Two things make shopping in Cardiff extra special, the first is the compact size of the city centre and the second the unique architecture that is present in the area. This architecture is presented to shoppers in the numerous arcades that are present in the city that house within their walls a variety of major retail outlets.

The main shopping streets in Cardiff are St. Mary, High, Duke, Queen and Castle. Most of the area that these streets occupy has been transformed into Edwardian arcades complete with trees and shrubs.

The best known of these is Castle Arcade that features a marvelous wooden interior. This traditional Victorian arcade houses a wealth of unusual clothing stores and souvenir shops in addition to a variety of traditional Welsh food outlets.

Royal Arcade is the oldest arcade in the city having been built in 1858 and is a fine example of Victorian architecture. In fact some of the stores have managed to preserve their original store fronts providing an even more impressive glance into the past. Visitors to this arcade can find everything from antiques to clothes.

Queens Arcade is situated on Queen Street right in the heart of Cardiff and is home to over 40 stores that present visitors with a multitude of offerings. The mall offers everything from clothing items, furniture, fashion, shoes and jewelry. The mall also houses various reputed large scale stores such as a Disney Store, Gap, Argos, Triumph and several others.

Capitol Centre is another shopping mall in Cardiff that primarily targets high end fashion for women and features several high scale outlets including Karen Millen, Hennes & Mauritz, Jaeger, and Wallis. In addition to these upscale stores Capitol Centre also offers stores that provide hair and beauty accessories, lifestyle items as well as cafes and restaurants.

St. David’s Shopping Centre houses a large Marks and Spencer store that offers guests a wide variety of goods and is also linked to Queens Arcade from the inside. St. David’s has 75 stores and features some large and prominent outlets including Boots, Marks and Spencer, Debenhams and Bhs.

Staying in one of the hotels in Cardiff such as Copthorne Hotel Cardiff Caerdydd provides an excellent opportunity to discover and take advantage of the variety of shopping options on offer in the city.