Principality Stadium Tour

Principality Stadium is the national stadium of Wales, an arena of roughly 74,000 seats with a retractable roof that stands beside the River Taff in the heart of the city. It hosts the Wales rugby team, the Six Nations, major football finals and concerts, and on a match day the whole of Cardiff turns red around it. The stadium tour takes you behind the scenes: the home and away dressing rooms, the press conference suite named after the former Wales player Ray Gravell, and the tunnel where teams walk out to the pitch. Guides tell stories from the stadium's events history, and you leave with a sense of why a rugby ground can feel like a cathedral. The tour is the best use of an hour for anyone who loves sport or simply wants to see inside the building that dominates the skyline.

Know how the tours work. Public tours run most days from around 10 in the morning, with a slightly later start on Sundays and bank holidays, and they are limited to about thirty people, so booking ahead is advised. The tour starts at the Welsh Rugby Union store on Westgate Street, beside the stadium, and an adult ticket bought in advance is under twenty pounds, with lower prices for children and concessions.

Tours do not run on Christmas Day, Boxing Day, New Year's Day, match days or event days, and the pitch may be covered during other events, so check the calendar before you choose a date.

Be clear about the ticket link. The booking link on this page is a small-group guided bike tour of about three hours that includes a stop at the stadium among Cardiff Castle, Cathays Park, Cardiff Bay and the Wales Millennium Centre. It is a good way to see the stadium in the context of the city, but the stop is a short one and it is not the interior walk-through described above.

If you want the dressing rooms and the tunnel, book the stadium tour with the venue, and use the bike tour if you would rather see the whole city on two wheels.

Make the most of the area. The stadium sits on Westgate Street, a short walk from Cardiff Central station and the castle, so it combines easily with a morning in the city. Use the train or a bus, and avoid match days unless you are going to the game, because the streets fill with fans.

Families with children over five will enjoy the walk down the tunnel, and sports fans can pair the tour with a drink in the pubs on St Mary Street. In winter, a Santa tour for younger children is also offered in November and December.