Picture the scene: the London offices of global lifestyle brand, Time Out, are awash in excitement as the company’s travel experts fiercely debate their top picks for the best places to visit in 2023. The destination on everyone’s lips? No, not the usual suspects of Paris, Berlin or Tokyo, but Cardigan.
Yes, the small town in West Wales, has been named by the renowned culture and travel brand as one of the 15 best places to visit in the UK in 2023. And we heartily agree with them!
Located in the county of Ceredigion, Cardigan, or Aberteifi in Welsh, placed third on the website’s annual listing, which ranks British destinations on their appeal to tourists, and is released each winter.
Running through the destination’s many merits, Time Out calls Cardigan “an old-fashioned Welsh market town with a dazzling creative streak”, and a “beautiful place with a fascinating history”. It also notes the town is “brimming with gorgeous cafés, convivial pubs and other independent businesses”.
Two such businesses highlighted in the listing are the vibrant arts and cinema complex, Mwldan, which screens new and classic movies, as well as playing host to creative live productions, and Bar 45, a homely cocktail bar with a wood-burning fire and vintage armchairs.
Other attractions namechecked by the brand include the Grade I-listed Cardigan Castle, with its medieval ramparts and beautiful landscaped gardens, and the Guildhall Market, which Time Out describes as a place where “Welsh ideas are celebrated and conversation is as valuable as currency”.
Alongside these attractions, the town also draws in visitors with its annual food festival, one of the largest in West Wales, and its proximity to some glorious stretches of sand, including Traeth Mwnt and Aberporth.
Colourful Cardigan isn’t the only Welsh destination to make an appearance in one of Time Out’s ‘best of British’ lists in recent years, however, with Eryri (Snowdonia) placing second on the website’s line-up of the top places to visit in 2021.
In need of a few more options for your next Welsh holiday? Check out some of our own picks of great places to visit in Wales in 2023.