Swansea: A guide for tourists (Swansea in General)

Member Name: Brooke3

Product:	Swansea in General
Date:	18/02/09 (412 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Beautiful, plenty to do, great places to eat and drink

Disadvantages: lots of homophobia, not the cleanest town centre

-Should you visit Swansea?-
The short answer is yes!
As a tourist destination Swansea is a wonderful place. Surrounded by some of the UK's most beautiful countryside and situated so close to the sea I don't think you will find many places as beautiful as Swansea to visit.
Like all places in the UK Swansea is a slave to British weather and your experience of Swansea will be highly dependant on the weather.
Don't go in the winter. Swansea is one of the places in the UK with the most rain and being on the coast you have little protection from the weather.
In the summer Swansea is a wonderful place to be, perhaps best for those with cars who can travel easily to all the many places around Swansea that are worth visiting.
But don't discount it just because you don't drive. Swansea has a somewhat reliable bus service and walking around Swansea is really a pleasure.
I find the people of Swansea to be mostly very friendly and have always felt safe when travellilng around Swansea, although I would not recommend going out in Swansea town centre on a Friday or Saturday night. There have been many occasions when I witnessed English people being harassed and in some extreme cases attacked just for being English.

I don't like to dwell too much on the negative because wherever you go there are going to be problems but if you do visit Swansea it's important to know what to expect. Most people in Swansea are very friendly but it is a city known for it's racism and homophobia. It's like with any place though, you just have to be sensible.
Another negative side to Swansea is that in the town centre there always seems to be a huge amount of litter around the roads.

Now, assuming that you actually want to visit Swansea and I haven't put you off you might want to take into account the following things.

-Accomodation-
When I visit Swansea I always stay in the Marriott, partly out of loyalty to the Marriott hotel but mostly because it really is a wonderful hotel. It is located in the marina and unfortunately at the moment overlooks a building site. But usually the views are fantastic, looking either over the Marina or out to sea. The location is close to the town centre and also right on the beach so I honestly don't think you could find somewhere that was a better location.
The hotel itseslf is one of the best Marriott's that I've ever stayed in. The staff are by far the friendliest in my experience. Service tends to be very fast and whether it's the room attendant or the hotel manager the staff are always willing to answer any questions and give advice. The only issue I've ever had with the staff is that sometimes they talk a lot and when you're in a rush that's not always what you want.
Like all Marriott's the rooms are very comfortable and clean.
The only complaint I have about this hotel is that the leisure club is tiny. Last time I stayed there the gym was literally on the side of the swimming pool.
There are a number of bed and breakfasts located on the beach front. I've never stayed in any of them so I can't comment but they are in a great location and the prices are far cheaper than the Marriott is.

-Shopping-
Swansea isn't the best city for shopping and if you're there as a tourist it's probably not worth going shopping. But if you are the kind of person who loves to shop and you insist on visiting the Swansea Town Centre you will find that the majority of shops are your average high street chains. There is a nice little indoor shopping centre called the quadrant that links on one side to the bus station and on the other to the indoor market.
The quadrant isn't anything special, just a group of shops that you will find in any city centre but if you do like looking around shops it's the best place to go (especially in the winter when it rains so much that you won't want to go outside if you can avoid it).
I do enjoy looking around the market. It just seems so traditional and the service you get there is so much better than in any of the big chains. The people working on the stalls are always friendly and willing to chat. I think it's the best place in Swansea to find independent sellers and shops that are a little bit different.
If you're looking for somewhere to have lunch in the town centre I would recommend Sapore. It's an independent cafe that's located in the picton arcade. The service there is excellent, one of the only cafe's I've found in Swansea that gives table service. It's not the friendliest service but it is quick and efficient. The coffee is also excellent. It's a really peaceful place to enjoy a quiet cup of coffee and lunch, although it does get busy during lunch time.

-Pubs and Clubs-
Swansea is a university town and so it has a lot of nightlife. If you're looking for a lively pub just head down to Wind Street in the town centre. It's a street of pubs and restaurants and I think it's a great place to have dinner with friends and then go out for a couple of drinks.
My favourite place on Wind Street is Reflex, an 80s bar with a dance floor. I love cheesy 80s music when I'm out with my friends so this place is perfect for us, but you do have to be in the right mood and be willing to make a complete fool of yourself. Alcohol helps and luckily the prices in reflex are usually pretty competitive and there is always a special offer on. Unfortunately it does not have disabled accessibility to the dance floor which is up a step.
Whatever kind of bar you like you'll find it on wind street- cocktail bars, sports bars and chain pubs like yates.

If you prefer to go clubbing then you're better off heading to the Kingsway.
Just a warning for anyone going to Kingsway- avoid Flares. It's not the music that puts me off- I think that 60s and 70s pop can be a lot of fun with the right crowd and I've always enjoyed the activities that they do there, like bouncing on a hippetyhop but if you are female in Flares you can expect to be harrassed by men who are old enough to know better. I don't just mean being chatted up. The men in flares seem to think it's acceptable to slap and pinch bums or grab your arm and not let you go. It makes it next to impossible to enjoy a night in flares.

I personally like rock music, particularly metal and if that's your thing then you should head to sin city on a Friday night for face off. While face off isn't as good as it used to be you will still find it to be the best rock night in Swansea. Face Off at one time was a great night out with one room of really heavy metal and the other of softer rock. In theory it still is but I've found that the music has been...diluted I guess. I'm not the best person to review music or clubs because I really don't know much about it, I just know what I like and since face off moved to sin city I don't like the music as much. However, it's still the best night out in Swansea.

