Cardiff is the capital city of Wales, sitting where the River Taff and River Ely meet a broad natural harbour that became the bustling coal-export port of Glamorgan in the 19th century; much of the modern waterfront around Cardiff Bay is the result of late 20th-century regeneration, highlighted by the Cardiff Bay Barrage and a mix of docklands apartments, offices and open public spaces.
The city blends history and contemporary culture - from the Roman and Norman layers at Cardiff Castle to national institutions like the National Museum Cardiff, the modernist Wales Millennium Centre and the Welsh Parliament at the Senedd - and is known for its lively music and sport scenes around the Principality Stadium, a growing media and services economy centred on studios and Cardiff University, and popular shopping and Victorian arcades such as St David's.