Cape Town, known to South Africans as the “Mother City”, was the first area to be settled by Europeans in the 17th century and is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful cities in the world.
CAPE TOWN & SURROUNDS
Cape Town, known to South Africans as the “Mother City”, was the first area to be settled by Europeans in the 17th century and is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful cities in the world.
In 1580 Sir Francis Drake wrote
“This cape is a most stately thing, and the fairest cape we saw in the whole circumference of the earth.”
The passage of time has done little to blunt his words. With Table Mountain as a spectacular backdrop and miles and miles of coastline and sweeping beaches, this cosmopolitan city of parks, historic buildings, stylish shopping malls is an ideal place to spend a week or more.
In fine weather, a cable car will carry you up to the top of Table Mountain where you can survey one of the finest panoramas in all South Africa. On the eastern slopes of Table Mountain, the Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens display 4,000 of the 18,000 plant species that have been classified in South Africa.
Just off the coast is Robben Island, South Africa’s ‘Alcatraz’ and the place where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for over two decades. There is The Castle Of Goodhope, the oldest surviving building in the country and an excellent place to absorb the history of Cape Town as well as Groot Constantia. The oldest vineyard and homestead in Cape Town, built in 1692 it is a superb example of Cape Dutch architecture and is now a museum and vineyard.
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A great place for shopping, dining and entertainment is the Victoria and Alfred Waterfront. Original buildings have been renovated and new ones added in Victorian style and all contribute to the timeless charm and appeal. Visitors can enjoy world-class shops, a variety of fascinating museums, an excellent selection of restaurants, pubs and coffee shops, craft markets, historical walking tours, cinemas (including an Imax!) and theatres, the Telkom Exploratorium, outdoor entertainment, helicopter flips and much more. You may want to visit South Africa’s largest aquarium, the Two Oceans Aquarium, which represents some 300 aquatic species.
Extending south from Cape Town is the Cape Peninsula and a nature reserve that boasts indigenous flora and fauna. Keep an eye out for baboon, bontebok, zebra, Cape grysbok, steenbok, grey rhebok, eland, springbok, grey mongoose and over 150 species of bird. In the reserve, at the end of the Table Mountain chain, is world-famous Cape Point, the dramatic and visually awe-inspiring promontory, where one can dine in style or throw caution to the winds where the two oceans are said to meet.
The countryside surrounding the wine-producing areas of Stellenbosch, Paarl and Franschoek mixes dramatic mountains and fertile valleys patterned with vineyards, as well as it mixes its European ancestry with a quality that makes it unmistakably African. The towns here are small and there are numerous fine examples of Cape Dutch architecture as well as boutique hotels and superb wineries and restaurants to be enjoyed. A great way to explore is to follow the well-established wine-routes.
