Cape Town, the “Mother City”, is the oldest city in South Africa and has a cultural heritage spanning more than 300 years. It also has the top five national attractions in South Africa that should appear on every visitor´s itinerary all year round.
Don´t miss a visit up Table Mountain; the V&A Waterfront, a unique shopping and holiday experience on a scenic working harbour; Robben Island, the former home of Nelson Mandela; the Cape Town Wine Routes, where some of the world´s best wines are produced and Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens, internationally acclaimed as one of the great botanical gardens of the world.
The unique topography of the region makes it easy to orientate oneself as long as you remember that with Table Mountain behind you and Robben Island before you, you are facing north, looking across Table Bay and up the west coast of Africa.
Access
Cape Town is situated at the south-western point of South Africa, within the Province of Western Cape. There are 3 arterial routes leading to Cape Town: N1 from Johannesburg, N2 from the Garden Route and Cape Town International Airport, N7 from the west cost and Namibia.
Cape Town Welcomes you
Already in the enviable position of being both a fantastic city to visit, and a great city to live in, Cape Town is gearing up to stake the claim as Africa’s cultural and creative centre.
Cape Town’s reputation of being a free-spirited, cosmopolitan port city precedes it, making every single person’s experience of this colourful city a unique one. Cape Town is iconic – a city of breathtaking natural beauty, creative freedom of expression and change, a melting pot of cultures and a modern history reflected in its characters, architecture and stories.
The City can credit its charming mix of culture, language, architecture and first-rate vineyards to this legacy.
Cape Town is a city of contrasts and tells a tale of two cities: one that boasts a thriving creative economy, premier tourist destination status and incredible natural beauty, juxtaposed with social problems and poverty that are directly related to the colourful past and troubled history. But when walking the Streets of Cape Town and meeting its people, you will fall in love with a city of hope, creative freedom and incredible spirit.
Cape Town Tourism
Cape Town Tourism
Tel: +27 (0)21 487 6800 – Fax: +27 (0)21 487 6859
Email: info@capetown.travel
http://www.capetown.travel
Historic sites
Many different cultures have helped shape South Africa over the centuries and some truly significant historical locations, including world heritage sites, are all well within reach of Cape Grace. Explore the Castle of Good Hope or take a walk through the old Cape Malay Quarter and take yourself back in time to discover the rich history of the Cape.
Castle of Good Hope:
The oldest surviving European building in South Africa – built 1666–1679 – is the star-shaped Castle of Good Hope. It is a place of fascinating stories and ceremonies; with the Key Ceremony takes place weekdays at 10am and 12 noon, followed by the firing of the Signal Hill noon day cannon. Safe within the thick fortress walls are various collections, one of which being the prized artworks of the permanent William Fehr exhibition. The Africana pictures and objects are housed in grand rooms that give a sense of participation in art and history, which can be viewed in an unhurried way. They present an unfolding story of people, places and things that are at one and the same time distant yet familiar. For the best experience of the Castle, take a guided tour; Monday to Sunday at 11.00, 12.00 and 14.00 (except Sundays). Here you might find out why the horseshoe on the dungeon door is upside down and which 18th century First Lady bathed naked in the Dolphin Pool.
Cultural History Museum:
The Natural and Social History collections at the SA Museum range from fossils almost 700 million years old to insects and fish that are found in our natural world today. There are also stone tools 120 000 years old and traditional clothes from the last century juxtaposed with contemporary T-shirts. This shows future generations what our world was like set in the context of what came before. Sometimes examples of extinct animals in museums are the only evidence that they ever existed and the African Dinosaur exhibition is are good examples of this. The enormous Whale Well is a favourite, as is the life-size model of a Megatooth Shark’s jaws; probably the largest predator the world has ever known. This museum is well worth a visit and can be accessed by walking to the top of the Company’s Gardens in the heart of the city.
