Cardiff Bay
Cardiff Bay, Cardiff, CF10 4PA
Category: Place to Visit
A spectacular development for the 21st century
Half an hour’s pleasant stroll from Cardiff city centre, you’ll discover Cardiff Bay, one of the country’s most exciting regeneration projects. Once known as Tiger Bay, the birthplace of one of our most famous chanteuses, Shirley Bassey, this former dockland area is being transformed from derelict old docks into a hip and trendy development of bars, restaurants, offices and tourist attractions. On the Millennium Waterfront, your first port of call should be The Tube, an award-winning tubular building housing a futuristic exhibition laying out the development’s complete vision. Key to the revival of the bay is the Cardiff Bay Barrage, a massive barrier which stretches right across the Ely and Taff estuaries, creating a natural lake and eight miles of waterfront. It’s a staggering piece of engineering ingenuity, something you can really appreciate by taking a tour of its walls, lock gates, sluices and fish path. The Wales Millennium Centre is an arts and cultural centre which houses the Welsh National Opera, Hijinx Theatre and the Diversions Dance Company of Wales, among others. Check out the daytime free performances. If you’ve got the kids with you, visit Techniquest, the country’s leading science discovery centre, where you can explore science and technology through a great range of interactive exhibits.
The bay is accessible all year round, but please advise the Visitor Centre in the Tube, for attraction times plus seasonal variations.