Good luck to everyone starting in Cardiff over the next few weeks. I graduated in Law from Cardiff Uni last year having spent 3 wonderful years in the city.
General info: Cardiff will be the safest city most of you will ever visit. Everybody is so friendly and respectful of students, you will never feel threatened or intimidated in any way. Nightlife is really good with the great advantage of everything being located very close to each other- the only 2 streets you will need are Greyfriars Road and St Mary Street. The walk from Cathays/Roath to the city centre is only 15-20 minutes so no need to waste your tight budgets on taxis every time!
Law specific info: The course is generally well taught. As in all education systems, you'll have some excellent lecturers, some average and some quite awful ones (you'll soon suss this out and be able to avoid the insomnia-curing lectures). Although Cardiff has slipped down the tables a bit in recent years, don't pay too much attention to this; law firms still regard a Cardiff degree as a valuable asset. At the end of the day, academic results will only get you so far. Without wishing to piss on your undoubted enthusiasm as you're about to embark on your Uni life, it must be remembered that the competition for Training Contracts (TC) is unbelievably intense at the moment. Whereas 5 years ago, nearly everybody with a 2.1 law degree were guaranteed a TC; this is no longer the case. You need an excellent CV full of extra-curricular achievements, evidence of leadership/positions of responsibility, proof of commercial awareness, ability to communicate/negotiate effectively...the list could go on ad infinitum.
Hope this hasn't come as a shock to some of you but that's the reality. A law degree, even a 1st class, is by no means an automatic path to the coveted TC. Broaden your horizons and really consider if you want to practise as a lawyer. A law degree provides you with so many transferable skills that are valued by employers, you would be coveted by a wide range of employers in any number of sectors/industries.
For now though, forget all this and get cracking with making the most of the best city in the UK!