Cardiff has become something of a paradise for shopaholics and the city was recently voted Britain’s number one city for shopping. Having visited Cardiff in each of the last two years I am not at all surprised it gained such an accolade.
The city centre in the Welsh capital manages to combine old and new very successfully. There are three bright and breezy, modern, indoor shopping malls including the excellent St. David’s and these one-stop, centres have many of the top national stores represented, as well smaller specialist stores.
You will find the likes of Boots, Body Shop, Marks and Spencers, Debenhams, W.H. Smith, and Burtons in town and Cardiff is a fashion emporium where you will come across many of the leading designer labels in the department stores and small independant shops. Modern one stop shopping centres, are, of course, to be found in many British cities so what makes Cardiff a bit special?
For the answer I would suggest it is the splendidly ornate Edwardian and Victorian arcades which weave in and out of the more modern development that give real character to Cardiff as a shopping centre.
Here there is a myriad of specialist shops including a wonderful sports bookshop where I picked up a Cricket, Rugby and a Non League Soccer book, all at bargain prices, handicraft and souvenir stores, crystal and glass ware shops, boutiques and little bistros, cafes and coffee houses to nourish you.
Then Cardiff’s indoor market is something special with its dazzling array of fresh foods to tempt you. This busy market offers a thoroughly mouth watering selection of fruits , local and imported, vegetables, cheeses, meats, sausages, and fish ranging from Welsh cockles, salmon, cod, rock salmon, haddock, squid, and swordfish. A few local specialities worth sampling are the likes of Glamorgan sausages and laver bread; the latter is made from seaweed and is very good for you.
A number of the shops accept credit cards and some of the big stores offer tax-free shopping so that visitors from North America or other countries outside the European Union can reclaim the 17.5% VAT which is unfortunately payable on most goods.
Another great feature of Cardiff is the shopping centre is very compact and with all those arcades and indoor shopping malls, you can easily dodge the rain !