The coastline near Cardiff that's known as the Glamorgan Heritage Coast is a wild and ruggedly…read morebeautiful coastline that's well worth exploring if you visit or live in Cardiff. It's easiest if you have your own transport, so you can stop off along the way when something catches your eye. Situated in Dunraven Park at Southerndown, the Heritage Coast Centre itself offers information about the coastline and its features, and incorporates a small shop as well. It isn't amazing in itself, but it is a good starting point for exploring some of the highlights of the heritage coast, which stretches for 14 miles from West Aberthaw to Porthcawl. Overlooking the Glamorgan Heritage Coast Centre itself are the ruins of Dunraven Castle, which was actually not really a castle but a 19th century mansion - sat above banded sandstone cliffs. From there, on your journey along the coast you get to see some beautiful low cliffs, Celtic hill forts, and lots of sand dune areas (mainly in the west), including some of the largest dunes in Europe at Merthyr Mawr Warren. For swimming, Southerndown is a good spot, and about halfway along the coast is medieval St. Donat's Castle, now a school, which offers guided tours in the summer months when school's out. Footpaths snake along the coast for walkers - but sometimes suffer landslips, so watch out.

Useful place to pick up leaflets on the area including ones describing walks along the nearby…read morecliffs. There is also a good range of postcards and greetings cards, and some inexpensive gifts with 'Glamorgan heritage Coast' on the side (pens, pencils - only 50p each) Friendly staff too. There's a disabled toilet (radar key) outside in a separate block and disabled parking bays immediately outside.

About a mile from the Cardiff City Centre, is Mermaid Quay, another spot to go to for eating and…read moreshopping. It's the waterfront, so if eating and shopping are not really your thing, you can simply take a nice stroll on the water and see some more sites of Cardiff.

Lots of really nice restaurants…read more My mum and I ended up eating at a Spanish restaurant in the Quay a couple years back whilst we were in town and really enjoyed it. It's a lovely place for a nice stroll.

I always forget how much I enjoy this place, then I go back and manage to be pleasantly surprised…read moreevery single time. Cosmeston Medieval Village is a fantastic place to visit with family and friends. The reconstructed village is in situated in Cosmeston Park, near their visitor centre and cafe, so you really can make the trip a whole day if you want to (I recommend wholeheartedly), but it can also only be a few hours. The tour takes you around a village, complete with barns, bakeries and roaming chickens. The guides are fun and informative, and there's a multitude of people all wearing bright Medieval garb. There is also, of course, a chance to dress up, if so required. This day is great fun and informative; a wonderful way to get kids and adults alike involved with history.

The reconstructed medieval village at Cosmeston has been put together really well, and is both…read moreeducational and good fun for children and adults. You wander around the 14th century Welsh village visiting different medieval houses and buildings, and encountering costumed people along the way, going about their daily routines - whether it's cooking, farming, or making crafts. In this way, you kind of step back in time and enter medieval village life. There are also a range of animals such as chickens, ducks and pigs that would have been kept in villages during that period. There are lots of special events taking place at the village throughout the year, too - from medieval fairs where you can buy crafts, play games, see falconry displays and have a go at archery, to Halloween at Cosmeston when you can experience the dark side of medieval life.

A little while ago I went to this venue to see Aled Jones take on the role of Caractacus Potts in…read more'Chitty Chitty Bang Bang', and finally got to see this splendid new building from the inside. Most people who are at all familiar with Cardiff would recognise the armadillo/woodlouse outer shell of the Wales Millennium Centre, and the giant lettering gracing its sides. But, unfortunately, few people seem to have actually ventured inside. The space is modern and clean, without looking barren, as so easily might have happened. The theatre itself has excellent leg-room, comfortable seats and pretty much unrestricted views. I sometimes struggle with low volume when attending musicals, but the acoustics were excellent, and every word clear as a bell. As well as shows and events, there are also food outlets and guided tours available. There are also free performances most days on the Glanfa stage, which are certainly worth checking out.

This is a great place to go watch a show. Very enjoyable experience watching bedknobs and brooms…read moresticks, slight technical problem but still enjoyable. The seats were comfortable and view was great. Staff friendly and helpful. Great experience and thoroughly enjoyed will return to watch another show.

This little museum in the heart of Watchet village is the tinyest museum I've ever been to but that…read moredoes not make it any less interesting and of historical importance. It was free to enter. It really was jam packed with nautical memorabilia and other fascinating things. There were many exhibits including fossils, stone age tools, Roman remains, Watchet's Saxon Mint and of course tons of maritime history. A great little free museum to take the kids.

