Blouberg beach
The impressive presence of Table Mountain, flanked by the legendary Devil's Peak and historical Signal Hill, stands proudly above the city of Cape Town. Beautiful white sandy beaches along a peaceful coastline frame the Cape Peninsula, which is famed for its unique floral kingdom, bountiful rivers, vleis and dams and magnificent countryside! The surrounding area extends far into the winelands, green in summer and red-gold in autumn.
Camps Bay beach
Cape Town boasts a multitude of entertainment, ranging from outdoor activities and adventures in the sun to a roaring night life under neon signs. The vast range of shopping opportunities includes haggling with shopholders at Greenmarket Square Flea Market, as well as breezing through sophisticated and stylish shopping malls. The huge variety of restaurants reflects the multicultured history of the Cape and caters for everyone's taste, from fast-food outlets and casual to the chic to the very elegant.
Cape Town City
Cape Town provides a setting for many scenic wonders, magnificent seascapes and panoramic vistas. The beautiful coastal areas of Camps Bay, Clifton, Llandudno, Bantry Bay, Hout Bay and Blouberg surround the breathtaking tranquility of the winelands, Constantia, Stellenbosch, Paarl and Franshhoek.
Cape Town is a city of culture, built on a history that reflects in the architecture, cuisine, music and dance. Together with a warm summer and temperate winter climate and a friendly community, the Western Cape and the Mother City are an ideal holiday destination throughout the year.
Destination Cape Town
There is nowhere quite like Cape Town. It is in Africa, and of Africa, but yet so different. Perched between the ocean and the mountain, and with a national park as its heart, it's wild and wonderful. But Cape Town is also the oldest city in our country, and it has a cultural heritage spanning more than 300 years.
It is in Cape Town that the Rainbow Nation really covers the spectrum, as nowhere else in the country do we have such cultural diversity.
Between beautiful Cape Dutch homesteads, elegant Georgian townhouses, traditional dancers with painted faces performing in the city streets, the smell of spicy Malay cooking, the tang of a well-made wine, and the sound of the snoek horn advertising the wares of fish vendors, this city will fill your senses.
The bells of St George's Cathedral alternate with the plaintive tones of the muezzin calling the faithful to prayer. Visitors give a startled jump, and Capetonians calmly glance at their watches, when the noon gun booms above the city - a relic from the days of sail when sea captains had to check their chronometers.
You will never be bored in Cape Town. Table Mountain offers some of the best climbing in the world, and it's right here in the city. The surfing is fantastic; the diving is cold but good. You could go mountain biking, or try sandboarding. Go sea kayaking - you may see seals, dolphins or penguins.
A great thing to do on a full moon summer's night is to walk up Lion's Head before dark, watch the sun set on one hand and the full moon rise on the other and then walk down in the silvery light.
Or, if the wind is right, you could fly off Lion's Head with a qualified tandem paraglider pilot, and land on the beach in time for sundowners. You'll never be bored.
If all this sounds too gung ho for you, don't worry. You can shop till you drop at Cavendish, Canal Walk or the Waterfront, where you'll be spoilt for choice. There is so much live music, so many temporary and permanent art exhibitions, so many movies, plays and even opera, ballet or symphony concerts, that you will have absolutely no excuse to stay in your hotel room.
Of course, you'll just have to find the time to sample some Cape wine. You could visit a different museum every day for a week, and you just have to see Robben Island.
Cape Town is probably the most popular backpackers destination anywhere, with more hostels than any other city worldwide. It's also the home of the backpackers special, the Baz Bus.
View our Cape Town Car Hire options.
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Table Mountain in the late afternoon, Western Cape.
Photo by Walter Knirr. Copyright South African Tourism |
