Must-see attractions in Cape Town

  • Flowers in the Kirstenbosch Botanic Gardens below Table Mountain.

    Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden

    Cape Town

    Location and unique flora combine to make these 5.28-sq-km botanical gardens among the most beautiful in the world. Gate 1, the main entrance at the…

  • District Six Museum

    Cape Town

    It's impossible not to be emotionally moved by this museum, which celebrates the once lively multiracial area that was destroyed during apartheid in the…

  • Groot Constantia manor house in Cape Town, South Africa.

    Groot Constantia

    Cape Town

    Simon van der Stel’s manor house, a superb example of Cape Dutch architecture, is maintained as a museum at Groot Constantia. Set in beautiful grounds,…

  • Landscape of Meerendal Wine Estate.

    Meerendal

    Cape Town

    Although it was established in 1702 and has some of South Africa's oldest pinotage and shiraz vineyards, as well as a handsome Cape Dutch homestead,…

  • Bloubergstrand Beach with Table Mountain in background.

    Bloubergstrand

    Cape Town

    The beaches beside this pleasant coastal suburb are where the British won their 1806 battle for the Cape. The panoramic view they provide of Table…

  • Scenic view of Sea Point Promenade, Cape Town, South Africa.

    Sea Point Promenade

    Sea Point to Hout Bay

    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…

  • Buitenverwachting Wine Estate, Constantia, Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa.
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    Buitenverwachting

    Cape Town

    Buitenverwachting means ‘beyond expectation’, which is certainly the feeling one gets on visiting this Cape Dutch estate. It's a lovely estate to visit…

  • Bo-Kaap, Chiappini Street, Muslim Cape-Malay area.

    Bo-Kaap

    Cape Town

    Meaning ‘Upper Cape’, the Bo-Kaap, with its vividly painted low-roofed houses, many of them historic monuments, strung along narrow cobbled streets, is…

  • Table Mountain Aerial Cableway in Cape Town

    Table Mountain

    Cape Town

    Around 600 million years old, and a canvas painted with the rich diversity of the Cape floral kingdom, Table Mountain is truly iconic. You can admire the…

  • Company’s Garden

    Cape Town

    These shady green gardens, which started as the vegetable patch for the Dutch East India Company, are a lovely place to relax. They are planted with a…

  • Guga S’Thebe Arts & Cultural Centre

    Cape Town

    Decorated with polychromatic ceramic murals, this is one of the most impressive buildings in the townships – even more so now that it has a theatre,…

  • Irma Stern Museum

    Cape Town

    The pioneering 20th-century artist Irma Stern (1894–1966), whose works are some of the most sought-after among modern South African painters, occupied…

  • Klein Constantia

    Cape Town

    Part of Simon van der Stel's original Constantia estate, Klein Constantia is famous for its Vin de Constance, a sweet muscat wine. It was Napoleon’s…

  • Langa Pass Museum

    Cape Town

    Step inside a grim apartheid relic at Langa's old pass office, where black people had to present their identity cards, and the attached court, where they…

  • Constantia Glen

    Cape Town

    There's a sweeping view of the vineyards from the terrace in front of the tasting room at this boutique winery, which is known for its sauvignon blanc and…

  • Mutual Heights

    Cape Town

    Clad in rose- and gold-veined black marble, Mutual Heights is the most impressive of the City Bowl’s collection of art deco structures. The facade is…

  • Gum trees (Eucalyptus) in rain forest Tokai Forest, Western Cape Province, South Africa

    Tokai Forest

    Cape Town

    This wooded section of Table Mountain National Park is a favourite spot for picnics, mountain biking (weekends only) and walks. To reach the forest, take…

  • Parrots at the World of Birds in Cape Town.

