Cardiff

Cardiff needs a full day: Cardiff Castle, with layers of Roman, Norman and Victorian history on the same site, and Cardiff Bay, converted from industrial port to leisure district, at the other end of the day. April-September is best. It's the cheapest UK capital, with prices noticeably lower than London or Edinburgh. It's been the capital of Wales only since 1955 -relatively recent- and home to the Senedd, the Welsh parliament, with bilingual Welsh-English signage throughout the city.