"Cardiff , the Heart of Wales" a Cardiff Travel Page by tvor

There has been a settlement on this site, along the River Taff, since the days of the Romans but Cardiff really only came into itself in the 19th century when the 2nd Marquess of Bute kick started the economy, tying it to the growing coal industry. Cardiff got rich, exporting the coal mined up in the valleys to the north. After the first couple of decades of the 20th century, however, the coal industry started to wane and Cardiff suffered. It's experiencing a rebirth now, filled with Culture and promoting itself as a vibrant city of the future. There' s a lot of new construction, as there has been in a lot of cities since the millennium but the older Victorian history is still preserved in much of the city.

My visit to Cardiff only lasted two days so i could only get an overview of the city but I loved the partnership of old and new, the past and the future. It's a pretty city, lots of greenspace, flowers and lots of interesting buildings. The two days i was there were beautiful sunny days so i could see Cardiff under the best of circumstances.