Welcome to Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan!

If you’ve been to this region before, you’ll find it has changed enormously in the last few years. Cardiff was always good for shopping but the £675 million St David’s shopping development has made the city the number three for footfall and one of the top five shopping destinations in the UK. Cardiff is known as the 15-minute city, with everything within a stone’s throw of the city centre. Cardiff Castle – 2,000 years of history crowned by the magnificent 19th-century staterooms of the Marquess of Bute – is at the heart of the city. Close by are the Principality Stadium and the National Museum Cardiff which houses one of the finest collections of Impressionist works outside Paris.

A short walk, bus or taxi ride takes you from the city centre to Cardiff Bay, where cultural and sporting needs are catered for in equal measure. The Wales Millennium Centre is an arts village in its own right, with seven resident organisations, including Welsh National Opera and the BBC National Orchestra of Wales. A village of a different sort – the International Sports Village – houses Olympic standard swimming pool, ice rink and Cardiff International White Water, an impressive find in any city.

The Vale of Glamorgan is the most southerly point in Wales, and stands in contrast to its neighbour, Cardiff. If you’re in the capital, make sure you take time to strike out a bit further and enjoy the stunning coast and countryside.