3 days Ago By Lauran O'Toole
I recently paid a visit to one of the UK’s most iconic cities home to one of the UK’s ‘best’ Christmas markets - boasting stunning wooden alpine chalets adorned with magical fairy lights and I wasn’t disappointed. Christmas markets bring a burst of magic to towns and cities across the UK and Cardiff is no different with the city centre transformed into a festive wonderland. The Times recently voted the Christmas market the ‘best’ in the UK and it is easy to see why as for 30 years it has been bringing a touch of sparkle and magic to the city with 70 stalls, which rotate weekly, showcasing the original work of its craftspeople and artists.
As someone who used to live in Cardiff and with this being my third visit to this market in three years it is safe to say it has become a staple for my friends, family and I to visit every year. With this wonderful market having everything you could wish for it is hard to see why you would need to visit any others and I know I certaintly won't be. Despite it being in the city centre the market has a somewhat calm, welcoming feel and you could easily stroll around without rubbing shoulders with other festive shoppers every five seconds.
Rows of stalls line the city centre streets selling a range of handmade crafts from 200 individual businesses making it almost impossible to leave empty handed. From Mondays to Saturdays the market is be open from 10am to 6pm and from 10am to 5pm on Sundays. As my friend and I wandered round the Hayes, Trinity Street, St John Street and Working Street we both couldn’t help but pick up a star shaped Christmas potpourri with dried oranges for £8 which captures the smell of Christmas with just one whiff.
After picking up some unique stocking filler presents we decided to make our way to the cozy festive bar on Working Street for a well earned refreshing drink and festive sing song. With the smell of mulled wine filling in the air it would have almost been rude not to have one. As a Londoner the price of the mulled wine wasn’t too much of a shock coming in at £6.
Upon picking up drinks we were faced with the task of finding somewhere to sit in the German themed bar that was full of people singing along to Christmas fan favourites. As it was just two weeks before Christmas and on a Sunday afternoon the market was buzzing with people but it did not feel overcrowded instead the joy filled the atmosphere. After a small wait and my dad becoming increasingly eager to belt out a Christmas song or a touch of Tom Jones we found ourselves a table and immersed ourselves in the festivities.
Located next to the bar is a row of seasonal food stalls to dive into from the ‘Cardiff Christmas Carvery’ to your traditional German sausage grill. With fond memories of the Christmas Carvery the year before we quickly decided that it would again be our food of choice. With a price tag of £9 I chose the roast pork baguette with crackling which comes with stuffing, gravy and apple sauce- for your meat you can also choose turkey or beef.
While for £11.50 my Dad opted for the giant yorkshire pudding, filled to the brim with seasonal vegetables, roast pork and crackling, roast potatoes, stuffing, gravy and apple sauce. You could see his eyes light up as the server loaded up his festive food choice.
And for a reasonable price of £5.50 my mum chose large roast potatoes. I think it is easy to say that the Christmas Carvery was our highlight as the three of us sat at our cozy table and couldn’t help but grin at each other as we enjoyed our feast with our warm comforting drink.
With the market being just as amazingly festive as previous years I’m sure a trip to Cardiff will once again be on the cards next Christmas..
