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Cape Town
A coming-together of cultures, cuisines and landscapes, there's nowhere quite like Cape Town, a singularly beautiful city crowned by the magnificent Table Mountain National Park.
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Top attractions
These are our favorite local haunts, touristy spots, and hidden gems throughout Cape Town.
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Cape of Good Hope
This 77.5-sq-km section of Table Mountain National Park includes awesome scenery, fantastic walks, great birdwatching and often-deserted beaches. The reserve is commonly referred to as Cape Point, after its most dramatic (but less famous) promontory. Bookings are required for the two-day Cape of Good Hope Trail, a spectacular 33.8km circular route with one night spent in a basic hut. Contact the Buffelsfontein Visitor Centre for further details. Some 250 species of birds have been spotted here, including cormorants and a family of ostriches that hang out near the Cape of Good Hope promontory, the southwestern-most point of the continent. There are many bus tours to the reserve but, if you have the time, hiking or cycling through it is much more rewarding. Bear in mind, though, that there is minimal shade and that the weather can change quickly. It’s not a hard walk uphill, but if you’re feeling lazy take the Flying Dutchman Funicular, which runs up from beside the restaurant to the souvenir kiosk next to the old lighthouse (which dates from 1859). A 1km trail runs from here to its successor. It takes less than 30 minutes to walk along a spectacular ridgeway path to look down on the new lighthouse and the sheer cliffs plunging into the pounding ocean.
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Robben Island
Used as a prison from the early days of the VOC (Dutch East India Company) right up until 1996, this Unesco World Heritage site is preserved as a memorial to those (such as Nelson Mandela) who spent many years incarcerated here. You can only go here on a tour, which lasts around four hours including ferry rides, departing from the Nelson Mandela Gateway beside the Clock Tower at the Waterfront. Booking online well in advance is highly recommended as tours can sell out. The standard tours, which have set departure and return times, include a walk through the old prison (with the obligatory peek into Mandela’s cell), as well as a 45-minute bus ride around the island with commentary on the various places of note, such as the lime quarry in which Mandela and many others did hard labour, the little house where Robert Sobukwe, leader of the Pan-Africanist Congress was held in solitary confinement for six years, and the church used during the island’s stint as a leper colony. There's also a stop at the Alpha 7 cafe for a superb view of the mainland and Table Mountain. Even if you don’t plan a visit to the island, it’s worth dropping by the free museum at the Nelson Mandela Gateway, with its focus on the struggle for equality. Also preserved as a small museum is the Waterfront’s Jetty 1, the departure point for Robben Island when it was a prison.
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Boulders Penguin Colony
This picturesque area, with enormous boulders dividing small, sandy coves, is home to a colony of some 3000 delightful African penguins. A boardwalk runs from the Boulders Visitor Centre at the Foxy Beach end of the protected area – part of Table Mountain National Park – to Boulders Beach, where you can get down on the sand and mingle with the waddling penguins. Don’t, however, be tempted to pet them: they have sharp beaks that can cause serious injuries. The bulk of the colony, which has grown from just two breeding pairs in 1982, seems to prefer hanging out at Foxy Beach, where, like nonchalant, stunted supermodels, they blithely ignore the armies of camera-touting tourists snapping away on the viewing platforms. (The beach itself is off-limits to visitors.) The aquatic birds, which are an endangered species, were formerly called jackass penguins on account of their donkey-like braying – you’ll have a chance to hear it if you turn up during the main breeding season, which peaks from March to May. Parking is available at either end of the reservation, on Seaforth Rd and on Bellevue Rd, where you’ll also find accommodation and places to eat. Boulders is around 3km southeast of Simon’s Town.
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Sea Point Promenade
Strolling along Sea Point’s wide, paved and grassy promenade is a pleasure shared by Capetonians from all walks of life. Once a white-only area, it’s now a great place to observe the city's multiculturalism. There are kids' playgrounds, a well-maintained outdoor gym and several public artworks. The coast here is rocky and swimming is dangerous, although you can get in the water at Rocklands Beach. If you’re too thin-skinned for the frigid sea, try the Sea Point Pavilion pool complex, towards the promenade’s southern end.
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V&A Waterfront
This historic working harbour has a spectacular setting and many tourist-oriented attractions, including masses of shops, restaurants, bars, cinemas and cruises. The Alfred and Victoria Basins date from 1860 and are named after Queen Victoria and her son Alfred. Too small for modern container vessels and tankers, the Victoria Basin is still used by tugs, fishing boats and various other vessels. In the Alfred Basin you’ll see ships under repair.
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Zeitz MOCAA Museum
The Waterfront's old grain silo has been transformed into this state-of-the-art museum for the contemporary Southern African art collection of entrepreneur Jochen Zeitz, as well the museum's own collection and loaned works. Opened in September 2017 MOCAA is still finding its feet as an exhibition space, but already provides a dazzling survey of art from across the continent and beyond. Easily the most striking thing about the museum is the building in which it is housed. When it opened in 1921 the grain silo was South Africa's tallest building. Disused since 1990, the structure has been spruced up outside and utterly transformed inside in an imaginative design by the studio of British architect Thomas Heatherwick. An atrium has been carved out of the 42 elevator tubes in the building's heart, exposing sections of their circular structure rising up eight stories from the basement to a rooftop sculpture garden. There's some 9500 sq metres of space for art in MOCAA split over 80-plus galleries. It can be a confusing place to navigate, but this does allow for a sense of discovery – and there's plenty of interest to see here.
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Silvermine Nature Reserve
The Silvermine Reservoir, a beautiful spot for a picnic or a leisurely walk on the wheelchair-accessible boardwalk, is the focal point of this section of Table Mountain National Park. The placid reservoir waters are tannin-stained and, despite the signs forbidding swimming, you’ll often find locals taking a dip here. Some excellent half-day hiking trails lead into the mountains from this area, named after the fruitless attempts by the Dutch to prospect for silver here in the late 17th century. On the southeastern edge of the reserve is the ancient burial site Peers Cave; a trail leads here from a marked parking spot on the Ou Kaapse Weg. Declared a National Monument in 1941, the cave provides a dramatic viewpoint out across Noordhoek towards the sea and is well worth visiting.
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Cape Point Vineyards
This small vineyard known for its fine sauvignon blanc has a spectacular setting overlooking Noordhoek Beach. Enjoy the wines with a picnic (R395 for two, book at least a day ahead; 11am to 5pm Friday to Wednesday) on the grounds, or at the restaurant (noon to 3pm Friday to Wednesday, plus 6pm to 8.30pm Friday and Saturday). The Thursday evening community market (4.30pm to 8.30pm), selling mainly food, is a weekly highlight for locals and great for kids, who can play on the lawns above the farm dam.
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Table Mountain National Park
Stretching from Signal Hill to Cape Point, this 220-sq-km park is a natural wonder, its range of environments including granite and sandstone mountains, giant-boulder-strewn beaches and shady forests. For the vast majority of visitors, the main attraction is the 1086m-high mountain itself, the top of which can easily be accessed by the cableway, which runs every 10 to 20 minutes. The park is the venue for a host of adventure activities including hiking, abseiling, mountain biking, rock climbing, paragliding, bird and wildlife watching, snorkelling and diving.
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