We’re always talking about how our capital, Cardiff, is one of the most exciting cities to visit in the UK. So it’s nice to hear when someone agrees with us – well, a lot more than one person.
Over half a million readers of Condé Nast Traveller, one of the UK’s leading travel magazines, took part in this year’s edition of the brand’s annual Readers’ Choice Awards, in which they proclaimed Cardiff to be “the best city in the UK”.
The awards, which have been running for over 25 years, sees fans of the magazine voting on a wide range of subjects across the travel industry, ranking everything from destinations to hotels to tour operators.
In the UK destinations category, readers were asked to pick their favourite from the UK’s 76 cities, utilising a series of criteria that included the quality of a city’s nightlife and food scene.
With a score of 86.84 out of 100, Cardiff took the top spot, edging out two other capital cities to the title, London and Edinburgh, who sit in second and third place in the poll respectively.
Speaking about Cardiff in the article announcing the rankings, Condé Nast’s editors commented on Cardiff’s “exciting independent restaurants, buzzy bars and up-and-coming neighbourhoods” as reasons for its widespread appeal.
Such independent restaurants in the city range from the fine-dining establishment Heaneys in the Pontcanna neighbourhood to the raucous taco and tequila joint La Pantera in the city centre, while buzzy bars can be found on almost every corner, from the historic City Arms to hipster wine bar Nighthawks.
But that is not all. Cardiff also topped a second, separate category in this year’s Readers’ Choice Awards, also being crowned the “Friendliest City in the UK”, with an incredible score of 97.78 out of 100. This was enough to take the city above the likes of Belfast, Manchester and Liverpool, which were all tied in second place.
Explaining why Cardiff was successful in this category, Condé Nast editors called Cardiff a ‘bustling city encased by remarkable countryside’ that is ‘well-loved by all who visit’, with local people extending a ‘warm hospitality’ to tourists.
It appears the people have spoken. And who are we to argue?
Learn more about what Cardiff has to offer visitors.