Now, I couldn't review Swansea without mentioning the mumbles mile. For those of you who don't know, the Mumbles Mile is a mile of pubs. If you're up for the challenge I would definitely recommend doing this. I've never actually completed it and don't drink alcohol anymore but it's always fun to try if you do like to drink. There are different rules that you can play by so there's something to suit everyone's drinking ability. If like me you don't drink this might not be as much fun.

-Restaurants-
In Swansea you can get pretty much any kind of food. I'm just going to mention some of my favourites.

For Indian food I would recommend Miah's. It's on St. Helens Road and is set in an old church which I think adds a really nice touch to the restaurant. It's really beautifully decorated and I love going in just because it is so beautiful. The food does match the decor, serving the best curry you will get in Swansea. I have found that on occasions the service can be quite slow but that is completely forgivable when you taste how wonderful the food is.

For Italian food it has to be Ask. I've eaten in there a number of times and found their food to be consistently excellent. I think the restaurant is comfortable and the staff are always willing to help. The only complaint I have is that they're not completely disabled accessible and even when we called to inform them that we were going to have a wheelchair user with us they seated us in an area that had no wheelchair access.

I don't actually like sushi which I discovered when I went to Wasabi for dinner. Although I didn't like the food I did think that the service was fantastic and very fast. So if you do like sushi Wasabi in upplands is a good place to go.

If you're looking for Chinese food I woud recommend China China. It's a Chinese buffet on Wind Street and you will find a huge selection of Chinese food. The prices are really reasonable and of course it is all you can eat. The staff aren't the most attentive or the particularly polite but with a buffett good service isn't so important.

-Tourist Attractions-
There is so much to do around Swansea and I am sure that you won't be bored if you do decide to visit. I haven't done everything there is to do in Swansea but I have visited quite a few places in and around Swansea and these are the places that I would recommend.

-The Gower. This is quite possibly one of the most beautiful places I have ever visited. An area of outstanding natural beauty, the gower offers a number of beaches. It's easier to visit all of the many beaches if you have a car but it is possible to do it by bus. I have done both and to be honest I wouldn't recommend doing it by bus. The bus service is okay but it's not that regular and the last thing you want to do is be waiting around for buses. All of the beaches in the gower are beautiful and worth visiting so if you are using public transport it might be best just to pick one beach and stay there.
If you are going to choose one beach I would recommend Rhossili. I'm not sure exactly why it is my favourite of all the beaches, it just has this really magical feel to it. It's such a peaceful and beautiful place and it's absolutely wonderful for walking.
However, if you do have a car it is worth going to all of the beaches if you have time. Each one has it's own views and every single one is beautiful.

-Clyne Gardens
Clyne gardens is a really really big park, basically. I love going there because it's just so peaceful and when you're there you forget that you're in a city, it's like you're in the middle of the countryside. I love walking and have found that this is one of the best places to walk in Swansea. I know that it's very popular and a lot of people go there but whenever I've visited I've always felt like I was the only person there and was always shocked to run into other people! I guess it's because it's so big so you can have lots of people there without them bothering each other.
I know nothing at all about botany but the flowers are very pretty and it's the perfect setting for picnics or long walks.

-Swansea Bay.
You don't have to travel far for beautiful views. If you sit on Swansea beach you can see right the way out to mumbles in one direction and all the way to port talbot in the other (admittedly looking out to port talbot isn't so nice during the day). You will find that during term time there are a lot of students on the beach because it's so close to the university and often a lot of litter because of this.
I think the walk from the marina to mumbles is one of the most pleasant walks I've ever taken. It took me about two hours each way but I enjoyed every moment of it and probably could have walked it in much less time if I didn't stop to admire the view every step of the way. Plus if you make it to mumbles you can reward yourself with an ice cream!

-Families-
I haven't actually been to Swansea with any children but I'm always looking out for places that would be good to take my family and have often thought that I would like to take them to Swansea. During the summer it seems like the perfect place for children, with plenty of beaches for them to play on, Swansea beach has a children's play area in the form of a pirate ship which I think is great and even at the age of 24 I love playing on it. There are also outdoor paddling pools where children can play.
One place that I would recommend for children and families is Pub on the Pond. It's located across from the beach, next to the university. It serves lots of great food (although I've found that they run out of food very quickly) and has a lovely outdoor area with a play area and a pond where you rent swan shaped boats.

-Gay Swansea-
Swansea does have a vibrant gay night life. On High Street there are a number of gay pubs and clubs. If you've been to cities like Manchester, London or Brighton where there is a really big gay community and really great clubs then you will probably be disappointed because it's nothing compared to that but it is very up and coming.
I don't intend to review all of the gay pubs and clubs, I really just wanted to issue a warning. Homophobia is high in Swansea. Attacks on gay people aren't uncommon and there are even taxi firms that refuse to pick people up from gay clubs.

-Summary-
If like me you love places of natural beauty Swansea is definitely the place for you to visit. The beaches and parks in and around Swansea are some of the most beautiful in the country and many of them have won awards.
Swansea does have a lot of nightlife and you can have a really great time going out in Swansea but I wouldn't recommend going there just for the night life. It's good but it's certainly not as good as Cardiff, which is only an hour away. So, if a wild weekend partying is what you're looking for Swansea isn't the best place for you.
If, however, you're looking for natural beauty, a place to unwind, relax and maybe reflect then you won't find anywhere better than Swansea.

Summary: I love Swansea