 Swansea has many international restaurants - and thirsty drinkers |
A travel book which branded Swansea "an ashtray of a place" a year ago has called it "energetic" in a new edition. The Lonely Planet Guide to Great Britain said in 2004 that Swansea's pubs were "morose" but this year judged the city to have a "pulsing bar scene".
However, its writer remarked: "You'd think folk spent the week lost in the desert given the amount they soak up at weekends in Wind Street."
Overall, the guide praised Wales' views, extremes and soaring landscapes.
Dedicating some 50 pages to Wales, the sixth edition of the guide advises travellers to head away from England to see a "purer nationality".
The book highlights south Wales' industrial past and political struggles, the "grass-tufted" mountains of the Brecon Beacons in mid Wales, and north Wales' rocky summits and attractive beaches.
It calls Cardiff a "fashionable" city, with its mix of youth culture, politics, sports madness and Saturday nights out.
"It may be smaller than places such as London and Manchester," it says, "but the concentration of modern and historic sights, international restaurants, slick bars and a zinging music scene makes it less overwhelming, just as imaginative and friendlier."
 Aberystwyth's students give the town 'vivacity', the guide says |
But it is not just the big cities that receive mentions in the guide.
Tenby is called the "epicentre of the south coast holiday culture", while Llanwrtyd Wells - home of bog-snorkelling and the man-versus-horse race - is labelled the "wackiest place in mid Wales".
Aberystwyth's 6,500 students have added vivacity, it says, and its caf�s, restaurants and pubs give "this outpost on the wild mid Welsh coastline a cosmopolitan outlook".
This year's guide looks favourably on north Wales - the Lleyn Peninsula offers "wilderness and isolation" and Snowdonia's uplands "lord over the rest" - just 12 months after calling Blaenau Ffestiniog "gloomy", Barmouth "tacky" and Prestatyn "insignificant".
Geoff Haden, chairman of Tourism Swansea, said: "They are a bit closer to the mark than they were a year ago.
"They obviously came on a better day when the sun has been shining and the sky has been blue.
"It's all credit that they have revised their view. Very often these things carry on, regurgitating the same view year after year."
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They are a bit closer to the mark than they were a year ago
