Americans First Time in Wales! Exploring Cardiff

It's our first time in Wales and we are spending the day exploring Cardiff, the capital and largest city in Wales. An immediate first impression of Wales that we noticed is that there are certainly a lot of dragons everywhere and we are here for it! We explore Cardiff Castle, some of the arcades Cardiff is known for, and visit the world's oldest record shop, Cardiff Bay, and more. There was a storm while we were there. We keep getting told that we came at the wrong time of year, but we aren't going to let that stop us from taking it all in.

New here? Check out some of our other travels throughout the UK:

This video was filmed on November 2, 2022.

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[TheMagicGeekdom]

Where else in Wales do we need to visit? Let us know! Have you seen our other travels throughout the UK? Here are some recent first-time experiences:

[BenMcManus]

Genuinely can't get enough of people discovering Cardiff

[paulhanson]

Portmeirion near Snowdonia is a must see, made famous in the 1960s as the location of another cult TV series, The Prisoner.
I doubt there is anywhere else like it on the planet. I went once as a child about 50 years ago and have been meaning to visit as an adult for decades.

[JamesPerSecond]

There's definitely a lot more to Wales that you'd like.

The Brecon Beacons national park is probably the main attraction, it's like something from Lord of the Rings. Can be pretty physically gruelling if you want to hike it but it's a stunning drive through it.

Abergavenny, a town nestled within the Brecon Beacons, surrounded by hills if you're up for a scenic hike.

Aberystwyth is a lovely old-fashioned seaside town if you want to kill a few hours.

Conwy, Colwyn Bay and Llandudno up north.

Portmeirion, a town made entirely to replicate the Italian coast, it's very quirky, I reckon you'd find it cute.

If you're into castles, Caerphilly, Caernarfon and Conwy all have some great ones.

Holyhead and Anglesey Island.

And obviously Snowdonia National Park. Mount Snowdon itself has a railway that goes to the top if you'e not up for the walk and its well worth it. It's not far from Caernarfon if you go there, barely even a 30 minute drive. There's quite a lot of stunning waterfalls in the park itself.

[judithhope]

Wales is a beautiful and diverse country. I'm English but try to holiday in Wales most years. Pembroke, Barafundle bay, Rhossili, Cardigan, Snowdon, Anglesey, the castles, hills, gardens! So much still to see too. And watch some rugby in a Welsh pub. Can't wait to go back.

[dewirowlands]

a 20 minute train ride from Cardiff is the town of Caerphilly, which has the 2nd biggest castle in the UK, a five minute walk from the train station, but driving is the best way to experience the scenery of Wales

[jondavies]

My late father was Welsh, born in Carmarthen.My sister and I always came on holiday to Wales and visited places such as Tenby, Saundersfoot, Pendine, Pembroke and Haverford west.

[janehoworth]

Our favourite part of Wales is Pembrokeshire around the coastal town of Saundersfoot and the tiny coastal places along the way such as Amroth Wisemans Bridge beautiful and unspoilt. We drive 6 hours every year to spend a week here.

[bkcin]

Loves Wales, we take trips there several times each year and are never bored. Tonnes of history and amazing walks/scenery. Cardiff is mostly a typical city however, way more interesting stuff when venturing out and about the country!

[ynys_mon]

Fun fact - Welsh has more vowels than English. That's why the words look so confusing to English speakers. The vowels are a, e, i, o, u, w, and y.
You must visit North Wales. Most YouTubers just visit Snowdonia, which is lovely, but there are other places that are just as interesting. I grew up in Anglesey (Ynys Môn is the Welsh name of Anglesey). It's an island which has great views of the mountains of Snowdonia, but also has a wonderful variety of beaches (obviously - being an island). It's also a treasure trove of history from prehistoric burial mounds, including one that you can actually enter, the Bryn Celli Ddu burial chamber, Roman forts with surviving walls (Holyhead), medieval churches (Holyhead -located within the Roman walls) and lots of others) and Monasteries (Penmon) and castles (Beaumaris), Victorian goals (Beaumaris) and lighthouses (South Stack) etc. and lots and lots of wildlife.
Generally the weather is normally a bit warmer in winter than the south of Wales and England, but as a low lying island it can be rather windy and rainy. Summer is a bit cooler than where we currently live (north of London).

