Wales Millennium Centre

About this place

A poem two metres tall, cut through a vast bronze-coloured facade and lit from within every night over the square at Cardiff Bay: that is what stops you at the Wales Millennium Centre, and if you are not here for a show it is probably the one thing that justifies the detour. The poet Gwyneth Lewis wrote two lines, one Welsh and one English ('In These Stones Horizons Sing'), and Welsh architect Jonathan Adams turned them into giant windows through which the foyer light spills out. Below the steel shell sit walls of stacked Welsh slate in shifting bands of colour, every piece quarried in the country itself. The building opened in 2004 and quickly became the emblem of the modern city, a few steps from the glass Senedd and the Mermaid Quay waterfront. Inside, the foyer is open to anyone without a ticket every day from 10:00 (09:00 on weekdays), with a cafe, a shop and a small stage where short free performances happen most days: a local choir, a soloist, a dance troupe, usually around lunchtime or early evening. Children like the curving stairs and the high galleries, and the whole place is lift-served and pushchair-friendly. The main house, the nearly 1,900-seat Donald Gordon Theatre, is home to Welsh National Opera and takes the big touring West End musicals, ballet and concerts. Seeing something here is a fine evening out, but note that most shows start at 19:30 and that tickets for the famous musicals sell out months ahead in the summer and school holidays. Guided backstage tours run on selected dates, usually at weekends and in the morning, last about an hour and carry a modest charge (recently in the GBP 10 to 15 range); they must be booked in advance on the website. You start in the auditorium, pass through the workshops and dressing rooms and finish with a photo in front of the lettered wall from the inside. The tour is not suited to very young children, so check the age rules when booking. Unless you love theatre, treat the tour as optional; the walls and the letters do the job on their own. Our honest advice: the Millennium Centre is a 20 to 30 minute stop on a Cardiff Bay walk, not a destination in itself. Make it the last thing you see in the Bay so you arrive at dusk when the letters light up, which is easy in winter when the sun sets before 17:00 and needs patience until after 21:00 in summer. Park at the Q-Park opposite (show ticket holders can add discounted parking when they buy their tickets), or take the train from Queen Street to Cardiff Bay station in under five minutes, then walk four minutes. The restaurants at neighbouring Mermaid Quay include halal options.