About South Africa > About Cape Town > What to See

What to See


[ Key Attractions ] [ Further Distractions ]

Key Attractions


Table Mountain
Cape Town's defining landmark is also one of the city's greatest tourist attractions. A cable car trip to the 1,086m (3,563ft) summit takes just six minutes and the state-of-the-art gondola rotates through 360 degrees on the way up. Once there, more than 2km (1.2 miles) of pathways lead walkers over the massif, with breathtaking views of the city and ocean below. A bistro, perched right on the summit, is by far the most incredible sundowner spot in Africa.

A popular option is for day-trippers to take a one-way ticket up and then climb down Platteklip Gorge - although visitors should take care. The local Mountain Rescue teams (tel: (021) 948 9900 or 107 in an emergency) carry out over 100 rescues a year. The routes up and down the mountain are treacherous and sheer cliff faces with buffeting winds are a very real danger. Peering over the edge of the mountain, no matter how tempting, is simply not a good idea. Furthermore, the weather can change in a matter of minutes and mist and darkness descend very quickly. Hikers should carry water, food, sunblock, a silver 'space blanket' to prevent hypothermia and a mobile phone. There have also been muggings on the mountain.

For the wary wanderer, High Adventure Africa (tel: (021) 689 1234; www.highadventure.co.za) offers guided hikes up the mountain.  

Tafelberg Road (lower cable station)
Tel: (021) 424 8181.
Website: www.tablemountain.net
Opening hours: Daily 0800-2200 (Dec-Jan); daily 0830-2030 (Feb-Mar); daily 0830-1830 (Apr); daily 0830-1800 (May-mid-Sep); daily 0830-1900 (mid-Sep-Oct); 0830-2000 (Nov).
Admission charge.

Victoria & Alfred Waterfront
The creation of this waterfront, known as the V&A Waterfront, was possibly Cape Town's best commercial idea, transforming a rundown harbour area into a booming centre of tourism, culture, leisure and business. Renovated Victorian warehouses, offices and buildings created in the Victorian vernacular style, and many dozens of cafes and restaurants complete this waterside area and working harbour. A host of boat and yacht charter operations tout for business and it is worth taking one of the many cruises around the docks (see Tours of the City).

The Waterfront is also home to the world-class Two Oceans Aquarium. Feeding in the huge predator tanks takes place daily at 1500 and should not be missed. Aquarium dives can also be arranged. Then, with over 250 retail outlets, the Victoria Wharf Shopping Centre is another premier attraction. The Waterfront Trading Company and the Red Shed Craft Workshop supply local arts and crafts, while, in summer, various music acts perform at the open-air ampitheatre.

The Clock Tower Precinct is the departure point for the Robben Island ferry and is also packed with shops, bars and restaurants, and has a tourist office and an office for South African National Parks. During the initial construction of the area, the ruins of the Dutch East India Military installation, dating back to between 1715 and 1726, were discovered and are now on show to the public. The Waterfront Canal, linking the Waterfront and the Cape Town International Convention Centre and passing through a residential marina, opened in June 2003.

Dock Road, off Coen Steytler Avenue, Beach or Portswood Road, or Ebenezer Road, off the Western Boulevard
Tel: (021) 408 7600.
Website: www.waterfront.co.za
Opening hours: Daily 24 hours; shops are open daily 0900-2100.
Free admission.  

Two Oceans Aquarium
Dock Road
Tel: (021) 418 3823.
Website: www.aquarium.co.za
Opening hours: Daily 0930-1800.
Admission charge.

Robben Island
Visiting Robben Island, a UNESCO World Heritage Site 12km (7.5 miles) from Cape Town in Table Bay, is one of the most profoundly moving experiences in South Africa. The infamous men-only prison and former leper colony was home to a generation of the senior statesmen of Africa, incarcerated because of their political beliefs. The most famous inmate was, of course, Nelson Mandela, who spent 18 years of his 27-year sentence here. The daily Robben Island Tour leaves from the Nelson Mandela Gateway at the V&A Waterfront Clock Tower Precinct. Once on the island, guided tours are all given by former political prisoners here, while the first-class museum situated in the old prison buildings offers a wealth of information on this period of South Africa's history. There is more to Robben Island than politics and history, however. The physical beauty of the island itself is magnificent, with penguin and seal colonies, as well as the fantastic view of Cape Town.

Nelson Mandela Gateway and Robben Island
Tel: (021) 413 4200 or 409 5100.
Website: www.robben-island.org.za
Opening hours: Ferries depart daily 0900-1500 on the hour (weather permitting). The complete tour takes 3 hours 30 minutes.
Admission charge.

Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens
Sprawling over a magnificent 528 hectares (1,325 acres) and home to 5,000 indigenous plant species, Kirstenbosch is rated one of the top botanical gardens in the world. With stunningly beautiful formal gardens dotted with African stone sculptures, Kirstenbosch is a delightful place for a picnic, a stroll or even an energetic hike through the natural fynbos (indigenous and unique to the Western Cape) and forest on the lower slopes of Table Mountain. Attractions include a forest trail for the blind, a protea garden, a water-wise garden, a useful plants garden and a fragrance garden, as well as a cycad amphitheatre, a glasshouse complete with baobab tree, an authentic African mud hut, a gift shop, garden centre, bookshop, restaurants and cafe.

