Right next to Cardiff Bay is the fantastic Wales Millennium Centre. This was only opened in 2004 but it has already become a stunning international arts centre and is a genuinely iconic landmark in Cardiff. It also boasts regular free lunchtime concerts, making it perfect for all the music lovers out there. Concert styles range from everything from opera to folk and they take place in the foyer of what is in itself an extremely impressive building, making it a music lovers paradise.

You could also visit one of the largest collections of Impressionist paintings outside Paris at the National Museum Cardiff. The museum is also home to Wales national art collection and there are a few different gallery tours to help guide you round the exhibits. The Evolution of Wales exhibit is definitely worth looking at, and there are some great features and exhibitions on everything from archaeology to natural history and geology. The museum is free to enter and is in the heart of Cardiffs civic centre.

Pretty much everybody loves music, so youre sure to have lots of fun at Cardiffs premier free music festival, Cardiffs Big Weekend. The city is bustling at the best of times, but this event brings thousands more people into the centre, making it well worth a visit. It features performances from the UKs largest traveling fun fair as well as great live music and entertainment. It takes place every year, normally over the first weekend in August and lasts for 3 days.

Continuing its trend of great summer entertainment, Cardiff also caters to the food lovers out there with its Food and Drink Festival. This does exactly what the name suggests and it takes place in Cardiff Bay. It includes stalls full of favorite Welsh produce as well as food and drink from around the world, giving people a great chance to explore new flavors. There are also events taking place such as wine seminars, a Welsh cookery school and workshops for children, making Cardiff a feast for all the senses.

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Cardiff Castle is another great place to visit, especially for the history lovers amongst you. Take a tour around the brilliant Bute section of the castle, which was renovated in the 1900s and is home to some sensational artwork, or perhaps visit the Norman fort at the centre of the castle. The castles foundations are based on a Roman fort and there are some great Roman ruins for you to check out, as well as the Welsh regimental museum, which is an interesting place to visit.

If youre on a budget then try visiting the National Museum Cardiff, which boasts free entry and some great displays from throughout history. The Evolution of Wales display features dinosaurs and woolly mammoths that the kids are sure to love. You can also view sculptures by Rodin and paintings by Cezanne, Van Gogh and others; the museum has one of the largest collections of Impressionist paintings outside Paris. There are also some great Welsh history displays feature archaeological and geological items of interest.

If you want to get out and about in the city, then check out the great shopping facilities such as the Hayes, where you can find the oldest record shop in the world. You can also find some great Welsh produce and visit a range of artistic stalls at the fantastic Central Market. Alternatively, for stunning architecture and an all round great shopping experience, visit the Victorian arcades where you can find lots of interesting, independent shops and cafes that youre sure to love.

Mermaid Quay is another place thats well worth a visit and you can go on a 2 kilometer walk along the Quay to see the spectacular scenery. Walk along with the harbor on one side of you and the sea on the other. This is great for people looking to save some money. You could also hire bicycles to explore the Quay. Alternatively, go on a boat ride around Cardiff Bay to see the sights up close and really get to experience the very heart of the city.

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If you are visiting Cardiff on holiday or possibly have a few days free during a business trip to see the city then it can be hard finding out exactly where to go and what to do if you are new to Wales. Below is a guide of some great places to go and things to do to enjoy your stay in the Welsh capital.

A great place to start your sightseeing adventure in Cardiff is Cardiff Castle. Cardiff Castle is a medieval castle that also contains a Victorian mansion, transformed from a Norman keep that was initially built on the site of one, or possibly two Roman forts. The first Roman fort to be built on the site is thought to have been erected around AD55 and the first Norman fort was built in 1091 by Robert Fitzhamon. The castle grounds cover 8 acres and hold some amazing sights and historical artifacts.

The most popular museum in Wales is the Natural History Museum at St.Fagans in Cardiff. The Natural History Museum is the English name for the attraction which in Welsh is called the Welsh Folk Museum. In 1946 the site was donated by the Earl of Plymouth and then over the course of two years, turned into a museum, finally opening the gates in 1948. The museum displays buildings and exhibits that have been reclaimed, rebuilt and recreated from all over Wales depicting the history of the country and its culture.

