shaytravels

I am trying to decide on a visit to either York or Cardiff. Has anyone been there, and which do you prefer? having a heck of a time finding travel opinions on Cardiff.Which would have more to do for someone in their late 20's? Thanks so much in advance!

lennyba

I'm afraid the only time I've been in Cardiff was fifteen years ago, so not sure how much help I can be there. I thought the castle was cool. York is stuffed with museums, historical sights, and churches. And tourists, of course.

What kind of stuff to do for a late 20's person are you asking about? Nightlife? How much time do you plan to spend?

crazychick

I can't speak on York never be there but, there are plenty of messages on here with info on York do a search and you find lots.
I am from Cardiff so tell me what sort of thing you are looking for.

janisj

&quot;<i>Which would have more to do for someone in their late 20's?</i>&quot;

What are you interested in? Most of my younger friends visiting the UK (and me back in the dark ages) are more interested in &quot;touristy stuff&quot;, history, scenery - just like the old fogies. Or are you looking for clubs and such?

How long is your potential visit? Both cities have a lot to see/do - but York has more tourist &quot;wow&quot; factor w/ the Minster, the medieval walls etc.

bettyk

I've gotten hooked on the BBC America sci-fi series &quot;Torchwood&quot; on Saturday nights (as well as the newest Dr. Who series). Anyway, Torchwood is filmed in Cardiff and much of Dr. Who is also. Cardiff looks really interesting IMHO.

http://www.visitcardiff.com/Tourism-...d-Cardiff.html

http://www.visitcardiff.com/Torchwood.html

travelbunny

I have been to Cardiff (a couple of times for only 2-3 days each time) and York for over a week. IMO York wins hands down. Much of downtown Cardiff was destroyed during the way and some not too pretty modern buildings. The are great day trips from both cities but again, I really preferred York.

highflyer

I think York is the better choice.



Been to both many times, lived in York years ago (in my 20'S) and lived near Cardiff for many years. Haven't been back to York for 5 or 6 years but I was last in Cardiff Feb 07.

AR

It really is difficult to answer without knowing exactly what your're looking for as different people enjoy different things.

York beats Cardiff if you're &quot;thing&quot; is Cathedrals etc but York just wouldn't be able to compete with Cardiff's National Gallery of Wales for art (I maintain it has the best collection in the UK outside London).

Cardiff is not without history as the castle (even though much of it is a 19th century rebuild) has a Norman keep which saw William the Conquerer's eldest son imprisoned as, for some odd reason, his brothers rather liked the idea of succeeding their father. It was rebuilt for the Marquess of Bute (the current incumbent was known as Johnny Dumfires before his father died and raced in Formula One for a season in 1986 - partnering Ayrton Senna at Lotus, before winning the Le Mans 24 hour race a few years later. The family, however, gave the castle to the city many many years ago).

The nightlife in Cardiff is very good and I would be very surprised if it was matched by York.

Cardiff Bay (near to the historic area of Splott - Shirley Bassey and all that) has been redeveloped, not to everyone's taste, and the Welsh Assembly Goverment's Senedd (Welsh for Parliament) is there and can be visited.

Incidentally, bettyk, we were taking an Indonesian friend that was staying with us around the bay who also enjoyed Torchwood back home in Jakarta. We literally bumped into Russell T Davies in the bay - the writer of both Torchwood and Dr Who, who was happy to have a chat with my daughter and our visitor! Previously we were showing a young American visitor around the bay when Simon Cowell walked by!! So you never know who you'll see there!!!!

It really does depend on what you are looking for. I may be biased but I'd say Cardiff. It has changed so much in the last 5-7 years and is now one of Britain's really upwardly looking cities.

bettyk

AR, that's interesting. I was never a fan of the older Dr. Who, but find myself looking forward to each weekly episode of this new Dr. Who. LOL, shows you how exciting my Saturday nights are these days! And, Torchwood is amazing! I originally had a very big crush on John Barrowman, then was a little let down when I found out that he is very openly gay. Oh well, that's OK, it's still a great show!

I'm going to add Cardiff to my list of places to visit soon!

emily71

I'd agree with the others that it depends on what type of attractions you prefer. If you're more into history-castles and cathedrals, I'd go to York. Walking the walls, visiting York Minster and National Railway Museum were some of my highlights. Spent 3 days in York and really wished to spend more time.

Cardiff-The nightlife would probably be better as there's a uni and a fairly young population. As mentioned before, if you're a DW/TW fan, it's de rigor to visit the Millenium Centre(which is a destination in it's own right). We were able to tour the Centre on our own w/o reservations. Don't forget the photo-op by the waterfall!

I also thought Cardiff had a better selection of ethnic restaurants(don't laugh). Ate at a delicious Italian place on Quay Street.

I don't know where you're coming from, but the train from London to Cardiff runs pretty frequently out of Paddington Station(every hour, I believe).

shaytravels

Thank you so much for all of the wonderful responses! I like a little bit of everything. I love the castles, nightlife,but not too extreme, museums, gardens,and the medievil period in general. I will be spending time in london as well. I would like to spend 3 or 4 days at my destination whichever it be. I will also definetly check out tourchwood and doctor who. They sounds like great shows. Sadly, I have never heard of either. I don't watch a lot of tv.Travelbunny, just curious, what happened in Cardiff? You said it had been destroyed?

bettyk

shaytravels, there was this little thing called World War II that caused the destruction in Cardiff and many other places in the UK and Europe.

bettyk

Sorry, shaytravels, I was talking about Cardiff and not specifically about the castle.

http://www.cardiffcastle.com/castle.htm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2E9x-c9AOgM

shaytravels

Oh! LOL! Yeah, I guess that would make sense. I though maybe it was something more recent. Maybe like a fire or something. Sorry about that.

shaytravels

This may be another silly question, but does England or Wales have exit taxes when you leave the country? I know a lot of central and south american countries I've visited do.

AR

The architecture of central Cardiff is hardly bland. OK, so there is a lot of post-war rebuidling, but the civic centre &amp; museum is beautiful. Add to that a castle slap bang in the city centre (along with the Millennium Stadium - may not be beautiful but it can't be ignored), Bute park and the surrounding area and it is a nice centre - but I concede without the olde worlde charm of York.

What does puzzle me is that people are saying that York is the place to visit for castles. I would challenge that Cardiff has more - it has its own major attraction of a castle in the centre and Castell Coch is 3 miles out on the A470. Further along you have the majesty of Caerphilly castle (along with a horrible statue of Tommy Cooper that Sir Anthony Hopkins unveiled last month!). There are three castles in Bridgend - just 18 miles from Cardiff, and then there is Cowbridge and St Hillary.........am I defending Cardiff to much???

AR

shaytravels - you'll only pay if you enter Wales by either of the Severn Bridges by car (you pay &pound;5.30 to enter Wales - but it is an English company that collects the money !! I'm not bitter.) on the M4 motorway.

janisj

&quot;<i>does England or Wales have exit taxes when you leave the country?</i>&quot;

Yes, very high ones upon leaving the UK -- but they are included in your plane fare.

bettyk

None that I've ever paid.

janisj

bettyk - the reason flying out of the UK costs more than flying into the country -- is the exit fees.

Also why open jaw into London and out of Paris costs less than the other way around.