It is impossible to do justice to this amazing place. Be aware though that the best part of Cape Town eludes listing – the people, the social movements still struggling to make real the promise of the “new South Africa,” and the passionate energy and spirit for justice that fuels that continued struggle! If you talk to people, listen, attend events throughout the Mother City---you’ll see for yourself!
TOURS:
Transcending History Tours provides the most informative and refreshing cultural heritage tourism experience, unique in its depiction of Cape Town. It promises growing interest in the subject of Slavery and human rights issues. The tours affirm the socioeconomic and cultural contribution of slaves and their role in shaping the Western Cape and South Africa. Lucy Campbell offers insight into Slavery at the Cape and engages with topical issues in museums and other sites of memory. Her interpretation of the Indian Ocean Slave Trade puts the experiences of slaves in context and focuses on the historical representation of slaves.
SIGHTS:
Bo-Kaap: This is the neighborhood above downtown accessible by foot by walking up Short Market or Long Market streets, among others. This was once the slave quarters and is still home to many descendants of the Cape Malay slaves -- brightly colored little houses that are legendary and great for photos. The Bo-Kaap Museum, situated in the historic area that became home to many Muslims and freed slaves after the abolition of slavery, showcases local Islamic culture and heritage. The Bo-Kaap itself is well worth a visit. Colourful houses, steep cobbled streets, the muezzin’s calls to prayer, and children traditionally dressed for Madrassa, add to this unique Cape experience.
Boulders Beach: Boulders Penguin Colony is home to a growing colony of the vulnerable African Penguin. Wooden walkways allow visitors to view the penguins in their natural habitat and there is also a new information centre. Watch the penguins and their antics and Boulders Beach is also worth a stop for safe and enjoyable swimming.
Cape Point: Drive down (about 45 mins) and spend the day driving around and hiking (you’ll for sure see Baboons). You can get a day tour down to Cape Point Park, too by bus. You can go straight to the point which has a funicula up to the point where there are spectacular views or you can stop and get a map and hike. You might see Zebra, Elands, Bok, Ostrich, etc. Stop off to visit Simonstown and the penguins
Chapman’s Peak Drive winds it way between Noordhoek and Hout Bay. Situated on the Atlantic Coast, at the south-western tip of South Africa, it is one of the most spectacular marine drives anywhere in the world. The 9km route, with its 114 curves, skirts the rocky coastline of Chapman's Peak, the 593m high southerly extension of Constantia Berg. The drive offers stunning 180° views with many areas along the route where you can stop and take in the scenery or sit down for a relaxing picnic.
Company Gardens: This is the park in downtown Cape Town (accessible by taxi, bus, or a not-too-bad walk from the train station). Parliament backs up to the gardens as does St. George’s Cathedral (the spiritual home of the anti-apartheid struggle – Tutu’s church). (Take a tour of both Parliament and St. George’s – better yet, attend a concert or service at St. George’s to get the real flavour and have tea at the Crypt Restaurant there.) The restaurant in the Gardens, sprawled under huge trees, wasn’t great for a meal last time we were there (stick to tea) but it is a great spot to sit and watch the chess players or spot the bridal parties getting photographed on the nearby lawn. There are lovely trees, a rose garden, and a path which leads to the museums.
District 6 Museum: This museum located in Cape Town is dedicated to the people who were removed from their homes in District 6. The tour guides usually share touching stories and are able to answer any questions you have.
Green Market Square and St. George Mall: This everyday outdoor market is a great place to get souvenirs and presents from all over Africa (most of the vendors are refugees from other countries). Definitely bargain and look around before buying. Great place to buy CD’s of African music at a very reasonable price! Practice good common sense to avoid pickpockets. St George is a pedestrian mall with lots of vendors, too. This is a block from the market and stretches through downtown from St. George’s Cathedral to Golden Acre.
Groote Constantia: One of the first vineyards in S. Africa. Great Dutch architecture at the home which can be toured, excellent restaurant featuring good traditional Cape Malay food. In one of the most upscale Cape Town neighborhoods but worth it for the scenery! Constantia has several vineyards with excellent, expensive restaurants. Try Uitsig – a bit old fashioned and very upscale but very good. Simon’s is a more casual, modern restaurant.
Hout Bay:Get there by car, seafood restaurant, some galleries on side streets (ask around) that are wonderful. Fishing harbor and boat to seal island. Very scenic and lovely drive.