One more attraction that every tourist visiting Cardiff must see is the Millennium Stadium. Home of the Welsh national rugby and football teams, the Millennium Stadium is the second largest stadium in the world with a fully retractable roof, and the second in Europe to have this facility. The stadium was built ready for Cardiff to host the 1999 Rugby World Cup and now, along with football events, hosts Special Stage rally stages of the Rally of Great Britain, music concerts and other events.

Although the three attractions mentioned above are the most popular attractions in Wales, there are so many other things to see and do in Cardiff. You should also visit The Llandaff Cardiff Ghost Walk, Cardiff Bay, The National Museum and Art Gallery, the Wales Millennium Centre and also the Techniquest science museum.

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The Wonderful Cardiff Castle

The castle itself as many people will know is right in the middle of a very big city and it was first used by the Romans. The Normans then came and covered the original fort with earthen ramparts and constructed their own fortification on top of it all. Over the next three or so centuries the castle was always being improved on. The 12th century saw only one realy improvement and that was a stone keep whereas between the 13th and 14th a gatehouse and the black tower were both added.

1423 saw the Earl of Warwick add another tower to the west side of the caslte and when the Herbert family moved in they improved it for many generations. However the 17th and 18th centuries saw the castle abandoned and it slowly fell into disrepair.

1766 saw the year in which Lord Mountstuart gained possession of the huge castle and started to rebuild the place and passed the work right the way down to his grandson.

1869 saw William Burges take the castle into a major refurbishmen as we was given complete freedom on what to do with the place. This is how tourists see the castle today.

If of course you fancy going to the castle yourself there are very few days in which you are not allowed to look around the place which is always good.

There are so many things that you can see in the castle from the keep to the military museum so why not think about taking one of those family days out to the place. You could of course just take a UK family holidays to Cardiff to enjoy the place at your own leisure.

Cardiff Castle

The castle itself as many people will know is right in the middle of a very big city and it was first used by the Romans. When the Normans took control they covered the original fort with earthen ramparts and made their own defences. The great thing is that over the next three centuries the castle was never stopped when it came to improvements. Many things happened during the 12th century including a stone keep and between the 13th and 14th a gatehouse and the black tower were both added. It would seem that the later centuries proved to be very hard on the castle and it was renovated in the 18th century to what people see it as today.

Chepstow Castle

This castle was in the making a year after the Battle Of Hastings and was built on a limestone ridge overlooking the river Wye. Chepstow it would seem was a quiet castle for its time, rarely seeing a battle. It was modified a lot in the 12th and 13th centuries and the importance of it declined in the 14th century. After the long battles in the 1690′s the castles defences were taken down and the castle was eventually handed to the state in 1953.

These are just two of the castles that Wales has to offer the general pubic which of course means that you can personally see the inside of both these buildings along with your family on one of those family days out. Family holidays UK are very popular indeed in Wales and both of these castles see a lot of guests every year so do not miss out and visit Wales soon.

Well that is because every year at Cardiff, Britain’s biggest cheese festival is held. This year on the 26^th and 27^th of september one of the largest cheese festivals has just over 400 types of cheeses to try along with wines and ciders. Not only do you get the normal cow and goat cheese but also sheep as well as the unusual Buffalo cheese.

Because nearly everyone loves cheese in one form or another, how exactly is it made??

Well funnily enough it is actually produced by the coagulation of the milk protein known as casein. How are all the cheeses made to taste different?? The animal is obviously important but so is the diet of the animal. Added to this wood smoke, spices and herbs can be used as flavouring agents.

In the making of some cheeses acids like lemon juice are used.. Cheeses have been used for many years for so many different things. It has proven useful against famines and is very good travel food as it tends to last for a long time as well as providing plenty of protein, fat and of course calcium. Cheese can last a lot longer than milk which is partly why it is so much more useful. It is also cheaper to ship.

The cheese festival should actually be in within the grounds of Cardiff castle next year too so if you are interested why not take one of those nice family days out there and join in! UK family holidays is another way to experience Wales or any part of the United Kingdom if you are not into cheese.