Welcome to one of the wonders of Wales and one of the most beautiful collections of civic buildings in the whole of Britain.

My name is James and I live in Cardiff, guiding visitors and locals ...

You should now be standing opposite the front entrance to City Hall.

When Cardiff City Hall first opened in 1905, it was an incredibly proud moment for Cardiff because it had just been granted C...

These two ornamental obelisks are decorative features of the City Hall. Both contain a good example of the coat of arms of the City of Cardiff. Please stop here for a closer look.

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Please stop here for a moment and have a look at the building across the road.

You are looking at the National Museum of Wales. Its foundation stone was laid by King George V in 1912 but it had...

Welcome back! You're now walking down an attractive tree-lined avenue with the museum building to your right, and City Hall to your left. This is Museum Avenue.

In a few minutes we will arrive a...

Coming into view on your right, half hidden behind the low wall, trees, and hedgerows is the main building of Cardiff University.

Turn right into the entrance marked by gateposts, leading to a ...

In front of you is an entrance to the garden. There are several entrances so please make sure that you use the entrance which is facing you and the last one before you reach the end of this block t...

This large imposing structure at the heart of Alexandra Gardens is the Wales National War Memorial. Please feel free to take a seat on one of the benches here for this part or, if you prefer, you c...

Keep walking but do note to your left the memorials to those who died in the 1982 Falklands conflict, and to those from Wales who fought against the Fascists in the Spanish Civil War of the 1930s.
...

Just as we reach the exit from these gardens, stop for a moment and look to the right of the path.

A simple stone plinth remembers the Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg. He saved thousands of H...

Please stop here for a moment.

The small but elegant building in front of you was actually the first of this civic centre's buildings to be completed, and it is the University of Wales Registry....

Standing proudly next to the University Registry is The Glamorgan Building.
When you reach the front of this building please stop for a moment to take in some curious features I want to point out...

Continue along the avenue, crossing the road ahead, College Road.

Edward VII Avenue is named after the King who opened it in July 1907.

His visit to Cardiff that day was the first visit to Ca...

The building on your left is called the Temple of Peace and Health.
Please stop here for a moment as I tell you a bit more about its significance.

It was opened in 1938, but was conceived man...

We are now walking past two much more modern buildings. The large building to the left is the Redwood Building, Cardiff University, School of Pharmacy. The building was first opened in 1960.

It...

Lets stand here for a moment and look through the gate into Queen Anne Square. It is a beautiful oasis of peace and calm, just a few hundred metres from the hustle and bustle of Cardiff City Centre...

Keep walking ahead.

The large red brick building on your left is Aberdare Hall. It is a female only Hall of Residence for Cardiff University, and one of the first of its kind in Britain, dating...

We're almost at the end of our tour of the Civic Centre now. At the corner, turn right and cross the road at the pedestrian crossing, taking you back towards the white civic buildings in Cathays Pa...

Welcome back, and so we find ourselves at the end of the long sweeping avenue, Museum Avenue. As you look down it you can see the buildings we have been exploring together today.

Now begin to wa...