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The name Cape Town seems a little understated for such a stunning city.
However, the name is a perfect reminder of the ‘Mother City’s’ humble beginnings as a remote refreshment stop for seafarers of the mid 1600s on their way from Europe to the East Indies. It’s easy to imagine those early sailors and colonists looking in awe at the sweeping slopes of Table Mountain. Soaring a thousand metres high, today it provides a spectacular backdrop for South Africa’s second largest city. We just have to assume the founding fathers had no inkling of what an amazing place this would become. Otherwise, they’d have opted for a much grander moniker!
Here’s a checklist of our top ten things to do in Cape Town on a first visit.
Watch our video of ten top things to do in South Africa:
10 Great Things to Do in South Africa on a First Visit | Ultimate South Africa Travel Guide
South Africa is a country that many Aussies dream of visiting for its rich cultural heritage, fabulous food and wine, and of course, spectacular wildlife viewing. It’s a destination like no other, and in this episode of our online travel series we bring you tips for ten great things to do in South Africa on a first visit.
1. Fly high to the top of Table Mountain
Start your exploration in the central business district (the City Bowl, as it’s known locally), which is dotted with gabled Cape Dutch colonial buildings and Georgian-era mansions. From here, you can make your way to the departure point for one of the city’s signature experiences — a cable car ride up to the top of Table Mountain for jaw dropping views of the city, Robben Island (more on that in a moment), and the vast South Atlantic Ocean. Operation of the cable car is weather dependant, so be flexible with your plans if it’s a grey or gusty day.
2. Explore Bo-Kaap
There are three key cultural highlights close to the CBD that you shouldn’t miss. The first is Bo-Kaap — the colourful Malay Quarter where Muslim slaves brought from the East Indies later settled as free men after the abolition of slavery in the cape in the early 1830s. The free men painted their homes all the colours of the rainbow as a reminder of their heritage and many of those original houses still stand today. It’s an Instagrammer’s dream.
3. Visit the District Six Museum
The second cultural must-see is the District Six Museum, which is situated just a short walk from Bo-Kaap. Part museum/part art gallery, this facility chronicles the forced relocation of black South Africans from the vibrant community of District Six in Cape Town to the sprawling and overcrowded Cape Flats townships outside the city in the 1960s. The remotion made way for a new whites-only district. The museum is thought-provoking and provides vital context for understanding the apartheid period and just how far South Africa has come in the past few decades.
4. Admire the art at Zeitz MOCAA
If you have time, we also recommend seeing the city’s newest cultural attraction — Zeitz MOCAA (Museum of Contemporary Art Africa). It occupies a cavernous former grain silo complex near the V&A Waterfront and encompassing more than one hundred different exhibition spaces. Needless to say, you’ll need time on your side to do the collection of modern art justice.
5. Walk in the footsteps of Nelson Mandela
The most infamous of Cape Town’s attractions is Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela was incarcerated for eighteen years for his resistance against apartheid. The island prison is now a UNESCO World Heritage-listed site, and anyone wanting to learn about South African history or Mandela himself will benefit from a visit here. You’ll take a 30-minute boat ride out to the island from the V&A Waterfront, before touring the eerie maximum-security facility with a knowledgeable guide. Some are aging ex-prisoners, and hearing their emotive stories of life on the island is a powerful experience.
Once you’re back in town, complete the story by taking in the grand exterior of Cape Town City Hall. Built in 1905 in Italian Renaissance style, it was here that Mandela appeared on the balcony on the 11th of February 1990 in front of 100,000 cheering Capetonians at the end of close to three decades spent behind bars. His release effectively signalled the end of apartheid.
6. Step back in time at the Castle of Good Hope
It’s a short stroll from City Hall over to the Castle of Good Hope — officially recognised as South Africa’s oldest building. Now a museum, the star-shaped fort was constructed in the late 17th century by the Dutch East India company to protect the Dutch settlement at the Cape. It was originally located on the coastline but much of the land on which the City Bowl now stands is reclaimed. Hence the fort is now inland. There are tours and temporary exhibitions on offer.
7. Take pot luck on a great meal
There’s no shortage of great places to eat in Cape Town. Many restaurants are concentrated in and around the V&A Waterfront, but it’s very touristy so don’t be afraid to venture further afield. Perched on top of the Old Biscuit Mill in Woodstock (a 10-minute taxi ride from the City Bowl or Waterfront), The Pot Luck Club delivers fabulous 180-degree views and a stylish but laidback ambience. You won’t have to take pot luck on the food; it’s a flavourful fusion of Mediterranean, South American, and Asian flavours from globally renowned chef Luke Dale Roberts.
8. Go grape grazing
The original sea journey from Europe to the Cape took many months and scurvy was a major health issue for seafarers. Vineyards were planted to produce wine, which was commonly believed to alleviate the condition. Today, the Cape Winelands region north of Cape Town is a popular day trip destination. With its Mediterranean-style climate of warm dry summers and crisp winters, the area produces bold reds (such as merlot and shiraz) and zesty whites (including chardonnay and sauv blanc). Book a wine tour and let someone else take care of the driving and decisions on which cellar doors to visit.
9. Do a day trip to Cape Peninsula
Day trippers also flock to the Cape Peninsula, which offers some truly sublime sightseeing. Travelling south from Cape Town, you’ll soon find yourself immersed in glorious Table Mountain National Park. It covers about 50 percent of the peninsula and exists largely to protect flora rather than fauna. It’s part of the World Heritage-listed Cape Floral Region — home to over 9,000 species of plants, including many types of proteas.
Continue on to Cape Point — commonly but mistakenly thought to be the southern-most tip of Africa (Cape Agulhas has that honour). It was originally known by sailors as the Cape of Storms, but was given a more positive spin by the then King of Portugal and renamed the Cape of Good Hope (which you’ll no doubt recall learning about at school).
Back on the road, hug the peninsula’s eastern coastline to visit Boulders Beach — home to a colony of plucky African penguins.
10. Shop up a storm at the V&A
And finally, if you’re up for some holiday retail wrangling, head for the aforementioned V&A Waterfront — home to a plethora of fashion chain stores, designer boutiques, and general purveyors of tourist tat. The regenerated precinct is named after Queen Victoria and her son Alfred, rather than husband Albert (Alfred initiated the construction of the first breakwater in Table Bay in 1860). Those with no interest in shopping can sit and watch the working harbour in action.
For more travel inspiration, visit www.southafrica.net.
Browse our range of South Africa tours and experiences here.
Do you have any suggestions to add to our list of top things to do in Cape Town on a first visit? We would love to hear from you. Join the conversation on our Facebook page.
Additional images: Bigstock
About the writer
Adam Ford is editor of Top Oz Tours and Travel Ideas, and a travel TV presenter, writer, blogger, and photographer. He has travelled extensively through Europe, Asia, North America, Africa, and the Middle East. Adam worked as a travel consultant for a number of years with Flight Centre before taking up the opportunity to travel the world himself as host of the TV series Tour the World on Network Ten. He loves to experience everything a new destination has to offer and is equally at home in a five-star Palazzo in Pisa or a home-stay in Hanoi.
About the writer
Julietta Henderson is a Melbourne-based travel writer and author. Originally planning to visit London for six months, she ended up staying for ten years and now divides her time between her home in Australia and several months of the year in the UK, Italy, and France. Julietta has travelled extensively through Europe, North America, Indonesia, New Zealand, Australia, and Russia, and believes the keys to a great travel experience are an open heart, an open mind, and an open-ended ticket. Her first novel — The Funny Thing About Norman Foreman — is now available in bookstores.
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