A major UK attraction visited by hundreds of thousands of tourists a year has shut without notice. (Image: Getty)
Ticketholders excited to explore one of biggest attractions yesterday were left hugely disappointed after being given no warning of a sudden closure.
The National Museum Cardiff – which attracts over half a million visitors a year – suddenly shut and will remain closed to the public “until further notice”, according to a printed notice near the entrance.
The museum, which houses installations ranging from natural to contemporary art, made the “difficult decision” to “temporarily close” its doors, citing building maintenance and health and safety concerns as its main reasons.
While the museum is usually free to enter, many visitors had pre-booked to visit the Strike! Exhibition and paid for the experience. One unlucky visitor who had only just paid for entrance took to social media to complain about the lack of information.
They said: “Obvs an urgent problem has occurred – hope you are able to sort it. But pretty galling that nothing of closure on website at around 11.45am and you took online payment from us for 12.15pm admission to the Streic exhibition! Love @Museum_Cardiff but you made it hard work today!”
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The museum will remain closed to the public ‘until further notice’ according to the printed notice. (Image: Getty)
Many others took to X (formerly ) to express their thoughts on the abrupt closure.
One wrote: “All the schools that visit. It’s so important to Welsh children. And they close it.”
Another commented: “Very disappointed to arrive in Cardiff to find this. Any news on a reopening?”
A third questioned: “Couldn’t have posted that you were closed today before tens of people turned up for opening?”
A spokesperson for the museum said: “Our teams are working diligently to resolve the issue quickly and effectively, while also ensuring minimal disruption to our visitors. However, we expect these issues to be addressed within the next few days.
“While this closure is necessary to ensure that the building meets all safety standards, we recognise the impact this may have on our visitors, volunteers and the community.
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The museum has suffered from budget cuts of £4.5 million by the Labour Welsh Government. (Image: Getty)
“Our team is working diligently to address the identified issues and to make the necessary repairs and improvements to guarantee the safety of all those who interact with the .
“We are aware that visitors who have pre-booked to visit our Strike! exhibition have been directly affected by the closure. We are directly contacting all related visitors to apologise, offering to reschedule or provide a full refund.”
In a recent story, the attraction recommended that visitors wishing to immerse themselves in Welsh history head to St Fagans National Museum of History instead.
Express.co.uk has contacted National Museum Cardiff for comment.