Clevedon Pier is a seaside pier in the town of Clevedon, Somerset, England on the east shore of the…read moreSevern Estuary. It was described by Sir John Betjeman, as "the most beautiful pier in England" and was designated a Grade I listed building in 2001. The pier was built during the 1860s to attract tourists and provide a ferry port for rail passengers to South Wales. The pier is 312 m (1,024 ft) long and consists of eight spans supported by steel rails covered by wooden decking, with a pavilion on the pier head. The pier opened in 1869 and served as an embarkation point for paddle steamer excursions for almost 100 years. Two of the spans collapsed during stress testing in 1970 and demolition was proposed, but local fund raising and heritage grants allowed the pier to be dismantled for restoration and reassembled. It reopened in 1989, and ten years later was awarded the Pier of the Year from the National Piers Society, and a Civic Trust Award. The pier now offers a landing stage for steamers and is a popular attraction for tourists and anglers.

Awesome! Great views of Wales any time of the year, through wind, rain and shine. Not to mention…read morethe Edwardian town of Clevedon with its history and charm.

BayArt Gallery, situated as its name suggests in the heart of the Bay area of the city, aims to…read moreshowcase the best of Welsh and international contemporary art. It's a relative newcomer to Cardiff's thriving arts scene, but for Cardiffians interested in art it's one to watch. There are a couple of upcoming exhibitions advertised on its website, alongside exciting educational workshops for both children and adults. The gallery is aiming to put on around six exhibitions a year, with the next, 'Vario' taking place from 25 September until 22 October (including work by 48 artists from Australia, Hawaii in the USA, and V-6 artists, printmakers and publishers from Cardiff), followed by 'Urban Delight', an exhibition of work by painter Robert Soden, who is interested in contemporary city scapes and urban regeneration.

Bay Art is a spacious contemporary ground floor art space in Cardiff Bay exhibiting a programme of…read moreWelsh and international artists. The white-wall gallery measures a sizeable 1,926 square feet with 228 hanging wall space allowing for large pieces whether solo shows of group exhibitons like the touring exhibition for the excellent annual Jerwood Drawing Prize. The building that hosts Bay Art Gallery has been an arty place since the late seventies. From 1979 the space housed artist's studios, and as such it is one of the longest running studio buildings in Wales. By the mid nineties the premises had deteriorated to quite a sorry state. All was feared lost, until in 1997 Butetown Artists came to the rescue, initating a capital project of £1,052,660 to repair and refurbish the building as a public art gallery and 16 artist studios. The project was completed in 2002 thanks to funding from the Arts Council of Wales Lottery Fund, with other substantial contributions from Cardiff City Council, CADW, Foundation for the Sports and Arts and the now disbanded Cardiff Bay Development Corporation.

This place is lovely, a really nice place to walk around in and discover bits of welsh history…read more Free to enter, which is a novelty for an English girl like me, as places of this vain over the border such as blists hill and beamish charge entry. You can leave a donation, and there's a small fee for parking, but after that you're on your way. You can take a picnic, or you can eat in one of the cafes, get stuff from the bakery. We ate in the cafe, and had the welsh afternoon tea, welsh cakes, scones, sandwiches, all lovely, the bakery wasn't open as late as it said on the door, which was the only bummer, but the rest of it was great. A mock village made up of buildings of different eras, with a good number of buildings that illustrate history and culture. Livestock, shops, gardens, vehicles, all informative, with signs in welsh and English. It's open air, so its a family/couples/cultural friends day out for a pleasant day, you want to give yourself some time to get around it!

Set in over 40 acres of parkland around the 16th century St Fagan's castle, 4 miles (6km) west of…read moreCardiff, this was one Europe's first open-air museums. It includes over 40 buildings from across Wales which illustrate its history and culture, such as schools, workshops, churches, shops, civic buildings and of course a variety of dwellings. The museum has a range of activities taking place associated with the buildings, with craftsmen making a variety of products (food, pottery, metalwork) for sale. The farm features collections of traditional breeds of livestock. Some of the buildings also contain displays of historical objects, clothing etc. A nice touch is the row of mine-worker's cottages, each one furnished to reflect different periods from the late 1800's to the present day. The museum also hosts a number of festivals during the year, and there is a restaurant, cafe and tea-room. When I lived in Cardiff, this was a regular destination to take friends from outside the UK. It is an excellent introduction to Wales and Welsh culture: but allow a whole day to do it justice, and wear comfortable footwear...