 The V&A Waterfront in Cape Town, backed by Table Mountain with characteristic tablecloth.
The V&A Waterfront in Cape Town, backed by Table Mountain with characteristic tablecloth.
Cape Town is a popular tourist destination, offering the visitor a wide variety of activities such as water sports (including diving, surfing, kite-surfing and sailing), angling, wine tasting, shopping, scenic drives, mountaineering, hiking, mountain-biking, kite-flying, hang-gliding and parasailing, boat trips, and bird- and whale-watching.
When to visit
The most popular time for visitors is the summer from October to March, though some visitors from more temperate climates might find the height of summer (December and January) uncomfortably hot. The city also becomes very crowded then as the local holidaymakers descend on the city for their summer school holidays.
Main attractions
Some of the most popular tourist attractions are:
The Victoria & Alfred Waterfront, a popular shopping venue with hundreds of shops, fine hotels, a world-class marina and an aquarium
cable car
Cape Point
Robben Island
Kirstenbosch botanical gardens
Signal Hill with the Noon gun
Chapman's Peak Drive
The Cape Wine Route
The Beaches
 The central area of Cape Town as seen from Table Mountain.
The central area of Cape Town as seen from Table Mountain.
The Table Mountain Cableway takes visitors to the top of Table Mountain, though it can be closed in gale-force winds. The operating status (open or closed) of the cable car is posted on a signboard at Kloof Nek.
The Cape Peninsula and the region around Cape Town offer wonderful walking and hiking opportunities. Table Mountain, Lion's Head and Devil's Peak) can be accessed very easily from right in the middle of the city, and the surrounding mountain ranges offer further opportunities.
The Kirstenbosch botanical gardens are one of the city's most popular attractions, with a stunning setting and a world-class botanical collection. Kirstenbosch also hosts a popular series of outdoor concerts on Sunday evenings during summer.
Boat trips can be undertaken from the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront to visit Robben Island. Other boat trips can be undertaken from Simon's Town (the main South African naval base) on the False Bay coast to Seal Island and Cape Point and from Hout Bay, a fishing harbour on the Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula, to Duiker Island which has a population of 6000 seals in breeding season dropping to 1500 seals in the off season. Cruises around the Cape Point are also popular among tourists.
Cape Town is famous for its beaches. Blouberg beach has the classic view of Table Mountain and is a world class spot for windsurfing and kitesurfing, mainly in the summer seasons (September to February). Other popular beaches include Clifton, home to the rich and famous, and Boulders Beach, home to a colony of penguins.
The annual Cape Town Minstrel Carnival or Kaapse Klopse is a minstrel festival held annually on 2 January or 'Tweede Nuwe Jaar'. Competing teams of minstrels parade in brightly coloured costumes, either carrying colourful umbrellas or playing an array of musical instruments.
Highlights nearby
Stellenbosch and Franschhoek are popular historic towns within a few hours' drive of Cape Town.
Lambert's Bay where boat trips run to view them. Dusky Dolphin can be seen along the same stretch of coast but is more active with a swept back dorsal fin which is distinctly two-toned. This species may be seen from the ferry to Robben Island.
The Cape Wine Route includes informative tours to local wineries offering wine tasting.
August and September are the best time to visit the Namaqualand region on the west coast of South Africa, because the desert comes to life after the winter rains and the wild flowers bloom in profusion.
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