Feel the beat of Cape Town, the Mother City

DDiscover wines at source in the famous Cape Winelands by taking a day tour on one of six wine routes, and explore the historically rich adjacent towns of Stellenbosch, Franschhoek and Paarl. If you’d prefer to tap into hops rather than grapes, a number of locally brewed craft beers are sold at pubs in and around the city.

An abundance of flora may be appreciated within the city environs, from the magnificence of the Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden to a World Heritage Site featuring more than 9000 fynbos (“fine bush”) species in the Table Mountain National Park. As the meeting point of many cultures, Cape Town is dotted with mosques, kramats, churches, synagogues and temples, while its architecture reveals examples of art deco, Cape Dutch and Malay engineering.

CCape Town’s beaches are just breathtaking and a huge drawcard during the hot summer (November to March) months, while winter surf conditions are more favourable for all surf-related disciplines – including extreme wave riding at Dungeons, off Hout Bay. The city’s leisure-loving lifestyle and mountainous backdrop have given rise to countless leisure pursuits: hiking, mountain biking, paragliding, abseiling, helicopter flips and skydiving, you name it and it can be done in this fun city.

Cape Town is also one of the world’s top 20 gay destinations, and boasts many gay-friendly clubs, pubs, restaurants and theatres. A top attractions itinerary for the Mother City ought to include a trip up the aerial cableway to the top of Table Mountain, a New7Wonder of Nature; a boat trip to Robben Island, where world-renowned humanitarian Nelson Mandela was incarcerated for 18 years; a tour of the Winelands in Durbanville or Stellenbosch; a sightseeing trip along Chapman’s Peak Drive; a relaxing afternoon at the V&A Waterfront; and a drive to Simon’s Town, where a breeding colony of African penguins lives on Boulders Beach. This world-class city is special and should be on your bucket list for sure.