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Cardiff Nightlife
St Mary Street
Cardiff’s weekend Nightlife scene centres around St Mary Street
With its wide choice of bars, pubs and clubs all within stumbling distance. Popular bars such as Walkabout, Edwards, and Life stay open until late, and when the weather’s right, enjoy a drink on the outdoor terraces of Mill Lane or the Brewery 1/4.
Cardiff Bay
Mermaid Quay in Cardiff Bay is also a popular weekend hotspot, and is becoming just as popular in mid-week. Bars include Salt, Terra Nova and the stylish dimsum and cocktail bar - Ba Orient, and you'll also find a wide choice of restaurants. The nearby Red Dragon Centre is also home to several bars and pubs as well as a multi-screen cinema and ten-pin bowling.
Greyfriars Road
The Greyfriars Road area offers an alternative to the bustling St Mary Street on weekends, and is home to smart cocktail and wine bars such as Fatcats, Tiger Tiger, Ha Ha’s and Laguna Also, just around the corner, is Windsor Place where you’ll find trendy bars such as Buffalo Bar and 33 Windsor Place
Cathays
With three universities and over 10,000 students, it’s not surprising that Cardiff has a lively student Nightlife scene, and much of it is focused around the neighbourhood of Cathays. Bars and pubs here cater for students with drink deals, themed nights out, and cheap food. Look out for live bands in The Social, smoke-free drinking in Bar En Route and the legendary Sunday lunches in the Funky Buddha Lounge.
Live music
International acts including Madonna, U2 and Robbie Williams have all performed in Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium, and bands often stop off at large venues such as the Cardiff International Arena and Cardiff University Students Union as part of their UK tours. If you want to watch up and coming local bands and musicians, however, then head for the smaller live music venues such as the famous Clwb Ifor Bach, or the Cardiff Barfly
Clubbing
Cult clubbing movie Human Traffic was filmed in Cardiff in 1999, and the clubbing scene is still going strong. Popular clubs include Liquid and Creation, as well as Cardiff's biggest gay/mixed venue, Club X.
