Ever since the opening of the Royal Arcade in 1858, Cardiff’s city centre has been renowned as an excellent destination for shopping. The explosion in shopping arcades and a move away from the open market stalls led to new elaborate Victorian shopping paradises.

Victorian Arcades

Today’s shopping tourists can still walk the beautifully decorated Victorian splendour of the Royal Arcade along with the Wyndham, the Castle, Duke Street, High Street and Morgan arcades. These are magical places to wander, full of delicatessens, pungent with the smells of strange produce, teashops and coffee houses brewing up a cuppa and many small designer outlets with quality goods on display.

Two of Cardiff’s oldest stores are Spillers Records in the Hayes, reputedly the oldest record shop in the world and the delightful old fashioned tobacconists in the Wyndham Arcade with its exotic blends, pipes and iconic stuffed bear.

Old Markets

There is also the Old Victorian Market, built on the site of the old gaol and another great shopping venue. It has all the presence of a grand old railway station, complete with a large clock, donated by H. Samuel’s Jewellers.  The market is teeming with local produce, strange nic knacks, haberdashery and linen stalls. Here you can buy sweets from jars, by the pound, lengths of ribbon and deliciously fresh meat and veg.

The city has not stood still and there are also the modern St Davids Centre opened in 1981, the Capitol Centre in 1990 and the Queens Arcade in 1994. More recently the St David’s Centre II has opened expanding even further the opportunities for walking around undercover and shopping till you drop. The new developments have attracted the larger high street chains, quality department stores and shops that add a sprinkling of local colour.

Bargains Galore

Once you have maxed out on your shopping budget there are a vast array of delicious restaurants and cafés where you can sit down and catch your breath. The Brewery Quarter off St Mary’s Street and Mill Lane have establishments displaying menus from all around the world. There are delightful traditional coffee shops and quick bite dinners, famous fish and chips from Caroline Street or fine dining in the Radisson Hotels restaurant.  Cardiff’s city centre is a shoppers paradise, pedestrianised to make exploring easy and compact so you cannot get lost, it is jam packed with things to try on, take out and sample.

Shopping for Accommodation

The Radisson also makes a great destination for your shopping excursions; situated at the end of St Mary’s Street is ideal for a Cardiff city centre hotel. They have 215 exquisite rooms, offering marvellous vistas, from the upper floors, of this gorgeous city and across the Bristol Channel to Somerset.

Those looking for a great weekend away exploring the shops, relaxing in a spa and enjoying a scrumptious meal will find Cardiff exactly to their liking.

Not quite as you will have seen it before. A view of the Woolworth Building by Lola Dupre, she likes to cut things up…

Summer is nearly here and it makes me want to look at beach houses. This is a stunning example by Vertice Arquitectos. More pictures of it here.