Also known as Millennium Stadium ('Principality' is the current naming-rights sponsor), this spectacular venue squats like a stranded spaceship on the River Taff's east bank. Seating 74,500 and built at a cost of £168 million, this three-tiered, retractable-roofed arena was completed in time to host the 1999 Rugby World Cup. If you can't get tickets to a match, it's well worth taking a tour – book online or at the on-site WRU Store.
During tours you get to hang out in the dressing rooms (alas, sans players), run through the tunnel to the recorded cheering of a game-day crowd and sit in the VIP box. Tours last about an hour and are held several times a day, except on event days.
Rugby is Wales' national game and when the Principality crowd begins to sing, the whole of Cardiff resonates. To watch a test here is to catch a glimpse of the Welsh psyche, especially when the Six Nations tournament is in full swing. Tickets for international fixtures are difficult to get hold of; other matches are more accessible. Cardiff Arms Park, Principality’s famous predecessor and home to the Cardiff Blues rugby team, lies literally in its shadow.
Outside rugby season the stadium is used for mammoth events such as monster trucks and concerts by the likes of the Rolling Stones and Beyoncé. The British Speedway Grand Prix is held here in June or July.
