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- Cardiff
How walkable is Cardiff?
By Oscar Higson-Spence. Updated
Cardiff has a walkability score of 81 out of 100 across the 5 km around its centre, which makes it very walkable: most errands can be done on foot. It is the joint 6th most walkable of the 20 cities ranked in the United Kingdom, with 1 other.
What's within walking distance of the centre
2,361 shops, restaurants, parks and other everyday places are mapped within a 30 minute walk of central Cardiff. The nearest grocery is about 3 minutes away on foot. It earns full or nearly full points for groceries, restaurants & bars, shopping, coffee, banks, parks, books & libraries and culture & entertainment.
Groceries
- McColl's, 4 min
- Little Waitrose, 4 min
Restaurants & bars
- Lloyds Bar,Cardiff, 1 min
- The Crockerton, 1 min
Shopping
- Optical Express, 1 min
- Pryzm, 2 min
Coffee
- Coffee#1 The Friary, 3 min
- Coffee a Gogo, 3 min
Banks
- Coutts, 2 min
- HSBC Bank, 3 min
Parks
- City Hall Lawn, 1 min
- Friary Gardens, 3 min
Schools
- Cardiff Muslim Academy, 10 min
- NFTS Cymru Wales, 13 min
Books & libraries
- Fopp Books, 3 min
- TGJones, 4 min
Culture & entertainment
- Circuit, 2 min
- National Museum Cardiff, 3 min
Measured from the centre at 51.4839, -3.1764, the point near Cardiff's middle with the most places in walking range. Walking times assume 80 m per minute along an estimated street route.
Street layout
Within 800 m of the centre there are about 125 street intersections per km², and blocks average 73 m long. That is a well-connected street grid, so the score is not reduced.
How far walkability reaches
Cardiff's score of 81 is the average across the 5 km around its centre, the point with the most everyday places within a walk. Walkability averages 98 within 1 km of the centre, 82 from 1 to 3 km out and 76 from 3 to 5 km out. 30 of the 91 points within 5 km fall on water or on land without streets, such as hillsides, forest or farmland, and are left out, so the score describes only the built-up part. 79% of the sampled area scores 70 or more, where most errands can be done on foot.
- 90+
- 70–89
- 50–69
- 25–49
- 0–24
Each hexagon is the score at a point, 1 km from its neighbours, across the 5 km around central Cardiff. Rings mark 1, 3 and 5 km from the centre. Gaps are water or land without streets.
| Area | Score | Scoring 70+ |
|---|---|---|
| Centre | 99 | 100% |
| Within 1 km | 98 | 100% |
| 1 to 3 km out | 82 | 81% |
| 3 to 5 km out | 76 | 71% |
Nearby cities
| City | Distance | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Bristol, United Kingdom | 41 km | 78 |
| Swansea, United Kingdom | 55 km | 66 |
| Birmingham, United Kingdom | 142 km | 82 |
| Reading, Berkshire, United Kingdom | 153 km | 70 |
| Coventry, United Kingdom | 154 km | 73 |
Questions about walking in Cardiff
Is Cardiff a walkable city?
Around its centre, yes. Cardiff has a walkability score of 81 out of 100 across the 5 km around its centre, which makes it very walkable: most errands can be done on foot. Its centre scores 99. The score covers about 80 km² around the busiest point rather than the whole city, and suburbs further out are usually less walkable, so check a specific address on the map. It ranks joint 6th of 20 cities in the United Kingdom and joint 115th of 690 worldwide on How Walkable.
What is the most walkable city in the United Kingdom?
London is the most walkable of the 20 cities ranked in the United Kingdom, with a score of 98. Cardiff ranks joint 6th with 81.
How does Cardiff compare with nearby cities?
Cardiff sits between its nearest ranked neighbours: it scores 81, against Bristol (78, 41 km away), Swansea (66, 55 km away) and Birmingham (82, 142 km away).
Which part of Cardiff is most walkable?
Cardiff's most walkable area is its centre, the point near the middle of the city with the most places in walking range, which scores 99. Walkability averages 98 within 1 km of it. Beyond 2.5 km, it holds up best to the north-west (averaging 88) and falls most to the south-west (58).
How is Cardiff's walkability score calculated?
For Cardiff it is the average of 61 points spaced 1 km apart within 5 km of its busiest point, leaving out water and land without streets; 48 of them score 70 or more. Each point counts groceries, restaurants, shops, cafés, banks, parks, schools, libraries and cultural venues within a 30 minute walk, gives nearer places more weight, and loses up to 20% where streets are sparse or blocks are long, using open map data from Overture Maps (release 2026-09-23.1) and OpenStreetMap. It measures what is within a walk, not what the walk is like: pavements, traffic, safety, hills and heat are not part of the score.
This page is generated from open map data with a published walkability method, explained in the methodology. Places from Overture Maps release 2026-09-23.1. City position and population from GeoNames.
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