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Victoria & Alfred Waterfront
The Cape Town harbour is a huge draw to tourists and locals alike because of its enormous upmarket shopping mall, which sprawls out alongside the harbour, its waterside restaurants with stunning views of docked boats, and great Ferris wheel. Here, there is the full spectrum of entertainment for the whole family: boat rides, free live performances in the amphitheatre, sundowner cruises, retail therapy, causal to fine dining, a Scratch Patch (den selling semi-precious stones), cave mini-golf, arts and crafts market, and even an evening comedy venue. The V & A Waterfront is also home to some of the city’s finest hotels, restaurants, and the world famous ZEITZ MOCAA contemporary African art gallery. It’s a top cultural and culinary destination and we always recommend a visit to our guests.
Cable Car up Table Mountain
If you’re a fitness junkie, you can always hike up Table Mountain but for most people, the journey to the top of Cape Town’s iconic mountain is done by cable car, which only takes a few minutes yet makes for an exhilarating experience. Once at the top, you could spend hours just wandering the network of pathways that wind around the mountain’s boulder-strewn, fynbos-carpeted summit. Look out for the many endemic bird species that live here, like the orange-breasted sunbird and Cape sugarbird. Also keep an eye out for colourful agama lizards and sunbathing rock hyraxes (known locally as “dassies” – small, rabbit-like animals with sombre faces). For refreshments, there’s the Table Mountain Café and the Wi-Fi lounge and, for souvenirs, the Shop at the Top.
Hike Up Lion’s Head
Right next door to Table Mountain is another of Cape Town’s iconic mountains: Lion’s Head. There is a short 1-2-long hike to the top, the summit of which reveals panoramic views of the city, peninsula mountains, and up the West Coast of the subcontinent. The hike is fairly strenuous towards the end but seems to attract people of all fitness levels in their droves so pick your timing carefully or else you will find yourself standing in queues halfway up the mountain! The scenery along the way is just as gorgeous with lots of indigenous mountain fynbos and birdlife to be seen. We recommend an early morning hike to the top, followed by breakfast somewhere in the city bowl.
Iziko Museum and Planetarium
Located on Queen Victoria Street in the heart of Cape Town, you’ll discover a cultural haven at which you can easily spend an entire day: the Iziko Natural History Museum and Planetarium. The museum maintains a beguiling record of South African history from well before the arrival of the settlers until well after. There are life-like and life-sized replicas of dinosaurs and whales, and an extensive collection of Africa’s (taxidermied) birds and beasts. Attached to the museum is the Iziko Planetarium, which has just recently been revamped and updated. Here, visitors are invited to sit all the way back in their recliner seats and watch as a fascinating digital show about the stars, constellations, and universe unfurls on the darkened dome above.
For art lovers: right next door to the museum is the South African National Gallery, which sheds an interesting, educational, and inspiring lens on the country, the world, and its people.
Meander Through the Company Gardens
In 1650, the first European settlers in the Cape established the Company Gardens, the original task of which was to grow fruits and vegetables to refresh and restock the merchant ships travelling to India via the Cape. Today, the Company Gardens are beautifully kept and a wondrous, historic place to explore by foot. We recommend a winding walk through the garden’s various attractions: the rose garden, bird aviary, minute forests, and past the historic buildings that line Governors Avenue. Please do be careful with your belongings. It is a public park and there tend to be quite a few vagrants about.
Go on a Free Walking Tour
The city runs free, guided walking tours that depart every day, twice a day, from Greenmarket Square in the city centre. These walking tours expose visitors to our rich, yet troubled history and diverse culture, offering up titbits of advice on things to see, places to eat, and where to grab a beer or cocktail afterwards. The tours are completely free (you can tip the guides at the end) and are run by knowledgeable guides with big personalities.
Spend a Day in the Cape Winelands
No visit to Cape Town is complete without a day (or several days) spent in the Cape Winelands! Even if you aren’t a wine-drinker, the scenery of vineyards, farmlands, and Cape Dutch homesteads set against a dramatic backdrop of mountains is astounding. Few other places tell the history of the Cape quite like a centuries-old wine estate and there is no shortage of those to explore. The best-known wine routes are Constantia, Stellenbosch, and Franschhoek all of which offer gorgeous views, top-notch wines, and delicious food.
Culinary Trawl of Cape Town’s hotspot Bree Street
And finally, there’s no better way to conclude a day in the Cape than with a hearty dinner, washed down with good wine or an inventive cocktail. Bree Street in town is regarded as the city’s culinary hot spot and there are plenty of restaurants and cafés here offering unique, delicious, romantic, and innovative dining experiences. Some recommendations include La Tête (for nose-to-tail, farm-to-fork gastronomy); Bocca and True Italic Osteria (for Italian dishes made with love); and SeaBreeze Fish & Shell (for fresh, inventive seafood).
For other recommendations, check out our previous blog on DK Villas’ Favourite Cape Town Restaurants!
