Other principal towns include Porthcawl, a resort and residential area, and Maesteg.

Merthyr Tydfil area has the largest land-reclamation scheme in Europe, and includes part of the  Brecon Beacons National Park. The authority is based mainly around the upper valley of the River Taff.

Merthyr Tydfil was formerly a centre of the Welsh coal and steel industries, its industries now include light engineering and electrical goods.

The city of Cardiff dates from Roman times, the later town being built around a Norman castle. The castle was the residence of the earls and marquises of Bute from the 18th century and was given to the city in 1947 by the fifth marquis. Coal was exported until the 1920s. As the coal industry declined, iron and steel exports continued to grow, and an import trade in timber, grain and flour, tobacco, meat, and citrus fruit developed. Cardiff grew into a major city when the docks on the Bristol Channel were opened in 1839. They were greatly extended by the second Marquis of Bute (1793-1848), and have now been redeveloped for industry. Cardiff thus became the largest Welsh town in 1881, and has remained thus. In Cathays Park is a group of public buildings including the Law Courts, City Hall, the National Museum of Wales

Nash Point: There are some barely visible remains in the car park of a Long Cairn in an egg-shape and now covered in grass and gorse. It was described in 1811 as an ancient cromlech and was according to tradition the place of worship of the old village, known locally as Hen Eglwys, (Old Church). The Iron Age promontory fort is one of several along the Heritage coast, protecting a potential landing point from coastal raiders. These were built between around 700 BC and the Roman invasion. Most of the fort has been destroyed by cliff erosion. 

Nash Point Lighthouses: A public outcry in 1832 followed the loss of 40 lives when the passenger steamer Frolic ran aground on Nash Point sandbank. The two lighthouse towers were built 1,000 feet apart and carefully positioned so that they could be aligned by ships sailing up the channel. Navigation buoys were anchored on the sandbank at the same time. The grassy area around the lighthouses is covered in cowslips in late Spring.