Irma Stern Museum This museum, located on a street near UCT is a gem! An easy walk from Main Road in Rondebosch or Rosebank, the museum has interesting short-term exhibits and Irma’s work as well as her collection amassed during her travels throughout Africa. The museum is her former home. The garden is very lovely.
Jewish Museum and Holocaust Centre: The Gardens Synagogue is next to the National Gallery and part of a complex of buildings housing Jewish communal institutions. The Jewish Museum is a well done look at the history of Jews in South Africa – definitely worth visiting. The most interesting part is the more modern look at how the Jewish community did (and did not) fight apartheid. The Holocaust Centre is done by the same folks who did the US Holocaust Memorial in DC – extremely well done and interesting. This Centre is free and takes up one floor. They are very explicit about drawing parallels between Nazism and Apartheid which is great. They offer decent tours or you can go through on your own. The complex also has a kosher café and gift shop as well as the wonderful Jewish community library.
Kirstenbosch Garden: This stunning garden is always different – in winter the bright orange aloes take over, in spring the hundreds of varieties of daisies, in summer the pleasure of picnicking and listening to the Sunday evening concerts on the lawn! (Remember seasons are opposite ours.) Enjoy the trails that include some rambling ones that go in and out of woods where you will catch a glimpse of guinea fowl with their bright blue necks and some very difficult ones that go straight up the mountain (try to go with someone who knows their way around on those hikes). Both restaurants are very nice – the Silvertree being the nicer one (especially if you sit outside) but the tea room is good, too! There are free, very interesting walking tours of the gardens at 10 on Mondays (check this out). Unfortunately, you can only get to the garden by car or cab. Cabs will wait for you but best is to get the driver’s number and call when you want to be picked up. There is a bus from Mowbray but it operates at times arranged for workers not tourists. Parking is free and relatively plentiful."
Lions Head: Take a cab to this mountain which is off to the side of Table Mountain. On the night of a full moon this is a popular place for tourists to go. Hike up to watch the sunset and take some amazing pictures. On the other side of the mountain the moon will rise, it’s a great view. You should probably bring a flashlight to use for the climb down, it gets pretty dark.
Nat’l Gallery of Art: This very small museum has had a string of wonderful exhibits and is very well curated! There’s a small, inexpensive restaurant and nice shop inside. We joined the museum while we were there and got notices of great lectures and openings – worth a visit.
Rhodes Memorial: There’s a great view from this monument to the great imperilist (now owned by UCT). Also a very lovely tea garden with good food and a stunning view – try the line fish (fish of the day) and the melktart (local custard pie). Again, this is accessible by car or you can walk up from the UCT campus if you are hardy.
Robben Island: Make reservations in advance to take this tour which takes half a day because of the trip by boat to the island. (Be aware that seas are very choppy most of the year so take seasick precautions.) The boat leaves from the Mandela Gateway building at the Waterfront. Former prisoners lead the tours and, depending on whom you get, the tour can be very provocative! Unfortunately, this is very expensive although there are some reduced price hours.
South African Museum: The South African Museum was founded in 1825. In 1897 the Museum moved to its present building in the historic Company's Garden. Since then millions of visitors have wandered its halls and corridors to be stimulated and inspired by its collections and exhibitions. They have left the Museum with a better understanding of the earth and its biological and cultural diversity, past and present.
Table Mountain: Cabs, buses, or cars can get you up to the Cableway. The cable cars are brand new and rotate as they go up. At top there are great views, paths, much windier and colder temps!, and a little restaurant. You come down when you are ready. You can walk up or down if you want as there are many trails but make sure you know what you are doing and take sunscreen, water and hiking shoes! Many tourists have made the mistake of thinking it is no big deal and have had to be rescued! Go with someone who has done it before. This is true of many of the hundreds of hikes in Cape Town (Lion’s Head at sunset being a favorite). They range from easy to very difficult (you can get books of Cape Town walks which is what the locals call hikes).
The Waterfront: Very touristy but local families go there a lot to shop, attend movies, and eat. It’s a safe place even at night. Shopping at the craft sheds is expensive but there are several very good African art shops. Many people come to Cape Town and stay in the hotels there which really isolates them from the city. Get here by free bus that leaves from outside the main train station or take a cab or drive. You really can’t walk here (which is their way of keeping out the “undesirables!”)
