A capital city and, half an hour west of it, a limestone coast that has nothing to do with capital cities. The Vale is the farmland in between, running down to Llantwit Major and the cliffs at Nash Point.
60 places to stay · showing 1–10
Afan Forest Park, Cardiff and Vale of Glamorgan
A 5-star luxury holiday home — a converted former Methodist church at Cwmavon on the edge of Afan Forest Park, sleeping 12. Dog-friendly.
Cardiff and Vale of Glamorgan
A 5-star luxury self-catering apartment in a peaceful part of Cardiff, sleeping 6, with guaranteed parking.
Cardiff, Cardiff and Vale of Glamorgan
A modern 5-star self-catering apartment directly opposite the Principality Stadium in Cardiff, sleeping 6 — perfect for concerts and rugby.
Cardiff, Cardiff and Vale of Glamorgan
A welcoming, family-run 3-star hotel in Cardiff with free parking and warm, personal service — a comfortable home from home.
Cardiff, Cardiff and Vale of Glamorgan
A ten-room guest house on Coldstream Terrace, 300 metres from Cardiff Castle. Some rooms are en suite, some share a bathroom.
Cardiff, Cardiff and Vale of Glamorgan
A country manor of 1850 in its own grounds on Thornhill Road, four miles north of central Cardiff, with 25 rooms and a glass-domed restaurant.
Cardiff, Cardiff and Vale of Glamorgan
An 11-room guest house on Cathedral Road, Cardiff, with an Italian restaurant on the ground floor and Bute Park two minutes away.
Cardiff, Cardiff and Vale of Glamorgan
A grand Victorian landmark hotel opposite Cardiff Castle, welcoming guests for over 100 years — full of history and character.
Cardiff, Cardiff and Vale of Glamorgan
An elegant Victorian townhouse hotel on the tree-lined Cathedral Road in Cardiff — a peaceful, sophisticated base.
Cardiff, Cardiff and Vale of Glamorgan
A premier 4-star city-centre hotel and spa in Cardiff, in a commanding position directly overlooking Cardiff Castle.
Cardiff only became a city because of what came down the valleys behind it. The docks that shipped it are the Bay now. The castle in the middle of town has a Roman wall at the bottom, a Norman keep on the mound and a Victorian fantasy on the side. There are seven Victorian arcades as well, the densest run left in Britain.
Then it stops. Fifteen miles west the Vale is farmland and market towns, and the Glamorgan Heritage Coast is flat grey limestone laid in shelves with fossils in it. Cowbridge is the town in the middle. Penarth sits on the edge of the city with its pier, and Barry has the island and the sands.
There is a building in Mount Stuart Square, down in the old docks, where the price of the world's coal was decided.
The Coal Exchange went up between 1884 and 1888 to a design by Edwin Seward. For a stretch of years, what was agreed on its trading floor set what coal cost, and not just in Cardiff. That is the part worth holding on to. Cardiff was not simply a place that shipped a lot of coal; it was the place that priced it.
The story usually told about the building is that the world's first million-pound cheque was signed in it. It may well be true, but the date moves about: 1901 in some tellings, 1904 in others. Enjoy it as a story rather than a fact.
The trade itself is not in any doubt, and neither is the ending. The Exchange closed in 1958. Cardiff's coal exports stopped completely in 1964.
The building came through it. It is a hotel now, reopened in 2017 after a forty-million-pound restoration. The room where the world's coal was priced is still standing and still in use, a short walk from the Senedd.
Half an hour west of all that, the Vale of Glamorgan carries on as though none of it ever happened. It is farmland, a market town at Cowbridge, and a limestone coast laid down in flat grey shelves.
Which is the useful thing about this corner of Wales: the capital and the quiet bit are close enough together that you do not have to pick one.
Where to stay: hotels in Cardiff & the Vale of Glamorgan · B&Bs and guest houses
You can have a city break and a coast walk on the same day here. Cardiff has the castle, the stadium and the bay. Cowbridge, Barry and Porthcawl are all a short drive west, with the Glamorgan Heritage Coast below them. Barry is on the train from Cardiff Central; Porthcawl has a station at Pyle a few minutes inland, and Llantwit Major is on the Vale line. You can also search across Wales.
Browse Cardiff & the Vale of Glamorgan by type: B&Bs & Guest Houses · Hotels & Inns · Cottages & Self-Catering
Towns in Cardiff & the Vale of Glamorgan: Barry · Llantwit Major · Bridgend · Cardiff · Cowbridge · Porthcawl
Nearby areas: Swansea & Gower · South Wales
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