The beautiful city and capital of Wales, Cardiff is ideal for exploring for tourists interested in history. From some of the best sites to points of interest, the city has been known for its ancient past and widely recognized for its well preserved and attractive castles, still prevalent in Wales. With its rich heritage in the background, you’d get to learn more about Cardiff’s largest port revival projects in Europe, its role in Wales’ history and much more. The city is also a crowd puller for other significant attractions like the national park and magnificent beacons. Here’s a list of top tourist places to visit in Cardiff.

One of the most frequent sites, built atop a 2000-year-old Roman citadel, the Cardiff Castle’s one of the most beautiful and well maintained historic structures in all of Wales, with some of its sections as old as the 10th century. The state apartments in the castle are one of its most notable features, where each room is filled with fascinating displays and useful details of people who once resided or worked here. The elegant Banquet Hall adorned with rich artwork, the captivating Chapel & clock tower and the hall’s impressive centerpiece, in addition to its extravagant fireplace are other noteworthy attractions.

One of Cardiff’s well maintained and bustling shopping arcades from the Victorian Era is the City of Arcades, with old covered walkways spread over 2600ft of colonnades. With an infinite range of woolen goods and Welsh crafts, even though the things sold here may have evolved to new varieties, the initial storefronts remain unchanged to the day. From the Royal Arcade that was built way back in 1858 to the High Street in 1886, known for its clothing stores and the Castle Arcade from 1887, the arcades are best for their boutiques, restaurants and art galleries.

Occupying nearly 2700 acres of waterfront land, Cardiff Bay may consume a large part of your day for a proper visit and covers much of its former dockyards, with plenty of exciting activities to indulge in. From crowd pullers like the Techniquest – an interactive and child friendly science centre to the ancient Norwegian Church, where Roald Dhal (author of classic children’s tales) once worshipped, to Senedd, one of the town’s newest constructs housing Cardiff’s government establishments, to infinite walkways and parks leading through wetlands and wildlife spotting opportunities, Cardiff Bay won’t disappoint you at all.

Art & Cultural enthusiasts would love the modern Wales Millennium Centre, a pioneer in performances right from the classical opera and music to ballet & contemporary dance, in addition to musical shows and literary events, all spanning over a 5-acre establishment and considered one of the top-performing art centres across the globe. Irrespective of whether you can attend a performance or watch a show here or not, it’s recommended that you visit here to at least explore the grounds to enjoy workshops, educational events, talks, behind the scene experiences, informative guided tours & dining/shopping activities.

Learn more about the rich past of Wales by visiting the National Museum Cardiff, housed in the town’s architecturally splendid Civic Centre building with a fascinating & large display of the country’s history, dating all the way back to the time of the dinosaurs, with bronze age weaponry and artworks. Some of its priceless exhibits include artworks by Picasso and Monet in addition to sculptures by Rodin.

A rugby match at the Principality Stadium, Cardiff Arms Park, or a guided tour that includes a sneak-peak into the national rugby team’s changing rooms, tunnels leading to the pitch and VIP/press facilities or hosting some of the passing major music artists in passing while on tour, a visit here will interesting and intriguing at the same time.

Popular as one of the best looking churches and most frequented ones at that, the gorgeous Llandaff Cathedral was built in the 13th century on the remnants of the original structure that goes way beyond 200 years earlier. The Llandaff Cathedral’s exterior highlights include an impressive tower from the 15th century, an 18th century fully restored & exquisite Italian temple, and is renowned for its extraordinary artifacts and religious sculptures.

Located at the Cathays Park, a fascinating open-air building, St. Fagans National Museum of History is a live structure with costumed actors exhibiting certain traditional talents and crafts that helped shaped the nation, with an opportunity to explore a variety of original & revamped constructs that include cottages and quaint farmhouses, workshops, mills with live demos of old machinery and well-kept gardens.

With some of the highest concentration of castles in the UK being in Wales, the Castell Coch also popular as the Red Castle is not only 200-years-old but is also built like a fairy tale castle with an attractive ensemble of towers and turrets. Its architecture is magnificent, both on the outside and on the inside with attractive flourishes that include fascinating carved creatures, religious icons and captivating displays that make for a virtual exploration of the castle’s unique past.