UNIVERSITIES:
University of Cape Town
University of the Western Cape
Stellenbosch University
Cape Peninsula University of Technology
NEIGHBORHOODS/SUBURBS:
Atlantic Beaches: (generally more fashionable, colder water)
Camps Bay: You can take a taxi van or cab here from downtown or change buses and go from the main bus rank downtown. Parking is hard to come by. Lots of seafood restaurants, cafes, and clubs on the Main Road strip. Gorgeous expensive homes in the hills above and a large beach. The Atlantic is pretty cold but less so in the summer. This is a popular beach with people from all over Cape Town. Great place to watch the sunset (sipping a sundowner at one of the outside cafes and to walk. Best restaurants: Blues and Tides. Be careful at night.
Clifton: Four small beaches, very popular with the “in-crowd” and even more expensive homes and apartments. No restaurants so less popular with those coming from other parts of town and a bit harder to get to.
False Bay Beaches: (more family oriented, better swimming, might spot whales)
Fish Hoek: Very clean, nice, inexpensive restaurant just off the sand, fishermen haul in their nets and everyone on the beach helps! Parking lot or accessible from Fish Hoek train station.
Kalk Bay: “Hippy” community with little fishing boat harbor where you can buy fish and have them cleaned right off the dock. (There are great seafood places on the dock too). Great shops and galleries on Main Road and side streets in this little community. Olympia Café is a real favorite (they have performances at night) – excellent homemade breads and pastries, great breakfasts! Café Matisse has good pizza and other lunches. Harbor House is upscale. A favorite place to walk around on weekends! Not where you’d go for the beach.
Llandudno: Beautiful setting, surfing beach, can be really windy. Accessible by car with very sparse parking.
Muizenberg: Family beach, beware of stepping on “blue bottles” which look like bubbles on the beach but sting (not lethal). Muizenberg station has one of our favorite restaurants on the second floor which has a great view of the beach – check their hours as they aren’t always open (Station House Restaurant). Also, for a more informal lunch – Olive Station (middle eastern cuisine and olives!) is a few blocks away.
Sea Point: No real beach, great art deco highrise apartments, some hotels, good Italian restaurants, kosher restaurants (the Miami Beach of Cape Town with retired and elderly Jews), bustling Main Road. Long, wide promenade which is great to walk along during the day (large public swimming pools next to the promenade). Dicey at night. Van taxis or buses from downtown. Legandary for Nigerian drug dealers and prostitutes.
Simons Town: Home of the S. African navy (the Annapolis of S. Africa), pretty town for walking around. The train ride out is great. Boulders Beach, home of the famous Cape penguin colony is just beyond. There’s even a spot where you can swim with the penguins! The train goes all the way out to Simonstown stopping at all these places. You don’t need to go downtown to catch this red line train. Can get it from Rondebosch station.
Woodstock- Biscuit Mill: On Saturday mornings there is a farmers market held in Woodstock. You can get there via minibus that is heading towards Cape Town. They have great little shops and vendors and the food is amazing! Some students have said this is definitely one of their favorite places in Cape Town. Surely a unique website.
SHOPPING
Books: Many second hand bookstores on Long Street downtown. But there are lots of authors and books we do not get in the US. There is also a second-hand charity bookstore on the second floor on Main Road in Mowbray across from Shoprite supermarket. Exclusives is very good, also Clarke’s on Long Street which is very old and has a great selection of S. African titles! You can get some bargains at the Riverside Mall bookshop next to Checkers.
Book Lounge: 71 Roeland St. Cape Town. This has been a favorite for many students. Extremely helpful staff. Authors and great speakers every week. If you like to browse the latest books it's a great place to stop by whenever you have some time to spare.
Charlie’s Bakery: Make sure to stop in to this famous bakery for some “mucking afazing” cake and other treats! Popular place in Cape Town
Clothing: Surprisingly expensive and with different size standards. Woolworth’s has their own labels and is good but not cheap. . There is an African clothing store with great fabrics from W. Africa on Main Road near Cavendish Square.
Food stores: The Spar around the corner from Rondebosch Common. The Checkers at Riverside Mall is good for most anything. Pick n’ Pay at Rondebosch Village Mall is more crowded and also pretty good. Woolworths has a food store there, too, which is excellent for prepared food items. All supermarkets in S. Africa have their own bakeries so baked stuff is really good (the Spar is an excellent example!) Seven Eleven is not the same as here but is a small grocery, open long hours and more expensive. Stores close early on Sunday or aren’t open at all. Some close early on Saturday, too. Woolworths is open both days until about 9 pm. There is parking in Riverside Mall and behind Rondebosch Village. Stop for frozen yogart at Marcel’s on Main Road in Rondebosch (ice cream isn’t great in S. Africa generally). Adesso’s in Rondebosch has good gelato and has become the coffee shop hang out.