Rhodes Drive, Newlands
Tel: (021) 799 8783.
Website: www.kirstenbosch.co.za
Opening hours: Daily 0800-1900 (Sep-Mar); daily 0800-1800 (Apr-Aug).
Admission charge.

Company Gardens
Jan van Riebeek (the first commander of the Dutch colony at the Cape) ordered the planting of Company Gardens in 1652, to serve as a fruit and vegetable supply for the visiting ships. Nowadays, the gardens are a green lung for the city centre. The park is not just a botanical delight but is also home to St George's Cathedral, the Houses of Parliament, the South African National Gallery, the South African Museum and Planetarium and the Jewish Museum and Holocaust Centre.

The Anglican St George's Cathedral has been in existence for over 100 years but is also a potent symbol of anti-apartheid resistance. It has been the site of many a political rally in the past and, until 1996, Nobel Peace Prize winner Desmond Tutu was archbishop here.

The Houses of Parliament, which flank the eastern edge of the gardens, are a blend of Georgian and Victorian styles of architecture. Designed by the British architect Harry Greaves, they were completed in 1885 when the parliament became the seat of British expansion into Africa. This is where the ‘architect of apartheid', Prime Minister Hendrik Verwoerd, was assassinated in 1966. It is also where Nelson Mandela gave his inaugural speech as president of the ‘new South Africa' in 1994.

The South African National Gallery contains one of the finest collections of South African and international art in the country and has regular exhibitions of work from around the world.

The South African Museum is an excellent place for visitors to spend a couple of hours learning about the natural and political history of South Africa. It also boasts the oldest African artworks, the Lydenburg Heads, which date back to 500BC, as well as a superb whale exhibit and a shop, located on Orange Street.

In the Planetarium, the real-time night sky displays are an entrancing introduction to the stellar delights of Southern Africa.

The Jewish Museum, housed in a modern granite complex, covers the history of immigrant Jews from Eastern Europe to South Africa and displays include religious art, a stain glass window depicting the Ten Commandments in Hebrew, and a reconstruction of a Lithuanian village. The adjoining and moving Holocaust Centre tells the story, in multimedia format using videos, photography and personal recordings of survivors, of the Nazi occupation of Germany in the WWII. Towards the end it draws comparisons to some aspects of apartheid by looking at the consequences of racism and oppression, and there are video interviews of Jews who moved to Cape Town to escape Nazi Germany. Government Avenue (between Wale Street and Orange Street), Gardens

Opening hours: Daily 1000-1700.
Free admission.

South African National Gallery
Government Avenue
Tel: (021) 467 4660.
Website: www.iziko.org.za/sang
Opening hours: Tues-Sun 1000-1700.
Admission charge.

South African Museum
25 Queen Victoria Street
Tel: (021) 481 3800.
Website: www.iziko.org.za/sam
Opening hours: Daily 1000-1700.
Admission charge; free Sun.

Planetarium
25 Queen Victoria Street
Tel: (021) 481 3900.
Website: www.iziko.org.za/planetarium
Opening hours: Shows Mon-Fri 1400 (excluding first Mon of the month), Tues 2000, Sat and Sun 1200, 1300 and 1430.
Admission charge.

Jewish Museum and Holocaust Centre
88 Hatfield Street
Tel: (021) 465 1546.
Website: www.sajewishmuseum.co.za or www.ctholocaust.co.za
Opening hours: Sun-Thurs 1000-1700, Fri 1000-1400.
Admission charge.

Koopmans De Wet House
Built in 1701, Koopmans De Wet House reflects patrician life at the Cape in the 18th century. Designed in the distinctive ‘Cape Dutch' architectural style (a style repeated in many of the grand manor houses on rural estates and recognisable by curly gables) the house is also furnished with fine examples of Cape craftsmanship. The quiet, cool and darkened interior is also a tranquil retreat from the bustle and heat of the city centre.

35 Strand Street
Tel: (021) 481 3935.
Website: www.iziko.org.za/koopmans
Opening hours: Tues-Thurs 1000-1700.
Admission charge.

Beaches
Cape Town boasts some of the most spectacular beaches in the world. With a long summer and balmy winter days in between the rain, these are an irresistible attraction all year round. There is a beach to suit just about every taste - from the trendy spots, where tanned bikini bodies are the order of the day, via the more family orientated, easy-swim sites, to wild and rugged sundowner spots.

Set along the stunning panorama of the Twelve Apostles mountain range, beaches on the Atlantic seaboard are several degrees colder than those on the False Bay side, which are warmed slightly by the L'Agulhas current that flows up from Cape Agulhas further around the coast.

