The National Museum of Wales is an impressive building situated in the heart of Cardiff's beautiful Edwardian civic centre, which also houses the old Cardiff City Hall, the Law Courts, Cathays Park and Cardiff University. It is only about 2 minutes walk from Cardiff Castle and about a 15 minute walk from Cardiff Central Bus/Train Station.
There are a number of multi storey car parks located in the vicinity of the Museum, although these can be quite expensive - you have been warned! Alternatively, the Council now has a voucher scheme running, whereby visitors can purchase parking vouchers from shops leading into the centre at a cost of £1.20 each, and you are then able to use designated spaces in the City Centre, providing anywhere from 1 to 8 hours parking (depending on how far you are prepared to walk). A lot of these spaces are very close to
the Museum itself.
There are designated parking bays for disabled visitors in the car park behind the Museum and also a few parking spaces in front of the building, although these are not exclusively for the use of Museum visitors. From the car park there are wheelchair routes to the front of the building along Museum Avenue and along Park Place. The entrance for wheelchair users (and those with pushchairs) is just to the left of the front steps.
--HISTORY--
The Museum building has a very impressive neo-classical façade and was designed in 1909, at the peak of the Edwardian period of prosperity brought about by the South Wales coal mines and the North Wales slate mines. Its foundation stone was laid in 1912, but the First World War delayed its construction for some years. The Museum opened to the public in 1927, with further parts of the building being completed in 1932. It is a rectangular Portland stone building, dominated by a dome (upon which was recently placed a new Welsh dragon sculpture), with impressive stone pillars at the entrance.
The National Gallery, housed within the Museum, contains the art collection of the former Cardiff Museum of Natural History, Arts and Antiquities, begun in 1882, the first home for which was in 11 police cells and a corridor in the Cardiff Law Courts. The collection was moved to the present building during the 1920's.
--THE COLLECTIONS--
The National Museum and Gallery is unique. The Museum's particular individuality lies in the fact that its diverse and vast collection focuses on both art and science.
Upon entering the Museum the first room to view is the impressive Grand Hall. It is finished in marble in a classical design, and is usually the central gathering point for visitors. Here can be found the visitor information desk - I have always found the staff very helpful and only too pleased to answer any questions you may have
The main "Evolution of Wales" gallery is permanently on display and charts Wales over 4,600 million years This is usually the starting point for visitors with young children as it has a very impressive collection of dinosaurs and uses both robotics and audio-visual effects to give the visitor some idea of what life used to be like at the dawn of time.
The collection includes items ranging from mammoths teeth and shipwrecks, to celtic coins and cannon balls. You will also find many dinosaur skeletons and footprints, along with rock, coal and mineral collections. The gallery beautifully illustrates the history of Wales from the first use of caves 250,000 years ago to the start of the industrial revolution.
These collections consist of roughly a million artefacts divided into 5 subject areas: early pre-history, later pre-history, The Romans, Medieval and later archaeology and numismatics (the study of coins and medals).
The National Gallery is home to the Welsh national collection of fine and applied art. This collection documents the history of art in Wales since the 16th century, and also houses a major selection of British and European artworks, including significant works by Monet, Renoir, Cézanne, Degas and Van Gogh, together with beautiful collections of porcelain and ceramics.
Biodiversity and Biology is a new section formed from merging two of the founding departments of the museum, botany and zoology. Here you will find the insect collection, collections of mosses, fungi and algae, molluscs, specimens of extinct animals and other examples of birds and fish which are rarely found in the UK.
As well as exhibitions from the collections, the museum also hosts talks, lectures, concerts and recitals.
--FURTHER INFORMATION--
The Museum's opening hours are 10.00 - 5.00 Tuesday to Sunday although it is always open on Bank Holiday Monday as well.
There is wheelchair access throughout including lifts, and the toilets are always clean and well maintained. Accessible toilets will be found by the restaurant and also by the Archaeology gallery. Baby changing facilities are situated in the toilets by the restaurant
The restaurant and coffee shop is fairly small, but you can buy hot meals, snacks, sandwiches etc. The food is a bit pricey however, and the service really wasn't that good the last time I visited. My advice - take a packed lunch! Restaurant opening hours are as follows:
Restaurant: 10.00 - 2.30(weekdays), 10.00 - 3.00 weekends and school holidays. Coffee Shop: 10.00-4.00pm daily
Visitors to the Museum should note that photography or the use of video cameras is not permitted anywhere inside the building.
The National Museum of Wales is a definite must for visitors to Cardiff, particularly on a rainy day as everything is under cover! With free admission it really does make for a good cheap day out, with something to interest everyone's tastes.
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well done on a cracking review! i havent been there for years. i was actually planning a trip over the next few weeks! :) x
jouk04 10.03.2006 22:01
Excellent review,and some nice collections by the sound of it, though I am surprised you have anything left to put out on display over there, I thought everything in Wales had been stolen by the English... tee hee. :-O
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