Long Street: Walk Long Street downtown and check out the Pan African Market (near Short Market St intersection) which has stalls and neat shops (a bit expensive but you can sometimes bargain). Lots of antique stores especially on Church Street which is off of Long and is a pedestrian mall with African art stores, antique shops, and a great gallery. Café Mozart is a great place for lunch or an afternoon tea break there. Long Street has restaurants, back packers, clubs, bead stores, vintage clothing shops, second hand book stores, travel agents that have good deals on side trips nearby and around S. Africa. Street pretty much shuts down on Sundays and late afternoons. Best during the week during the day!
Malls: Cavendish Square which is a short taxi van or car ride down Main Road from Rondebosch (in Claremont). Some nice shops ranging from Woolworth’s (with its excellent food department) to expensive decorator shops to Exclusive Books (the good chain bookstore which is also at the Waterfront). Great movie theatres including an art theatre and some okay restaurants but nothing great. Very diverse clientele.
The Waterfront malls are more touristy.
THEATRE:
Great theater in Cape Town!!
Artscape: Downtown theater in the City Centre, is an all-round arts venue. The architecture is very 1970s, but inside the facilities are state-of-the-art. At the heart of the theatre complex is the 1 187-seat opera house and a 540-seat theatre. There is a 120-seat arena and a 100-seat cabaret venue. Artscape is Cape Town’s home of ballet and opera.
Baxter Theatre: Part of UCT, on Main Road in Rondebosch (walk from flat but not at night), concert hall, main theater and black box theater, restaurant. Plays and events are advertised in paper and on posters on every lamppost! Very inexpensive by US standards, get tkts at the theater itself. They have a Computicket there which allows you to buy tkts for anything.
Evita se Peron: Take an overnight north to Darling – a lovely little town that is home to Pieter Dirk Uys theatre where he does a rotation of one-man/woman (his characters have him in drag) shows that are very funny, political and moving! He’s an outspoken AIDS advocate!
Labia Theatre: For nearly 30 years, the Labia Theatre has lured the more discerning moviegoer to enjoy classic film in an old-world ambience. Originally an Italian embassy ballroom, the building was opened by Princess Labia in May 1949 as a live performance theatre. It’s widely recognised as the oldest independent art-repertory cinema in South Africa.
Maynardville Outdoor Theatre: Students in 2008 saw “The Merchant of Venice” at this outdoor theater but they have some famous plays going on throughout the semester, be sure to read the signs on Main Road, they always advertise for them!
On Broadway: On Shortmarket Street in the city centre, is a cameo theatre committed to Cape Town’s cabaret scene. An eclectic crowd frequent this bar-cum-restaurant theatre.
Theatre on the Bay: on Main Road in Camps Bay, very small venue. Pieter Toerien's Theatre on the Bay offers a good mix of local and international drama, musicals, comedy, cabaret, music and dance.
FAVORITE OUT OF TOWN TRIPS:
You could do some of these in a day or stay overnight so you can do dinner and spend more time.
Favorite wine region towns:
Franschoek: Wine region, best restaurants and quaint town, settled by Hugenots: Restaurants: Topsi and Company, Haute Cabriere, La Petit Ferme, Le Quatier Francais,
Stellenbosch: Wine region, biggest town, university town, good museum
Die Strandlopers: Restaurant on the beach. Lunch at 12, evening meal at 6. Eat about 10 courses from mussels through to Crayfish. Book as far ahead as you can! Bookings are essential! Children (under 12) pay according to height – Adults currently R 190.00 p/p. Bring your own (and ice!) or enjoy our beach bar. Expect to spend the afternoon. Kids Have fun - pets eat for free.
Whale Watching:
Hermanus: quaint town, good b and b’s, wonderful walking along the cliffs and the sea (even good without whales)
Kleinmond: Near Hermanus, lagoon, nice beach, small town (not as many shops and restaurants as Hermanus)
Betty’s Bay: Penguin Colony and gorgeous drive from Cape Town!!
West Coast Park:
North of Darling, lovely scenery and hikes, lots of Ostrich and other animals, flowers galore
FURTHER AWAY:
Garden Route to Knysna and Cape Agulhus
Caledon-- hot springs (and casino if you are into that)
Greydon, Ceres, Tulbagh, Montague – other towns in the Western Cape – charming, nice scenery
Plettenburg Bay:
This trip would take up a long weekend. Plettenburg Bay is kind of far but there is a lot to do there from bungee jumping, riding elephants, to zip lining. You’ll have to organize transportation and pick out a hostel but this trip is worth it.
