Best things to do in Cardiff

FROM taking on the Daleks to finding fine art -  here's the pick of the best things to do in the bright and busy Welsh capital.

escape cardiff

DOCTOR Who had the whole universe to choose from but has made Cardiff his base.

Visit the doctor
The science-fiction force is with Cardiff. Doctor Who and the Tardis cruise the city looking for intergalactic peril to repulse. Current Doctor Matt Smith was spotted filming the Christmas episode with guest star Catherine Tate in St Mary's St, and other locations that include Cardiff Castle, Grangetown and Splott.

Now Torchwood, the series' grown-up spin-off, is digging even deeper into the local locations list.

Doctor Who Up Close is permanently exhibited at the Red Dragon Centre in Cardiff Bay (078 1808 3843,  adult £4 ($6.10), child £3) and features a full house of former Doctors, clips from past series, weird characters and original props and costumes. There are very convincing Daleks that scream "Ex-term-in-ate" at you.

Wealth of fine art
The Davies sisters, Margaret and Gwendoline, were the richest spinsters in Britain. Granddaughters of a coal boss, they toured Europe a century ago with an eye for art and amassed one of Britain's finest collections.

The splendid (and free) National Museum in Cathays Park (029 2039 7951, displays the works they snapped up.

There's Renoir's coquettish La Parisienne, umpteen Monet water lily paintings, Cezanne's Still Life With Teapot and a version of the ever-passionate Rodin's Kiss.

But one work never fails to excite. In his high-octane study of bad weather, Rain At Auvers, van Gogh etched raindrops like dagger strokes on the canvas. A few days later, the despairing genius shot himself.

Deli in the Arcade
Shopping malls are often bland and soulless places but High Street Arcade (one of four in the city centre) is a Victorian enclave full of one-off and specialist shops.

I loved the Chopin Board, ideal for the musical kitchen, in the window of harp shop Telynau Vining.

And at the New York Deli (029 2038 8388), they'll serve you salt beef sandwiches to authentic stateside dimensions (on light rye with sweet horseradish and gherkin).

Science with the Hogwarts touch
Warning: Techniquest will seriously stretch your brain.

The first thing I spotted there suggested a Hogwarts classroom experiment a beach ball hanging free in a blast of air.

"Wicked," said a nearby child. Or was that "wizard"?

But there's no sorcery here. In the Bernoulli Blower, air moves faster over the top of the ball than the bottom, creating lift.

In another Rowling-esque exhibit, dainty little bubbles drift serenely up a Hagrid-size test tube. Pull a lever and monster bubbles will set off in hungry pursuit and gobble them up.

Techniquest (029 2047 5475, adult £6.90, child £4.80) is science and technology disguised as play and entertainment.

Poignant farewell to a doomed hero
I stood at Britain's most poignant point of departure.

In 1910, Captain Robert Falcon Scott's expedition slipped away from Cardiff docks on the Terra Nova, never to return.

Most of his party were to die in the Antarctic wastes after narrowly losing the race to the South Pole.

A new memorial by sculptor Jonathan Williams, pointing into the bright new marina at Cardiff Bay, depicts Scott hauling south through a blizzard. White tiles evoke the desolation of the ice, while behind him the faces of his colleagues are trapped in the snow. 

A royal haven
City centre hotels, convenient for all the attractions, are a mad crush as non-residents pour in for a drink.

So imagine the squeeze in Cardiff's bars after the FA Cup final in the Millennium Stadium, just a goal kick away.

That's not a problem at the city's newest hotel. The Royal (029 2055 0750, a restored 1870s building, keeps its peace behind a discreet residents-only entrance.

Inside is the original oak-panelled dining room Scott used to plan his trip to the Pole.

In the rooms they pamper you with classy furnishings and decor. Through my triple-glazed window I could see the Bristol Channel.