Cardiff city centre has an interactive Christmas light installation – and it’s free to visit

Christmas is undoubtedly an expensive time of year, but thankfully there’s plenty going for free this year.

If you’re heading into Cardiff city centre then make sure to stop by St John’s Gardens, which you’ll find opposite Cardiff indoor market, and next to Cardiff’s Christmas food market, near the Hayes, where you’ll find a light maze and evening interactive Christmas projection show beamed onto the walls of The Old Library. Read on for more details and some photos, plus head to the Cardiff Mummy Says Instagram account to see videos of them in action.

From 8am to 9pm every day you can visit the interactive rainbow light maze, which has arrived in Wales for the first time. It is created by international designer Ben Busche of Brut Deluxe and brought to the city by FOR Cardiff, which strives to make the city centre more welcoming to visitors.

The dichroic lacquered walls of the maze react to daylight and illuminate at night, meaning you can visit day or night. However, it’s especially lovely at dark when the colours really glow.

And in the evenings you can also view the Christmas projection show, which is displayed on the walls of The Old Library building on Working Street from 4pm-9pm.

It’s worth spending a few minutes here to watch the whole show unfold. As well as festive backdrops projected onto the walls and music, it also tells a Christmas story about a letter-delivering robin saving Christmas, and you might even get a wave from Santa.

We visited at about 6pm when it was lovely and dark, entering St John’s Gardens and travelling through the mini maze to view the projection.

It’s a lovely festive treat if you’re in the city centre over the Christmas period.

Also created by FOR Cardiff is a huge interactive pixel tree. We didn’t quite have time to visit this, but it looks fantastic from the photos I’ve seen on social media, so we’ll definitely be taking a trip to view it at some point. The 12-metre-high conical tree can be found on Central Square, which is opposite Cardiff Central Station. It illuminates after dark, continually changing colours, and you can even walk through the open bottom or a fully immersive experience.

Have you visited any of these light installations in central Cardiff? Do let me know in the comments below, on the Cardiff Mummy Says Facebook page, or you can see videos of the maze and light show on the Cardiff Mummy Says Instagram page.

For more ideas of things to do in and around Cardiff this Christmas, see the Cardiff section of Cardiff Mummy Says or follow Cardiff Mummy Says on Instagram and check out the Local Events highlights.

Read more about the installations on the FOR Cardiff website here.