Cardiff Bay’s Whoniverse: A Guide to its Filming Locations

(20 reviews)

Cardiff audio tour: Cardiff Bay’s Whoniverse: A Guide to its Filming Locations

This is a 2mi walking tour

It takes an average of 90 mins to complete.

Cardiff

The United Kingdom

$11.99

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About the Tour

Cardiff has a reputation as the home of Bad Wolf Studios and the city with ties to the Torchwood spin-off TV show. It’s also known as the beating heart of the Doctor Who cinematic universe: The Whoniverse.

On this Cardiff Bay walking tour, you’ll experience the city’s vibrant culture, discover its rich history, and explore its status as the Doctor’s gateway into time and space. Cardiff holds a special place for Doctor Who fans because it’s not just the show’s production base, but also a central location in many of its iconic scenes.

The tour starts outside the iconic Wales Millennium Centre at the Torchwood Tower, where I’ll tell you how CGI was used to turn a Cardiff Bay location into a Parisian Art Gallery. You’ll explore streets made famous by Doctor Who, Torchwood, and other productions. I’ll point out specific filming locations and explain how the film and television industry has become Wales’ fastest-growing economic sector. You’ll walk along Windsor Esplanade, through Butetown, and experience the beautiful Cardiff Bay Wetlands. The tour ends in front of the Norwegian Church Arts Centre on Cardiff Bay’s bustling waterfront.

On this 90-minute walk, you’ll have an opportunity to:

Spot some of the Doctor Who characters’ homes, and the places they met for breakfast, and went out to dinner
Visit Ianto’s shrine, dedicated to the Torchwood character
Stop for refreshments at the fictional starship Titanic, which was brought to life within the Coal Exchange Hotel, or the Packet, one of Sherlock’s local pubs
Take a trip from Mermaid Quay on the boat featured in the Dot and Bubble episode
Enter Senedd, the Welsh parliament and the site of Lazarus Laboratories in Doctor Who
Visit the airport featured in the Gavin and Stacey television series
Discover the fascinating history of this once-industrial area and explore its modern STEM programs at Techniquest, a science discovery centre
See where the first million-pound cheque written anywhere in the world was signed

By the end of this tour, you’ll appreciate just how important Cardiff Bay has been for the filming of Doctor Who and Torchwood over the years. You’ll also have seen first-hand the key locations and learned a little bit about what was going through the minds of their writers and producers.

Tour Producer

Sarah Salter

9 tours

Sarah Salter is an experienced professional tourist guide and founder of Sarah's Wales. She welcomes guests from across the world as they discover the very best Wales has to offer. Sarah combines elements of history, culture, humour and storytelling to conjure up an unforgettable experience.

Her mission is to make every tour educational, enjoyable and above all entertaining. She enjoys researching the unusual and unexpected details about any destination. She particularly enjoys social history weaving stories of people through the ages into her tours. Alongside this she throws in a careful blend of contemporary culture and everyday Welsh life to demonstrate the real Wales.

Sarah is based in the capital city of Wales, surrounded by beautiful beaches, rolling green hills and castles - there are over 640 in Wales! She spends her spare time tramping footpaths, clambering over castle ruins and beach combing with her family and dog as they explore beautiful Wales together.

Preview Location

Location 23

Techniquest

Coming up on your left is Techniquest, the UK's longest-established science discovery centre.

Opened in 1986 it is in a building which was formerly used as a heavy engineering shed for the shipping trade. Their focus is to introduce young people to science, technology, e... Read More

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Major Landmarks

Water Tower by William Pye - Cardiff Bay Art Trail
Wales Millennium Centre
The Coal Exchange Hotel
The Packet
Techniquest
Windsor Esplanade
voco St. David's Cardiff
The Mount Stuart - JD Wetherspoon
Coffi Co Mermaid Quay
Pierhead Building
The Senedd
Norwegian Church Arts Centre

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Getting There

Route Overview

VoiceMap tours follow a route from a set starting point. It’s how we give turn-by-turn directions and tell a story greater than the sum of its parts.

Start location
Mermaid Quay, Cardiff CF10 5AN, UK
Total distance

3km
Final location
Bay, Norwegian Church Arts Centre, Harbour Dr, Cardiff CF10 4PA, UK
Distance back to start location

371.9m

Directions to Starting Point

The tour begins at the base of the iconic Torchwood Steel metal tower in Cardiff Bay, immediately outside the Wales Millennium Centre. You can use the What Three Words location ///each.snaps.things

Travel to Cardiff Bay from the city centre by Bus number 6 from behind central library, by train from Cardiff Queen Street Station, by water taxi from Bute Park or walk down either Bute Street or Lloyd George Avenue. The best place to start this walk is from John Lewis front entrance.

Show Directions

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Tips

Places to stop along the way

You can stop for coffee at The Coal Exchange Hotel at most times of the day. Here you can visit the historic trading floor where you will find yourself in the dining room of The Starship Titanic. Why not visit the Wales Millennium Centre or have a pint in The Packet historic pub?

Here's a full list of places to visit:-
Wales Millennium Centre - a world-renowned arts venue located in Cardiff Bay. This is Wales’s premier theatre venue.
Techniquest – A hands-on attraction where children and teenagers can discover Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths
Coffi Co, Mermaid Quay. A locally owned coffee shop with fantastic waterside of Cardiff Bay.
Norwegian Church Arts Centre and Coffee Shop. The church where popular children’s author Roald Dahl was christened.
Pierhead Building. This iconic terracotta coloured building houses an exhibition and film show about Cardiff Bay.
The Coal Exchange Hotel, Cardiff Bay. A luxury hotel in the heart of the historic coal trading area. The home of the first ever million pound cheque.
The Mount Stuart. A JD Wetherspoon pub with fabulous waterside views.
The Packet. One of the few surviving historic pubs in Cardiff Bay.
The Senedd. Home of the Welsh Government.
Voco St David’s Hotel – a five star waterfront hotel and spa in the heart of Cardiff Bay.
Water Tower by William Pye. Cardiff Bay art trail and Torchwood Tower.
Windsor Esplanade. One of the most expensive streets in Cardiff.

Best time of day

Daylight hours

Precautions

Take sunscreen, umbrella , warm clothing etc as the season dictates. Cardiff Bay is generally a safe area but do not leave bags unattended. When walking around the historic old buildings beyond Bute Street it is wise to be aware of who is around you and travel in pairs. I personally have never experienced any issues.

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