Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
CARDIFF
Area Code
The area code for Cardiff is
029.
Dentist
For emergencies, contact
Parade Dental Practice,
23 The Parade
(
&
029/2048-1486
).
Doctor
For emergencies, dial
&
999
and ask for an ambulance. Doctors are on
24-hour call. A full list of doctors is posted at all post offices.
Drugstores
Boots the Chemist
has various stores in town. The main prescription dis-
pensing service is at 5 Wood St. (
&
029/2037-7043;
www.boots.com), open Monday to
Friday 8am to 6:30pm, Saturday 9am to 6pm.
Emergencies
For police, fire service, or ambulance, dial
&
999.
Hospitals
The main hospital is the
University Hospital of Wales
(also known as the
Heath Hospital), Heath Park (
&
029/2074-7747
).
Internet Access
Wi-Fi is free in an increasing number of bars, coffee shops, and
hotels. Or you can use
McDonald's,
12-14 Queen St. (Sun-Thurs 5am-midnight; Fri-Sat
open 24 hr.).
Maps
Cardiff Tourist Information Centre,
the Old Library, The Hayes (
&
029/2087-
3573
), has a selection, and lots of free brochures.
Police
Central Cardiff Police Station
is at King Edward VII Avenue, Cathays Park
(
&
029/2022-2111
).
Post Office
The main post office is at 45-46 Queens Arcade, Queen Street, (Mon-Sat
9am-5:30pm).
18
Exploring the City
Bute Park
PARK Once the playground of the fabulously rich Bute family, this
Capability Brown-designed park extends from the back of their former home, Cardiff
Castle. There are flower gardens, an arboretum, open spaces, and the River Taff runs
right through it.
Castle St./North Rd.
&
029/2068-4000.
Free admission. Daily dawn to dusk. Bus: 32 or 62.
Cardiff Castle
CASTLE If you only have time for one thing, take a guided
tour around this castle-cum-fantasyland. There's been a fort on the site since Roman
times, and the 12th-century Norman keep is still intact, with fabulous views from its
tower. But the building now known as Cardiff Castle was rebuilt in Victorian times
in Gothic style by the third Marquess of Bute, reputedly the richest man in the world
as owner of South Wales's coal mines, the railway that took the coal to the docks, and
the docks themselves. Exquisite wall paintings depict fables, fairytales, and Biblical
stories. Highlights include the banqueting hall with minstrels' gallery where the
Queen and Prince Charles have dined; the ladies' sitting room, cheekily decorated
like a harem; and the rooftop garden. But best of all is the day nursery with painted
wall tiles depicting nursery rhymes and fairy stories. The last tour starts an hour
before closing—although you have to stick with a guide for the castle itself, you can
wander freely around the grounds, walls, keep, and military museum. The tours get
busy so arrive, book, and then explore.
Castle St.
&
029/2087-8100.
www.cardiffcastle.com. Admission £11 adults, £9 students and seniors,
£7.95 children 5-16. Mar-Oct daily 9am-6pm; Nov-Feb daily 9am-5pm. Last admission 1 hr. before
closing. Closed Dec 25-26 and Jan 1. Bus: 32 or 62.
