Address: Castle St, Cardiff, CF10 3RB, United Kingdom
Phone: +442920878100
Rating: 4.6
based on 568 reviews.
Accessibility
Pros:
"You can get into the main courtyard for free, but need to pay for tickets to go in the Keep or house."
"Nevertheless the surrounding area is also well maintained and one can spend time with family without the entry fee."
"Been in Cardiff a couple of times but it is the first time I realised you can go through the main gate and see quite a lot of the castle without paying."
"But you can walk the courtyard for free."
"Lovely castle. It's free to wander or sit inside the public spaces inside the castle walls, with food and drink on tap from a bar and cafe."
"Free entry to the castle lawns if you just want to see inside the walls."
"You can also take your coffee and food and sit for free inside the Castle on the wooden benches, or on the grass."
Cons:
"Regarding museum, you have to pay an extra £4 to see other rooms which is ridiculous."
"Only drawback was they wanted an extra 4£ to visit the big round tower but you had to buy that near the main castle entrance and due to time we couldn't."
"Edit: this time we decided to buy tickets but couldn't go because there was some concert going on. It wasn't mentioned on the website that the castle will be closed for tourists."
"Took one star off because there was a concert stage built in front of the center castle and ruined my photo shots."
"You need to pay entry fees for all attractions within the castle compound, which can get a bit expensive if you have a large family."
"To enter the castle it seems that you have to purchase a tour, which start at £13 for adults."
"You pay a higher than average price for entry and then have to pay for additional tours."
Facilities
Pros:
"Plenty of toilets for the numbers (had to queue for a minute or so, no big deal at all)."
"There is a cafe and plenty of toilets, you can also access Bute gardens and walk along the river Taff."
"The guide was very knowledgeable as well as friendly and entertaining adding to the enjoyment of the tour."
"If you're on a mobility scooter the grounds and tunnels plus museum very accessible."
"There is free wi-fi and a free app can be downloaded, where everything is explained in several languages."
"We did the guided 'house tour' which was very interesting and the guide was brilliant, very knowledgable and funny too."
"All 3 guided tours are available during the weekends in the summer, but only the House Tour is offered daily during the 362 days the Castle is open to the public."
Cons:
"Parking around the castle extremely expensive, £4 per hour."
"There is no parking on site so you will need to find a nearby car park."
"Kept being asked to show ticket which due to pouring rain meant keep getting out large ticket."
"Staff were not particularly friendly either and on the whole looked either bored or just plain moody, apart from the 2 doorstaff who were friendly and helpful."
"The only thing I noticed is that toilet is very limited."
"The toilets were available but not very clean and couldn’t flush the toilets properly."
"I was very disappointed that there were no toilet facilities unless you paid for a castle ticket."
Value for Money
Pros:
"The castle hosts many events throughout the year, some of these are free but they also hold large ticketed events, including music concerts."
"Booked to see a show called 'Santa's wish' in the grounds of Cardiff Castle.. Absolutely amazing."
"The paid tour of the castle is definitely worth taking too 👍"
"If you live in Cardiff you can get a 3 year pass for £7. Well worth it!"
"A great attraction at a very good price."
"The ticket includes the old castle, the house, tunnels and the fire line exhibition."
"The entry charge for going inside the castle is well worthwhile."
Cons:
"The family ticket is a little expensive the children's ticket seems a little expensive."
"Feels a little overly priced as I managed to see everything in one hour."
"Make sure you bring your own headphones as their audio guide needs to be listened to on the app and they don't provide headphones."
"£14.50 per adult to see a little more - a little pricey for what you get."
"The castle itself is beautiful, but I think the price + the price of the tour is a bit much."
"Paid £14.5 to get in and the only precaution was to say slippery stairs! ... Not worth it for the price."
"Entry for 15 pounds is a bit on the costlier side."
Experience
Pros:
"A really beautiful castle. Beautiful in and out I must say."
"This is a great castle combining spectacular views of the town, old wartime tunnels, and some lavishly furnished interior."
"A truly beautiful, magnificent castle with such an interesting history."
"A spectacular architecture for medieval defence, beautiful chambers of mixed cultural arts under Welsh history."
"A lot to explore within the castle! Visited it with friends and spent almost the whole day to see everything inside. The ticket is reasonably priced."
"Stepping into Cardiff Castle feels like taking a journey through time. From the Roman fort to the Norman stronghold and the Victorian Gothic masterpiece, the castle's walls and towers hold so much history and stories."
"Cardiff Castle is an absolute marvel that seamlessly weaves together history and architectural brilliance."
Cons:
"Unfortunately it felt like the grounds were taken up with too much clutter and it was full of other people not specifically paying to visit the castle but just going for ice skating and other stalls they had."
"The big problems for us was the loud music blaring from the 'community cricket cup' which we found pretty awful and 100% took away from the peacefulness of the place."
"The down fall was it didn’t have much lighting at the exit it was very poorly lit."
"Look, real talk - the content of the castle and surrounding grounds are certainly interesting, but we found that for the price you pay the upkeep was quite poor."
"Ruins of a ‘tower’ hard to say it was a castle. ... Visited a bunch of castles non was as bad and empty as this one."
"Expensive to head into, but the grounds are free. Unfortunately a lot of the views of the historic buildings are obstructed by Christmas paraphernalia."
"Unfortunately I would recommend to save the money and enjoy the free view from the inner yard."