Cape Town Attractions

From museums and historic sites to scenic drives and beaches, Cape Town has plenty to offer visitors in the way of attractions and excursions. The open-top, hop-on hop-off Explorer bus operates two routes with 13 stops each at sights within the central city, as well as further afield in the suburbs, which is an easy way to see many of the city's top attractions in one day. The city centre is easy to navigate on foot, with Table Mountain and the gentle slope of the city toward the sea providing a point of reference and making it difficult to get lost. At the very least, visitors usually include a trip up Table Mountain in the cable car on their itinerary, and many make time for an outing to Robben Island, Cape Point, the Winelands and of course any one of the city's many magnificent beaches.

Summertime visitors rarely come to Cape Town without at least one day spent enjoying its Blue Flag-rated beaches, whether lounging with the bronze bodies in Camps Bay and Clifton, or snorkelling with penguins in Simonstown. There are many active pursuits available in Cape Town as well, from kayaking with whales in the Atlantic Ocean, to hiking up Table Mountain or in the Tokai forest, to paragliding from Signal Hill to Camp's Bay.

For those with a bit more time, there are many museums that offer a glimpse into the apartheid era such as the District Six Museum, and an increasingly popular tour is to one of the predominantly black townships which usually includes a look at community projects, a visit to a craft market and a drink at a local shebeen.

Bo-Kaap

Bo-Kaap, or the old Malay Quarter, was declared an exclusive residential area for the Muslim Cape Malays under the Group…

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Castle of Good Hope

South Africa’s oldest building, the Castle was completed in 1679 (replacing an earlier mud and timber fort built…

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District Six Museum

Until the 1960s, District Six was a vibrant district of Cape Town, close to the city centre and the harbour. In 1966…

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Greenmarket Square

Situated in the Central Business District, near the main station, is Greenmarket Square, the perfect spot to observe…

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Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens

Five miles (eight km) south of the city centre lies the magnificent Kirstenbosch National Botanical Gardens, covering…

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Robben Island

South Africa’s most widely known tourist attraction is probably Robben Island, seven miles (11km) from…

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South African Museum and Planetarium

The imposing South African Museum, dedicated to natural history and the human sciences, contains a huge variety of fascinating…

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St George’s Cathedral

Cape Town's Victorian Gothic style Anglican Cathedral, founded in 1901, is situated in Wale Street and is historically…

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Table Mountain

Cape Town's most popular tourist attraction is also its most famous physical feature is the flat-topped mountain that…

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Township Tours

The N2 highway that connects Cape Town International Airport to the city is lined with townships, consisting of a mixture…

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Victoria & Alfred (V&A) Waterfront

This working harbour, historical site and shopping and entertainment development has become one of Cape Town's most visited…

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