South African Jewish Museum

The fascinating history of Jews in South Africa is recorded in this imaginatively designed museum, incorporating the beautifully restored Old Synagogue (1863). Downstairs you’ll find a partial re-creation of a Lithuanian shtetl (village); many of South Africa’s Jews fled this part of Eastern Europe during the pogroms and persecution of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. There’s also a computerised system where you can trace Jewish relations in South Africa, and excellent temporary exhibitions. Across the courtyard from the museum’s exit is a good gift shop and the kosher Café Riteve. Within the complex it’s also possible to visit the beautifully decorated Great Synagogue, dating from 1905 and one of a handful of buildings in Cape Town built in the neo-Egyptian style.