Swansea is Wales' second city but regards itself as more 'Welsh' than the capital Cardiff with the native language more widely heard.
The place, famously described by local boy Dylan Thomas as an

"ugly, lovely town, crawling, sprawling by the side of a long and splendid curving shore,"

has plenty to keep the visitor interested. 
It was badly bombed during the Second World War but has managed to hang onto many buildings and has worked hard to bring the city into the 21st century with areas like the Maritime Quarter.
 
Not surprisingly you'll find loads of concert halls, theatres and shops.
Swansea is a good base for any trip to Wales and for fans of Dylan Thomas there's a bookshop dedicated to his work as well as a museum. And if you hit the city at the right time there's even an annual festival celebrating the city's favourite son. 

The county of Swnasea is roughly divided into four:
* the Lliw Uplands
* the rural landscape of the Gower Peninsular
* the area stretching from Swansea to Gorseinon and Pontarddulais
* the area around Swansea Bay itself.