Cardiff Self Guided Walking Tour Castle and Arcades Audio Quiz

Cardiff wears its whole story in stone, and this self-guided walking tour traces it on foot through the heart of the Welsh capital. You start among the Portland stone domes of Cathays Park, pass Cardiff Castle where a Roman fort sits beneath a Victorian Gothic fantasy, follow the Animal Wall along Bute Park, slip through the glass-roofed arcades that made Cardiff the City of Arcades, and finish at the covered market and the stadium wedged into the old street grid. Everything runs from your smartphone, with no app to download. Each of the 9 stops comes with a short audio story and an interactive quiz, plus a clear map and step-by-step directions. There is no guide to follow and no group to keep up with: start whenever you like, pause for a coffee, take a detour, and pick the route back up when you are ready. Audio and written text are available in 7 languages.

1. 1

   National Museum Cardiff

   Pass by

   Beaux-Arts museum in Cathays Park, opened in 1927, holding natural-history galleries and a celebrated collection of French Impressionist paintings given by the Davies sisters.

2. 2

   Stop 2

   Pass by

   Edwardian Baroque civic palace of 1906 in Portland stone, with a clock tower and a dome topped by a Welsh dragon, at the heart of the Cathays Park civic centre.

3. 3

   Cardiff Castle

   Pass by

   A Roman fort, a Norman motte and keep, and a Victorian Gothic Revival mansion remodeled for the 3rd Marquess of Bute by William Burges, all inside one walled site.

4. 4

   The Animal Wall

   Pass by

   A line of carved stone creatures along the wall bordering Bute Park, the earliest by Thomas Nicholls for the Bute estate, with further figures added in the twentieth century.

5. 5

   Castle Quarter Arcade

   Pass by

   Glass-roofed Victorian shopping arcades off Castle Street and High Street, including Castle Arcade with its timber galleries, part of the network that earned Cardiff the name City of Arcades.

6. 6

   The City Parish of St John the Baptist

   Pass by

   Late-medieval parish church whose Perpendicular Gothic tower, built around 1490, is the oldest structure in the city centre after Cardiff Castle.

7. 7

   Museum of Cardiff

   Pass by

   City history museum housed in the Old Library on The Hayes, a Bath stone Victorian building with a tiled entrance hall, telling Cardiff's story through objects donated by residents.

8. 8

   Cardiff Market

   Pass by

   Victorian covered market of 1891 with a glazed iron roof and a two-tier gallery of independent stalls, built on the site of the town's former goal.

9. 9

   Stop 9

   Pass by

   Home of Welsh rugby, opened in 1999 beside the River Taff, a retractable-roof stadium of about 74,000 seats set directly inside the Victorian street grid.

• Service animals allowed
• Public transportation options are available nearby
• Not recommended for travelers with spinal injuries
• Not recommended for pregnant travelers
• Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
• Suitable for all physical fitness levels

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.