, Norwegian, Somalian, Caribbean, Irish and Italian, worked here on the docks in Cardiff. It's a rich, often hidden history, but it's now explored well in the Butetown History and Arts Centre.

Exhibitions such as 'Hidden British Histories' running at the excellent Butetown History and Arts Centre are exploring the history of past residents in this area, revealing stories of cooperation and working together alongside prejudice and competition. Well worth a look, the centre has changing exhibitions, a massive photographic archive and produces a wide range of publications based on exhibitions, for example 'Cardiff and the Spanish Civil War'. Definitely one of the highlights of the Cardiff Bay area, alongside a visit to the Coal Exchange which was once the centre for decisions nationally on coal prices (Visitors should note that from the end of 2007 through 2008 the Coal Exchange will be undergoing some renovations, so a visit before then is recommended).

The Coal Exchange, The Exchange Buildings, Mount Stuart Square, Cardiff Bay, Cardiff, CF10 5EB. Tel: (029) 20 494917. (website right for more details)

Butetown History & Arts Centre, 5 Dock Chambers, Bute Street, Cardiff Bay, Cardiff. Tel: 029 20 256 757. Open from Tuesday to Friday, 10am to 5pm. Note particularly on your visit the moving photography of renowned Picture Post photographer Bert Hardy (some are on display, others are in one of the booklets). He visited Butetown in the 1950s, capturing particularly the strong sense of community in the area.

Techniquest, Cardiff Bay

Techniquest, situated in the waterfront area of Soverign Quay at Cardiff Bay is an exciting and hands on science and technology centre billed as one of the best in Britain. Great for kids and adults alike, this centre works hard to bring science, maths and technology alive in an interesting way. There's a planetarium on-site too. The Cardiff Bay Techniquest is the main centre of 4 spread across Wales (see their weblink right for details on the other 3 others in Wrexham, Llanberis and Oakwood).

There's 150 hands-on exhibits here at Techniquest including puzzles, rocket firing, electric car racing and hot air ballon launching, alongside special science theatre sessions such as bubble racing and understanding why bubbles are round. This science and technology centre caters well for children of all ages, including tots! It's also popular with schools and offers theme weeks which hook into the national curriculum.

Open everyday except over Christmas break. Monday to Friday open 9.30am to 4.30pm, Saturdays, Sundays and Bank Holidays open from 10.30am to 5pm. Last admission is 45 minutes before closing time, but really you need to allow at least 2 hours for a good comprehensive visit. Large groups need to book in advance. Check the Techniquest weblink right for details.

Techniquest, Stuart Street, Cardiff Bay, Cardiff, CF10 5BW. Tel: 029 20475475.

Cardiff Bay Historic Buildings, Cardiff Bay Barrage, Boat Trips & Watersports

One of the major features of 'regeneration' and change on Cardiff Bay has been the construction of 0.7 mile (1.1km) long Barrage basically a huge dam which keeps the sea water out. It was controversial at the time of building commencement in 1994 (it took 5 years to build at a cost of £197 million) as the site consisted of precious mudflats used by migratory and breeding birds. These mudflats were flooded, and in it's place now sits a freshwater lake. Compensation came in the form of a simulation of mudflats 15 miles outside of Cardiff (they flooded 400 hectares with sewage water). Not everyone was happy. For more details on the Barrage development check the Cardiff Harbour weblink to the right.

A mini train does tours of the Cardiff Bay Barrage, providing commentary on the harbour along the way. Alternatively, why not view the Cardiff Bay area and harbour from the sea by hopping on a boat trip. Bay Island Voyages offer a choice of boat trips on fast cats ranging from quick 30 minute jaunts to two hour boat trips. Check the Cardiff Cats Bay Voyage weblink right for details. Bay Island Voyages have a trailer near the Pierhead Building (you won't miss this - a striking red brick Victorian French Gothic building contacted for the Cardiff Municipal Railway Company courtesy of the Butes and designed by a Burges disciple. The Pierhead building, together with the Coal Exchange and Norweigan Church, is one of the few remaining Victorian buildings within the Cardiff Bay area.

The Cardiff Waterbus operates daily in Cardiff Bay, sailing between pretty Penarth, Cardiff's waterfront and Cardiff City Centre. You can charter a waterbus too for your group. Check the Cardiff Waterbus weblink right for details. Other sources of watersports on Cardiff Bay include Cardiff Bay Yacht club who offer cruising, angling, dinghy sailing training and more. Check their website right for details. Rowing is quite big here in Cardiff too - the city has it's own rowing club (weblink right).

For a comprehenisve listing of watersports, boat trips, guided tours and more in Cardiff Bay check the Cardiff Harbour weblink to the right.

Cardiff Bay Restaurants, Cafes, Bars, Art and Shopping around Mermaid Quay Cardiff Bay

The Mermaid Quay area of Cardiff Bay is where to head for a superb choice of restaurants, specialist clothes and art shops as well as banks, cafes and bars. An international choice of fine restaurants awaits, with everything from Thai to Tapas. Check the Mermaid Quay website right for full listings.

See what you make of the public art on display here courtesy of Welsh artist John Clinch. Adjacent to Mermaid quay on Bute Street is the Bay Art Gallery, a contemporary art gallery fast developing a reputation for displaying new talent and building on Cardiff's reputation as a centre for art. Look to the Bay Art Gallery website to the right for current exhibit details - artists are in residence here too. BayArt Gallery is open from Tuesdays to Saturdays, 11am to 5pm.

For Crafts in the Bay head to the Makers Guild in Wales Base at the southern end of Lloyd George Avenue (website right). The building itself is interesting - a renovated Grade II listed shed or warehouse which has been given a modern twist. Moving back to Bute Street The Women's Art Association (weblink right) offers a selection of creative workshops and talks and works with a selection of community groups.

One of the most striking buildings in the Cardiff Bay area is the brilliant white Norwegian Church - now duly renovated and open as an arts centre come café restaurant which offers some of the best views of the Bay. Scandinavian dishes are on the menu. The church remains a reminder of the mix of cultures and people who once worked the docks - Roald Dahl was christened in this church, and was involved in assuring it's preservation. Tel: 029 2045 4899 for details. Open daily from 9am to 5pm.

The Red Dragon Centre, Atlantic Wharf Cardiff Bay

Regeneration moves fast on Cardiff Bay, with new developments and arts, leisure and entertainment venues popping up consistently - a £700 million International Sports Village is on the horizon. One area that has seen much recent work is the Atlantic Wharf area, rebranded as the Red Dragon Centre in October 2005. An entertainment centre under one enormous roof, here you'll find a UCI cinema, a Hollywood Bowl, Grosvenor Casino and Old Orleans. Red Dragon FM radio is also based here, not to mention perhaps it's biggest attraction - the Doctor Who Exhibition, appropriately based here in Cardiff where much filming in both the recent Dr Who series and offshot Torchwood has taken place.

Free car parking is adjacent to the Red Dragon Centre, a bonus indeed, and there's a choice of restaurants inside including Spice Route and Old Orleans. There's even a nightclub here now - Evolution and nearby R Bar.

Look to the Red Dragon Centre weblink right for opening times and details of retaurants, entertainment and cinema inside.

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