Shop & City Break

 

Cardiff is a shoppers' paradise with over 650 shops to browse through. While many national retailers are represented in the city, it also has an amazing range of high quality independent shops. These can be found in glossy new shopping centres or in authentic Edwardian and Victorian shopping arcades.

Discover special gifts, find unique designer clothes and find a bargain in a second hand store. The total shopping experience is completed with the very compactness of the city centre, plentiful parking and an abundance of nice places in which you can have a break for a bite or a drink. Once you're up on your feet again you can pursue your retail therapy or you can explore the city from a different point of view by taking just a few steps from the high streets or hopping on the sightseeing bus. Please find below our suggestions for a Shop & City Break.

Queen Street offers a vast array of popular high street stores with three indoor shopping centres namely: St David's Centre, Queens Arcade and the modern Capitol Centre, a modern, well-designed and managed shopping center. Together they have over 100 stores offering fashion, shoes, toys, jewellery, books and lots of exciting places to eat or enjoy a coffee. Queen Street is pedestrian only and at any time there are always a number of street artists to see - from fire eaters to caricaturists.

 

The real heart of shopper's Cardiff lies in the vast number of prestigious Victorian and Edwardian Arcades, the most famous shopping precincts in all of Wales. They house a mix of designer boutiques, cafes, arts and crafts shops, specialist food shops and music shops - to name but a few. The best known is Castle Arcade, constructed in 1887. The interior has a fascinating first-floor wooden gallery with a wooden second floor overhanging it. Dating from 1858, Royal Arcade is the oldest of the city's shopping arcades with some original Victorian storefronts left. Morgan Arcade from 1896 is the best preserved with some first-floor Venetian windows original slender wooden storefronts. In total, the arcades stretch to a length of 797m (2,655 ft.).

 

In the case you would like to exchange the shopping centres for an urban view, or your purse needs a little rest from retail therapy, consider taking a small step from the high streets to the famous Civic Centre. Compared with the architecture of Washington D.C., these Edwardian buildings are viewed by many to be the most impressive in Europe. If your feet need a break from Cardiff's Shopping Paradise but you still would like to have a view of the city hop on the City Sightseeing Tour by bus. This popular tour provides commentary, taking in Cardiff Castle, National Museum Cardiff, Millennium Stadium and Cardiff Bay. The Tour Bus operates at regular intervals throughout the day, every day all year. It stops in the city centre, among others outside the Castle at the top of St Mary's Street.

 

The Victorian Indoor Market on St. Mary Street (open Monday to Saturday) contains many stalls that have been in the same family for generations. Everything is sold here, from Welsh cheeses, fish, specialty pies to Indian fabrics, records and souvenirs. The Victorian building was constructed in 1891 and is made of glass and iron. It is reminiscent of a railway station during the age of steam and in the middle, overlooking it all, even stands a wooden clock-tower.

 

The city offers plenty of opportunities to hunt for some great Welsh produced souvenirs or gifts, for somebody else or for yourself. Castle Welsh Crafts (located at 1 Castle Street, opposite Cardiff Castle, Tel: +44(0)29 2034 3038) is famous for its handcraft, jewellery, love spoons and varied assortment. Things Welsh (located at 5 Duke St Arcade) also offers a nice array of souvenirs. If you are looking for contemporary spreads, throws and cushions then Melin Tregwynt (located at 26 Royal Arcade, Tel: +44 (0)2920 224997) is worth visiting. Specialising in blankets, all of which are made at the family mill near Haverfordwest, the store sells a wide range of unique designs available in dozens of colours and styles. Ponchos, pyjamas, coasters, greetings cards and other gifts are available too. Welsh Royal Crystal is Wales' elite manufacturer of handmade crystal. Visit this shop at 21-25 Castle Arcade (Tel: +44 (0) 1597 811005) and admire centuries old handcrafting skills. All crystal pieces are individually mouth blown and hand cut, and the range of shapes and decorative cuts embrace traditional and Celtic design influences. If you thought kilts were just for the Scottish, for instance, then check out the Welsh Tartan Centre (Castle Arcade, +44 (0)29 2022 8272). Reviving the tradition of regional Welsh tartans, this is the only store in Cardiff where you can buy the national tartan of Wales, the 'brithwe Dewi Sant' (St. David's Speckled cloth/plaid). Scarves, ties and kilts are all on sale, and you can also pick up traditional Welsh love spoons and other gifts (tartan tie £16).

 

For a truly Welsh gift pick up some 'Clogau' (pronounced clog-eye), meaning Welsh gold, at Jonathan Davies Jewellers (33 St. Mary St, +44 (0) 2920 226875). Extracted from a small mine in the Welsh hillsides, the gold is some of the rarest in the world. The Queen's wedding ring was even crafted using gold from the mine, but as most of the pieces available at this jewellers only contain a small proportion of Clogau gold, many of the rings, pendants and earrings are easily affordable.