Cape Town, Western Cape

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Cape Town's Table Mountain and the V&A Waterfront.

© South African Tourism

As well as being the oldest city in South Africa, Cape Town is the country's legislative capital and is best known for Table Mountain, a New7Wonder of Nature.

The mountain beckons visitors to take a ride to the top in a modern cable car, a perfect opportunity to get astounding views of the city and the oceans. The mountain forms part of the Table Mountain National Park, which in turn forms part of the Cape Floral Region, one of South Africa’s eight World Heritage sites. Cape Town is also home to the Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden, a 36ha garden featuring about 7 000 indigenous plants.

Cape Town boasts many historical buildings, including South Africa’s oldest, the Castle of Good Hope, which is open to the public as a museum featuring 18^th-century décor. It is also home to the Castle Military Museum.

The Cape is world famous for its superb wines, which have given rise to a tourism sector all of its own. Wine estate tours are a must, and include tastings, wine sales and excellent restaurants in the wine-growing regions of Stellenbosch, Paarl and Franschhoek. Cape Dutch architecture, made famous by high gables and thatched roofs, is best enjoyed in these Cape Winelands, where working farms built in the 1600 and 1700s still stand today.

The Victoria & Alfred Waterfront at Cape Town harbour is a popular destination that houses the Two Oceans Aquarium, hotels, a mega shopping complex, restaurants, cinemas and coffee shops.

A short boat ride from the harbour lies Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela and other political prisoners were held during apartheid. Ferries ship boatloads of tourists to this World Heritage Site to visit the former prison and museum.

The beaches around Cape Town are beautiful, many with mountainous backdrops. Clifton and Camps Bay are the most trendy and popular among bathers, while Llandudno and Muizenberg are frequented by surfers.

The city itself is best enjoyed on foot to make the most of historical buildings and cultural icons such as the Renaissance-style City Hall, Houses of Parliament, St George’s Cathedral, Bo-Kaap Museum, Gold of Africa Museum, South African Jewish Museum, the Slave Lodge in Adderley Street and the many art galleries.

Or discover the highlights of Cape Town in two hours by taking a scenic open-top bus tour, which takes in the V&A Waterfront, Table Mountain and a coastal jaunt back to the city via Camps Bay.