Cathays Park in Cardiff is one of Europe's finest Civic Centres, built in the early years of the…read more20th century to reflect Cardiff's rapid development as a major city and trading port, largely due to the export of coal. What had been a small town of a few thousand souls in 1800 was, by 1900, the largest coal exporting port in the world, and home to over 150,000. A key figure in the early life of Cardiff was the local landowner, the 1st Marquess of Bute. He was responsible for the rebuilding of Cardiff Castle and Castell Coch, and in 1898 sold what had been the grounds of a Georgian Mansion to the City to enable construction of the Civic Centre. It now contains the National Museum of Wales, the main buildings of the University, administrative buildings of the Welsh Assembly, Law Courts and, as its crowning glory, Cardiff City Hall. Completed in 1904 and built in white Portland stone, this magnificent baroque building was designed by the firm Lanchester, Stewart and Rickards after an architectural competition. The basic design includes an imposing central dome and entrance portico, with an offset 194ft (60m) tall bell tower. The external statuary represents the City's three rivers, the Taff, Rhymney and Ely. The bell tower is something of a landmark, and contains five bells, each inscribed with a motto in English or Welsh: Hour bell: 'Y gwir yn erbyn y byd' (His truth against the world) 1st Quarter - 'I mark time, dost thou?' 2nd Quarter - 'Duw a phob daioni' (God is all goodness) 3rd Quarter - 'Time conquers all and we must time obey' 4th Quarter - 'A gair Duw yn uchaf' (God's voice on high) Inside the main entrance hall has two grand staircases leading to the grand first floor reception, appropriately called the 'Marble Hall'. The most impressive internal rooms (there are also offices, of course) are the Council Chamber and the Great Assembly Hall. The latter possesses three huge bronze chandeliers and has been used for all sorts of functions, from dinner dances (which my Mum and Dad used to attend for 1/6 in the 1950s!) to banquets for Royalty and visiting Heads of State. The Council Chamber, of oak and Breccia Marble, is also worth a look, and was used for a meeting of the European Council in 1998. The Edwardian period was a time when Wales was rediscovering its history and confidence, and so the interior reception halls - especially that on the first floor - are decked out with the best Edwardian marble statues of Welsh heroes and heroines by noted sculptors of the day. To modern eyes, apart form the dubious historical accuracy, they are a bit overblown, but impressive nonetheless. Better is the building's impressive art collection, mostly of late Victorian English painting, including some minor pre-raphaelite works by Blair Leighton and my favourite, 'Winter', by the Scottish artist, Joseph Farquharson, (much beloved of Christmas Cards). There are also portraits of political figures, such as Lloyd George, George Thomas and James Callaghan, and a rather odd triple portrait of Diana, Princess of Wales by John Merton (for hardened Diana fans only). As well as conferences, banquets and similar events, the Marble Hall is licensed for weddings and they can also cater for receptions for up to 500 guests.

NOTES: ~ This review is for using it as a wedding venue!…read more Cardiff's City Hall was where I got married and overall the people and process was fantastic. I'll explain the 1 star off later. ~ Support: The support from the staff here was fantastic and the process was very smooth. There were several stages to the process from getting registered to booking a date and everything went smoothly. They had selection pack where you declare what music you want (of which there were a variety of options), what statements you wish to be made, and generally how the whole flow of the ceremony was good. The person who married us was also very kind and supportive. I had a little crying breakdown during our vows and she was very patient with me and also seemed really genuinely happy for us on the day. ~ Venue: As noted by other reviewers, the building is beautiful which makes it for a great location to get married. Just look at the photos! ~ Downside: I recognise that this may be a rare occurrence, but I wish they were a bit more strict on people who don't turn up on time. There was a wedding scheduled before us and they were very late so our guests had to wait in the waiting room with guests of another wedding which made it very awkward and not intimate at all. My partner and I also had to wait until our own ceremony and so waited with our guests. We are all pretty relaxed people and this didn't bother me too much and I actually found it hilarious, but I can imagine if it happens to anyone else it would be very hectic. Maybe a 15 minutes or cancellation policy? The couple before us were over half an hour late which cut the "nervous pre-wedding anticipation" down by quite a lot.

