10 Things to Do in Cardiff on a Small Budget

The National Museum Cardiff showcases the rich history of Wales with tons of displays, artefacts and ephemera detailing this region back to the dinosaurs. Here you can see a stunning display of Bronze Age weaponry dating to when the Romans occupied England and established their colonies here. The museum also houses a huge art gallery with an expansive catalogue of paintings, sculptures, drawings and other media by such master artists as Rodin, Monet and Picasso. Some of the works here go back to the 16th century.

The museum is also a sight to behold. It’s located in the Civic Centre building in the heart of the Cardiff city centre.

Barry Island Beach offers a long stretch of soft sand, endless dark blue waters and a relaxing way to kick back, grab some rays and spend a holiday. This iconic beach has golden sand and is filled with amenities and activities to enjoy along its length. You can choose from many cafes and restaurants if you're hungry, from quick takeaway food to full-service sit-down establishments. Amusement arcades offer games, live entertainment and fun to distract you for hours.

Of course, many people just want to lie out in the sun, build sandcastles or splash in the ocean, and this beach is ideal for that as well. Barry Island is only 25 minutes south of the city centre.

The Chapter Arts Centre is among the largest and most dynamic centres for art in all of Europe and offers free admission with lots of mix-and-match activities. Here you can enjoy sewing classes, public lectures, book clubs and even choir practice. The Chapter also has a community garden with beautiful plants and weekly drop-in sessions if you want to do a little gardening of your own. It also hosts annual festivals celebrating comedy, literature, music and beer.

A few exhibits here, including live comedy shows, independent film exhibitions and other workshops, carry a small fee, but it is quite affordable. It’s only 10 minutes east of the city centre.

Bute Park offers a natural beauty spot that rambles next to a river and features Victorian gardens, historic ruins, an arboretum and a quaint cafe. The park lies at the green heart of the city and is among the largest, most stunning parks in the United Kingdom, covering 56 hectares or roughly the size of 75 football pitches. The park includes several sports pitches if you want to enjoy a pickup game. Also, within the park, you can walk a sculpture trail with public art and statuary along the way.

It’s easy to spend entire days in this park without seeing the whole thing. It’s also in the centre of Cardiff.

The Cardiff Central Market is a Victorian market established in 1891, which hosts dozens of stalls, all vending unique items, from speciality food to local handicrafts. From scrumptious baked goods and pastries to excellent meats and even a booth devoted to bacon, you can find almost every kind of food here. Some vendors focus on vintage books and magazines. Others sell antiques and collectables like vintage gold jewellery. Still, others allow you to buy yourself a pet fish. You can find housewares, wall art, home decor, hats, ethnic cuisine (fresh and prepared) and a world of unusual hidden treasures.

It doesn’t cost anything to window shop and browse. It’s right in the city centre.

Roath Park and Lake offers a popular destination for Cardiff locals to get out and take a nature stroll in one of the city’s oldest public parks. It was established in 1894 and still maintains its Victorian charm. It’s spread over 53 hectares of land, with Roath Lake covering 12 hectares and fed by the scenic Nant Fawr stream. Walking around the lakeshore takes 1.5 miles of hiking, with benches and picnic spots scattered along the walk.

You can get out on a hired boat for fishing. The park also boasts an iconic lighthouse, a great photo spot, a wildlife conservation area and a botanic garden. It’s 10 minutes north of the city centre.

Cardiff Street Art can be found all over the city, with many prolific artists from all around the world coming here just to contribute to the famous murals. The Empty Walls Festival covered blank walls in the city with vibrant colours throughout the suburbs and city centre. The idea was to represent a diverse set of values from feminism to history to the environment to minority rights to endangered species and conservation.

Some of the best areas to spot wall art include Cathays, Roath, Gafalba, Whitchurch, Riverside, Adamsdown, Butetown, Grangetown, Canton and even the city centre. Just tour the city and see how many you can spot.

St Fagans National Museum of History, a few minutes west of the city centre, offers a living museum attraction with costumed characters taking you on a walk through the past. As you explore this authentic old-world village, you’ll see quaint cottages and farmhouses, small gardens, workshops, mills and businesses. Characters perform traditional crafts and skills, from leatherworking to carpentry to blacksmithing and milling. You’ll see what machines looked like hundreds of years ago and learn how they were used.

Seasonal festivals all year offer special celebrations, especially at Christmas when it’s extra charming. It’s about 20 minutes to the northwest of the Cardiff city centre.

Cardiff Bay Trail is a scenic part of a public park that covers 1,093 hectares of beautiful waterfront land that once used to be dockyards and now offers tons of fun things to do. You can explore a kid-friendly science centre, where Roald Dahl went to church and many other adventures. The trail itself offers miles and miles of pathways that take you through scenic wetlands areas where you will have many opportunities to spot wildlife.

The old wharves and warehouses have been refurbished into residential buildings, fantastic restaurants, boutique shops, art galleries and even live-performance theatres. It's just 9 minutes from the city centre.

Cathays is a working-class residential neighbourhood and college town near Cardiff University offering theatre, concerts, boutique shops, eateries and pubs, with scenic shaded avenues for peaceful walks. This idyllic neighbourhood is an old suburb of the city established in 1875. Much of it still maintains its Victorian character, melded with the ultramodern lifestyle of the young college crowd that resides here.

Cathays is filled with fun things to do, including the Nazareth House, the Little Oratory and the University Church, all sites with astonishing architecture and history. It’s only about 7 minutes north of the city centre, which means it’s within easy reach of just about everything that Cardiff offers.