    World of Birds

    Sea Point to Hout Bay

    Barbets, weavers and flamingos are among the 3000 birds and small mammals – covering some 400 different species – at Africa's largest bird park. A real…

  • The Castle of Good Hope Cape Town South Africa. Oldest surviving Colonial building in South Africa. (Photo by: Education Images/UIG via Getty Images)

    Castle of Good Hope

    Cape Town

    Built by the Dutch between 1666 and 1679 to defend Cape Town, this stone-walled pentagonal castle remains the headquarters for the Western Cape military…

  • The view from table mountain is breathtaking.
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    Table Mountain National Park

    Sea Point to Hout Bay

    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,…

  • Cape Town

    South African National Gallery

    Cape Town

    The impressive permanent collection of the nation’s premier art space harks back to Dutch times and includes some extraordinary pieces. But it’s often…

  • Homecoming Centre

    Cape Town

    This centre houses an annexe of the District Six Museum which is usually open for temporary exhibitions and events. Currently there's a wonderful…

  • Church Square

    Cape Town

    One of the city's most attractive public plazas is surrounded by handsome old buildings including the Herbert Baker-designed National Mutual Building,…

  • We Are Still Here

    Cape Town

    Mosaic artists Lovell Friedman and Leora Lewis are the creators of this powerful artwork just outside the Central Library. A mosaic of ceramic tiles forms…

  • Norval Foundation

    Cape Town

    This large, purpose-built gallery has caused some disquiet among locals for its austere, imposing facade. Inside, airy spaces host rotating exhibitions of…

  • Monkeybiz dolls, Bo-Kaap.

    Bo-Kaap Museum

    Cape Town

    This small museum provides some insight into the lifestyle of a prosperous 19th-century Cape Muslim family, and a somewhat idealised view of Islamic…

  • View of the beach and Twelve Apostles mountain in Camps Bay near Cape Town in South Africa.

    Twelve Apostles

    Sea Point to Hout Bay

    The name of the Twelve Apostles is said to have been coined by British governor Sir Rufane Donkin in 1820. There are actually well over 12 buttresses on…

  • Rhodes Memorial

    Cape Town

    Partly modelled on the arch at London’s Hyde Park Corner, this monumental granite memorial stands on the eastern slopes of Table Mountain, at a spot where…

  • Fishing boats and Cape Fur Seals in Hout Bay Harbour, near Cape Town, South Africa.

    Hout Bay Harbour

    Sea Point to Hout Bay

    Partly given over to tourism with complexes such as Mariner’s Wharf, Hout Bay’s harbour still functions and the southern side is a fishing port and…

  • Clifton First Beach, Cape Town, South Africa.

    Clifton 1st Beach

    Sea Point to Hout Bay

    The first of Clifton's four beaches strung along Victoria Rd at Clifton. As with the other three, it's almost always sheltered from the wind and offers…

  • Clifton 4th beach with people on Valentines day for a special open air concert event.

    Clifton 4th Beach

    Sea Point to Hout Bay

    The only Blue Flag beach among the four sheltered stretches of sand strung along Victoria Rd at Clifton is popular with families. On calm summer evenings,…

  • Canto Wines

    Cape Town

    New to the Durbanville wine route, Canto is a boutique winery offering tastings in the church-like cellar/tasting room. Particularly popular is the bubbly…

  • Central Library

    Cape Town

    The Drill Hall, dating from 1889 and where Queen Elizabeth II celebrated her 21st birthday, has been sensitively restored and turned into the city’s…

  • South African Jewish Museum

    Cape Town

    You need a photo ID to enter the secure compound that's home to this imaginatively designed museum, which partly occupies the beautifully restored Old…

  • Greenmarket Square

    Cape Town

    This cobbled square is Cape Town’s second-oldest public space after the Grand Parade. It hosts a lively and colourful crafts and souvenir market daily…

  • St George’s Cathedral

    Cape Town

    Known as the People’s Cathedral, this was one of the few places of worship that was open to people of all races during apartheid. Classical concerts are…

  • Iziko Slave Lodge

    Cape Town

    Dating back to 1660, the Slave Lodge is one of the oldest buildings in South Africa. Once home to as many as 1000 slaves, the lodge has a fascinating…

  • Long Street

    Cape Town

    A stroll along Long St is an essential element of a Cape Town visit. This busy commercial and nightlife thoroughfare, partly lined with Victorian-era…

  • South African Museum

    Cape Town

    South Africa’s oldest museum was undergoing renovations at the time of research, so some galleries were closed. The museum contains a wide and often…

  • 18 Gangster Museum

    Cape Town

    Gangsterism is the blight of the Cape Flats, and this innovative living museum shows the treacherous path that too many in these communities follow into…

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