My only dealings (thankfully) with this Police Station were as a witness for an unprovoked assault…read moreon a friend of mine, for which he required stitches to his face and severe bruising. Naturally we called the Police immediately who showed up after about 10 minutes. We drove around trying to find the guy again before going to the hospital but to no avail. They then required us to go into the station to check out some photo-fits. At this time I worked from 1pm to 9pm in Bridgend and didn't want to take a day off unless necessary. They booked us in for 9am though and assured me it would take half an hour maximum. I showed up at 8.50am as planned and was told I'd be seen ASAP. Unfortunately we were waiting until 11.30am to get seen. In fairness we were informed no-one was available and I'm loathe to be too harsh as I understand something could have come up which was more important than our appointment. We went and grabbed food before heading back. They called me in at about 11.50am and I was in there for about an hour and a half, making me late for work. Afterwards I was told it was highly unlikely that they would find the man, making me wonder why they bothered wasting our time in the first place. Like I said I don't want to be too harsh as I have a lot of respect for the Police, having worked for them myself but I ended up having to work back the hours I missed to attend a completely pointless interview.

The Serbian police have made a terrible mistake. Radovan Karadzic is alive and well in Cardiff. For…read moreyears he has been posing as the First Minister.

There is no doubt that the National Assembly has changed the face of politics in Wales. For better…read moreor for worse is for any individual to debate and no claim can be made that this instituion is flawless. But it has been a positive development as a facility in Cardiff, and is worth five stars for being contraversial, as well as a large employeer. Because of the Assembly we now have the Senedd, which is of course a real landmark for Cardiff Bay.

Open from 8am until 10pm, Broadway Post Office is a lifeline for those living in the area. It's got…read morea cashpoint outside and sells everything from newspapers and magazins, to food stuff, lots of drinks, alcoholic and soft, and does a nifty line in seasonal goods. I once picked up a super cool halloweeny witches hat for £2 - barryargain! Oh, and there's a post office counter and a small stationary bit at the back of the store.

I hate using any toilets that are not in my own house, so to me - when I'm out and about there is…read morenothing like clean toilets. At the moment I think the toilets in St David's 2 are very hard to beat for cleanliness - in fact, wait for it - I'm going to put my money where my mouth is (I'm not afraid to spend a penny in public) and shout out loudly I BELIEVE THE TOILETS IN ST DAVIDS 2 SHOPPING MALL TO BE THE CLEANEST IN CARDIFF. Not only that but the baby changing facilities are the cleanest too. So if you're out and about and a desperate to use the toilet head over to St David's 2 and it will nearly be a pleasant experience.

I am not a fan of public toilets and usually try and hold on until I get home but sometimes needs…read moremust. I was out shopping recently and my bladder was seconds away from bursting so I bit the bullet and ran to the nearest toilets. These happened to be on the ground floor of the St David's 2 centre. I went in there expecting them to be dirty and smelly but I was peasently surprised to see that these toilets were clean.... VERY clean in fact. One thing that shocked me was the fact each cubical actually had loo roll in!! This is unheard of in Cardiff. Usually you either have to take your own or commit the cardinal sin of dripping dry.. YUK! I cant say I will ever be a regular public toilet user but at least now I know where to go if I cant cross my legs any longer.

Canolfan a Llyfrgell Star Centre and Library is an impressive, purpose built leisure centre and…read morelibrary complex situated on the main street in Splott. The library, (as with all of the libraries in Cardiff), is a focal hub for the local community, offering all kinds of activities and talks to inspire and educate. These events are often free of charge. Splott is considered to be a 'problem area' and suffers from high unemployment and the associated social problems of economic privation. A small number of the kids in Splott are responsible for some pretty anti-social behaviour. The authorities recognise the need to constructively engage the under sixteen's, and so the library is intended to be a place where children from all backgrounds and age groups can meet and have fun. The library has been recently refurbished, as have the sport and leisure facilities in the same complex. It has a wide range of books available for lending as well as providing access to the whole of the Cardiff Libraries collection. There's a new children's area that is packed with fun stuff, along with an extended IT facility that offers a range of computers along with full on-line services and access. The library holds weekly pre-school activities as well as half term events for school children. On Wednesday mornings they hold a story time and craft session at 10.30am. Weekly rhyme times are also available. An adult Reading Group meets on the last Wednesday of every month from 7.00pm - 8.00pm. Email: splottlibrary@cardiff.gov.uk How to get there: Bus Numbers: 11,12,13