Despite being too cold to swim, the beaches on the Atlantic seaboard are hugely popular and real estate here is hot property - the stretch of mansions that line the coast is known as Millionaire's Row. The suburb of Clifton has four beaches, one of which, Fourth Beach, is Cape Town's premier beach spot and the preferred place for the beautiful people to pose.

An alternative, with a California feel and a vibey row of restaurants and bars close at hand, is nearby Camps Bay, where the dazzling swathe of beach has been awarded a Blue Flag. Noordhoek and Kommetjie, both part of Long Beach, are accessible via the Chapman's Peak Drive toll road. These far-flung beaches are still quite deserted and Noordhoek can be dangerous for lone walkers, particularly after dark.

False Bay offers its own set of coastal delights, quite different from the chilly counterparts on the Atlantic side. With warmer waters, the stretch of Muizenberg beach and little coves and inlets of Kalk Bay, St James and Fish Hoek offers delightful swimming, with smaller waves and a family feel. Formerly a whaling station and a prisoner of war camp, Boulders has a string of delightful coves that are always sheltered from the frequent and blustering ‘southeaster' wind. However, visitors to Boulders will have to share their beach with quite a crowd... of African Penguins. The colony of penguins is protected and although these patient birds are happy to pose for photographs, there is a hefty fine for ‘wilfully disturbing' them.
[ Back to Top ]

Further Distractions


Bo-Kaap Museum
Built in the mid 1760s, the Bo-Kaap Museum was originally the home of Turkish scholar, Abu Bakr Effendi, and is the oldest extant residence in the Muslim community, as well as a rare example of urban Cape Dutch architecture. The furnishings are typical of an 18th-century Cape Town Muslim residence, right down to the main bedroom - an authentic bridal suite. Effendi was a revered Arabic teacher and wrote one of the first texts that documented the emergence of South Africa's second language Afrikaans (a language developed from 17th-century Dutch).

71 Wale Street
Tel: (021) 481 3939.
Website: www.iziko.org.za/bokaap
Opening hours: Mon-Sat 0930-1630.
Admission charge.

Castle of Good Hope
Construction began on this five-pointed, star-shaped castle (originally a Dutch fortress) in 1666, which makes it the oldest colonial building in the country. Perhaps the most visible symbol of the colonial occupation of Cape Town and South Africa, the Castle of Good Hope became the apartheid government's military headquarters in 1948. However, since the liberation of South Africa in 1994, South Africa's oldest building has done much to polish up its tarnished image and has become very much a museum of the people. The castle hosts alternative art exhibitions and cultural events. Also within the castle, the William Fehr Collection is a superb record of colonial Cape art and culture.

Corner of Darling Street and Castle Street
Tel: (021) 464 1260/4.
Website: www.castleofgoodhope.co.za or www.iziko.org.za/castle
Opening hours: Daily 0900-1600; guided tours daily 1100, 1200 and 1400.
Admission charge.

Century City
Just 10 minutes from the city centre, the second largest mall in the southern hemisphere after the Gateway Mall in Durban, Canal Walk is located in the massive and architecturally astounding Century City development, which is also home to Africa's first full-scale theme park, Ratanga Junction, with over 30 rides, as well as an entertainment complex, complete with clubs, pubs and restaurants. The MTN Sciencentre provides a myriad of scientific distractions for children of all ages, with over 250 interactive displays and a 200-seat multimedia arena. The 16-hectare (40-acre) man-made Intaka Island is a haven for bird life, while boat rides on the 4km (2.5 miles) of canals are also available.

Century City, Century Boulevard, Milnerton
Tel: (021) 550 7000.
Website: www.centurycity.co.za

Canal Walk Shopping Centre
Tel: (021) 555 4433.
Website: www.canalwalk.co.za
Opening hours: Mon-Fri and Sun 1000-2100, Sat 0900-2100.
Free admission, charge for car park.

Ratanga Junction
Tel: 08612 00300.
Website: www.ratanga.co.za
Opening hours: Wed-Fri 1000-1700, Sat 1000-1800, Sun 1000-1700 (end of Nov-May); Mon-Fri 1000-1700, Sat 1000-1800, Sun 1000-1700 (15 Dec-9 Jan).
Admission charge.

MTN Sciencentre
407 Canal Walk
Tel: (021) 529 8100.
Website: www.mtnsciencentre.org.za
Opening hours: Mon-Thurs 0930-1800, Fri-Sat 0930-2000, Sun 1000-1800.
Admission charge.

Gold of Africa Museum
Although gold is more often associated with South Africa's ‘City of Gold', Johannesburg, Cape Town's Gold of Africa Museum is focused entirely on all that glitters and is indeed gold. Located in the historic, 18th-century Martin Melck House, this museum is all about the history and artistry of African gold, with a number of dazzling temporary and permanent exhibitions.

96 Strand Street
Tel: (021) 405 1540.
Website: www.goldofafrica.com
Opening hours: Mon-Sat 0930-1700.
Admission charge.
[ Back to Top ]

Search Hotels

Enter a City, Region or Hotel
Check-in
Check-out
I do not have specific dates
Advanced Search

About Cape Town

More Pages