House of Parliament:
The heart of the country’s government and the original site of the Dutch East India Company headquarters; this area is filled with historical sites and political interest. Like most Parliament buildings, it is rather grand and a larger than life Queen Victoria stands on a pedestal in the gardens. Several architects had a hand in it with Sir Herbert Baker giving the finishing touches to the House of Assembly.
While parliament sits in Cape Town, the seat of government administration is actually in Pretoria and to confuse things even more, the legislative capital is Bloemfontein. This dates back to a disagreement between the four provinces at the time of the Union in 1910, as to where the national capital would be. The ANC have proposed that Parliament should be moved to Pretoria, but of course Capetonians are adamantly against this. It may be a good idea to visit Parliament while it is still Cape Town and there are guided tours and visitor access to the public gallery during parliamentary sessions from January to June.
The Company Gardens:
These gardens are the green heart of central Cape Town and have existed from very soon after Jan Van Riebeeck arrived to occupy the Cape on behalf of the Dutch East India Company in the mid 1600s. They were much larger then and used to grow fruit and vegetables to supply the trading ships. Now the plants are for display and tranquil enjoyment, with a rose garden, exotic trees and colonial statues and a popular open-air café. One reminder of the distant past is an ancient pear tree circa 1652, whose sagging limbs are held up by supports. Forming a circle around this green hub lie numerous buildings of major cultural importance; National Gallery, SA Museum, Planetarium, Jewish Museum, Parliament, St George’s Cathedral and the Slave Lodge. Each is worth visiting and an entire day could just be spent in and around the Company’s Gardens.
Bo Kaap Museum:
The Cape Malay Quarter of Cape Town on the slopes of Signal Hill, can be traced back several hundred years to the arrival of Muslim slaves. They were brought here under duress from Dutch East India Company trading ports in Malacca, Java, parts of India and Arabia. Some holy leaders were among the captives and it is they that became the torchbearer of Islam in the Cape. Their legacy can be seen in this small area of narrow cobbled streets with brightly painted houses, and the number of minarets and mosques and locals wearing customary robes.
Life of a 19th century Cape Malay family is portrayed in the Bo Kaap Museum and gives an insight into the lifestyle and history of Islam in South Africa. Also in the area are several cafés serving tradition Cape Malay dishes, which will undoubtedly include mild, sweet curries and even sweeter deserts. Take a guided tour of Bo-Kaap and if you happen to be there at noon, don’t get a fright when the cannon on Signal Hill goes bang! This tradition has been going on for hundreds of years and serves inform the people of Cape Town and ships in the bay of the correct time.
St. George’s Cathedral:
The building of Cathedrals usually takes a very long time and St George’s Cathedral in Cape Town, , is no exception. Situated at the foot of Company’s Garden, the church held its first service in 1834 and became a cathedral in 1847, in anticipation of the appointment of a Bishop. It wasn’t really much of a cathedral and it took until 1901 to lay the first foundation stone of a more fitting homage to God, designed by Sir Herbert Baker. Since then, the building has progressed bit by bit and while it appears quite finished, it is apparently still incomplete.
You are unlikely to notice its faults and will instead note the exquisite stained glass windows. The Great North Window is said to be the largest stained glass window in the southern hemisphere, at nine metres high and nearly seven metres across, portraying saints and pioneers of the Church in Africa.
Long Street:
You just have to love Long Street – it’s got that wonderful blend of past seediness and contemporary cool. This combination is demonstrated by an ally full of antiques, or a dusty old collector’s bookshops next door to a hip retro boutique, with perhaps the whiff of a hubbly bubbly pipe coming from a Turkish café. Add to this enticing assortment a fusion of Cape architecture displaying all that is ostentatious (ornate Victorian balustrades) or austere (symmetrical Georgian frontages) and traditional (Cape Dutch gables) and you get a street like no other. It lives up to its name and a stroll up Long Street can take hours if you allow yourself to get distracted. The top end of Long Street comes alive in a different way after about 10.30pm, when the reason for bar hopping is not to get drunk but to listen to the various sounds pumping out from each balcony nightspot.