[whattiler]

The "hill" you referred to at Cardiff castle is part of the classic Norman castle plan known as a 'motte and bailey' castle. The motte is the raised mound on which the 'keep' is built. The keep is the strongpoint of the castle where you make your last stand if need be; the early Norman keeps were built from wood but in many cases later replaced with stone buildings. The motte was generally an artificial structure created from the spoil dug out from other parts of the site (defensive ditches etc). The "bailey" was the area enclosed by the wall, which again was wood in early Norman castles but were often replaced by stone walls when time and resources allowed. Early motte and bailey castles were easily built by unskilled workers and were effective defensive positions and bases for further advances.

[nekite]

I have spent many years holidaying in the Snowdownia region. Good places to visit are Portmeirion, Caernarfon castle and Beddgelert. Crossing to the isle of Anglesey on Thomas Telford's Menai bridge is well worth it. My happy place with many good memories. Driving is the only practical means of getting about, but do get a small car if you fancy going there, as the roads are quite narrow and twisty.

[Cymruambyth]

The bit on the hill isn’t the castle, it’s the Norman keep, it was built by the Norman’s in the early 12th century.

[cardiffst]

So glad you enjoyed our wonderful city. And yes, the arcades are something else 🥰

[welshpete]

To places that are a must are St. Fagans Museum, which is quite close to Cardiff . It not like any museum you have ever been to before they collect real houses. That you can explore, that are they would have been as they were built. Even down to the furniture and everything else . It is as if the owners have just left a few minutes before . Some of the farm houses are from the 15th century . A church that is from the 12 century which inside . As it would have been when built and is very very different and colourful to what you would expect it to be. Castel Coch, ( red castle ) Also near Cardiff is a remarkable building and has been used in many movies .

[IGSkaarj]

After your videos on Devon & Cornwall inspired me to go there for my 40th Birthday (spent 3 days in Devon and 4 in Cornwall, it was an amazing experience), I decided that I'd like to get the chance to explore more of the UK, after having lived here for all my life and not really going much outside of Hampshire. My Welsh relatives offered to give me a chance to explore Wales when I can get enough time off work to do so, and this video has made me even more excited to go!

[gpazz]

You two are really sweet. A someone who spent four years in university in Cardiff and has lived 30 mins away most of my life, it is a city I have a great fondness for.

[jimmymorrison]

Lovely video. I'm glad you enjoyed our capitol. You should explore the south Wales coastline, from Nash Point to the Gower would be a good day or two. Then you could continue your journey around the entire coastline, as we have a foot and cycle path that circumnavigates our whole country. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

[petersymonds]

Hello both. Been watching your journeys for a while. I wondered when you would get here. Live near Llantrisant about 12 miles north of Cardiff. Just north of my village is the Royal Mint Experience. The Mint moved here in preparation for decimal coinage in 1971. It manufactures all coinage for the UK and also foreign coinage by contract. They also manufacture some medals and did the Olympic Medals for the 2012 games. Just 5 miles, there is a Cardiff Bus there, is The National Folk Museum of Wales, St. Fagan’s. This is a free entry museum with acres of preserved buildings from throughout Wales, Churches, Chapels, Toll Houses, Farm Houses, Miners Houses dressed in styles of various years, a Miners Institute, Shops, Bakery. Needs a full day to see it all.

[StephMcAlea]

The Fairy Trail goes throughout North Wales from Llangollen to Betws y Coed then to Conwy.

Beautiful scenery, quaint towns, and lots of castles.