Discover 35 hidden attractions, cool sights, and unusual things to do in Cape Town (South Africa). Don't miss out on these must-see attractions: Maximum Security Prison, Bo-Kaap, and Two Oceans Aquarium. Also, be sure to include Castle Military Museum in your itinerary.
Below, you can find the list of the most amazing places you should visit in Cape Town (Western Cape).
Table of Contents
Maximum Security Prison
Maximum Security Prison is an inactive prison at Robben Island in Table Bay, 6.9 kilometers west of the coast of Bloubergstrand, Cape Town, South Africa. It is prominent because Nobel Laureate and former President of South Africa Nelson Mandela was imprisoned there for 18 of the 27 years he served behind bars before the fall of apartheid. After that, three former inmates of this prison Nelson Mandela, Kgalema Motlanthe, and Jacob Zuma have gone on to become President of South Africa.
It is a South African National Heritage Site as well as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.[1]
Address: V&A Waterfront, Cape Town
Bo-Kaap
Displays on local Islamic culture. The Bo-Kaap is an area of Cape Town, South Africa formerly known as the Malay Quarter. It is a former racially segregated area, situated on the slopes of Signal Hill above the city centre and is a historical centre of Cape Malay culture in Cape Town. The Nurul Islam Mosque, established in 1844, is located in the area.
Bo-Kaap is known for its brightly coloured homes and cobble stoned streets. The area is traditionally a multicultural neighbourhood, and 56.9% of its population identify as Muslim. According to the South African Heritage Resources Agency, the area contains the largest concentration of pre-1850 architecture in South Africa, and is the oldest surviving residential neighborhood in Cape Town.[2]
Address: 71 Wale St, Cape Town
Two Oceans Aquarium
Up-close encounters with marine life. The Two Oceans Aquarium is an aquarium located at the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront in Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa. The aquarium was opened on the 13 November 1995 and comprises several exhibition galleries with large viewing windows: The aquarium is named for its location, where the Indian and Atlantic Ocean meet.
- Skretting Diversity Gallery - This gallery showcases marine life of South Africa's two oceans, and the major Benguela and Agulhas Currents that dominate its shores. Notable species include Knysna seahorses, moray eels, anemonefish, cryptic klipfish, sea stars, compass jellyfish, shysharks and temporary exhibitions of foreign species, such as Japanese spider crabs and Atlantic horseshoe crabs.
- I&J Children's Play Centre - Various activities to keep the young visitors entertained. Puppet shows, arts and craft.
- Predator Exhibit - This exhibit holds 2 million litres of seawater. Ragged-tooth sharks as well as various other fishes are found in the exhibit.
- I&J Ocean Exhibit - This exhibit holds 1.6 million litres of seawater. Various fishes, rays and turtles to be seen in this exhibit.
- Kelp Forest Exhibit - One of the aquarium's biggest attractions, this underwater forest is home to shoals of coastal fishes, such as white musselcrackers, steenbras and spotted gully sharks, and living specimens of South Africa's kelp species, sea bamboo, split-fan kelp and bladder kelp. The northern rockhopper penguins also use this exhibit for their exercise.
- Penguin Exhibit - African black-footed penguins, northern rockhopper penguins, African black oystercatcher, mole snake, western leopard toads and African clawed frogs. A river course divided into three sections (upper, middle and lower) with examples of native and invasive freshwater fishes is also present
Address: Dock Rd, 8002 Cape Town
Castle Military Museum
Museum
Signal Hill
Also known as: Seinheuwel
Hilltop city where oil was discovered. Signal Hill, or Lion's Rump, is a landmark flat-topped hill located in Cape Town, next to Lion's Head and Table Mountain.
The hill was also known as "The Lion's Flank", a term now obsolete. Together with Lion's Head, Signal Hill looks like a lion sphinx.[4]
Address: Signal Hill Rd, Cape Town
Adderley Street
Also known as: Adderleystraat
Street in Cape Town, South Africa. Adderley Street is a street in Cape Town, South Africa. It is considered the main street of the central business district of Cape Town. The Christmas lights, night markets, main train station and numerous shops and restaurants and office towers are on this thoroughfare.[5]
Address: Adderley St, 8001 Cape Town
Castle of Good Hope
Also known as: Kasteel die Goeie Hoop
17th-century castle with military museum. The Castle of Good Hope known locally as the Castle or Cape Town Castle is a bastion fort built in the 17th century in Cape Town, South Africa. Originally located on the coastline of Table Bay, following land reclamation the fort is now located inland. In 1936 the Castle was declared a historical monument and following restorations in the 1980s it is considered the best preserved example of a Dutch East India Company fort.[6]
Address: Corner of Buitenkant and Strand streets, 8001 Cape Town Central
Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens
Also known as: Kirstenbosch
Nature reserve with mountain views. Kirstenbosch is an important botanical garden nestled at the eastern foot of Table Mountain in Cape Town. The garden is one of 10 National Botanical Gardens covering five of South Africa's six different biomes and administered by the South African National Biodiversity Institute. Prior to 1 September 2004, the institute was known as the National Botanical Institute.
Kirstenbosch places a strong emphasis on the cultivation of indigenous plants. When Kirstenbosch was founded in 1913 to preserve the flora native to the South Africa’s territory, it was the first botanical garden in the world with this ethos, at a time when invasive species were not considered an ecological and environmental problem.
The garden includes a large conservatory (The Botanical Society Conservatory) exhibiting plants from a number of different regions, including savanna, fynbos, karoo and others. Outdoors, the focus is on plants native to the Cape region, highlighted by the spectacular collections of proteas. It is a level IV accredited Arboreta by the ArbNet Arboretum Accreditation Program and The Morton Arboretum.[7]
Address: Rhodes Drive, Newlands, Cape Town
Chavonnes Battery Museum
Museum in Cape Town, South Africa. The Chavonnes Battery was a fortification protecting Cape Town, South Africa, built in the early 18th century. It is now a museum and function venue.[8]
Address: V A Waterfront, 8001 Cape Town
Table Mountain Aerial Cableway
The Table Mountain Aerial Cableway is a cable car transportation system offering visitors a five-minute ride to the top of Table Mountain in Cape Town, South Africa. It is one of Cape Town's most popular tourist attractions with approximately one million people a year using the Cableway. In January 2019, the Cableway welcomed its 28 millionth visitor.
The upper cable station is on the westernmost end of the Table Mountain plateau, at an elevation of 1,067 metres (3,501 ft). The upper cable station offers views over Cape Town, Table Bay and Robben Island to the north, and the Atlantic seaboard to the west and south. Amenities at the upper station include free guided walking tours, an audio tour, meal options at a café and a wi-fi lounge.[9]
Cape Town Stadium
Also known as: Kaapstad-stadion
Stadium in Cape Town, South Africa. The Cape Town Stadium is an association football and rugby union stadium in Cape Town, South Africa, that was built for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. During the planning stage, it was known as the Green Point Stadium, which was the name of the older stadium on an adjacent site, and this name was also used frequently during World Cup media coverage. It is the home ground of Premier Soccer League clubs Cape Town Spurs and Cape Town City. It has also hosted the South Africa Sevens rugby tournament since 2015.
The stadium is located in Green Point, between Signal Hill and the Atlantic Ocean, close to the Cape Town city center and to the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront, a popular tourist and shopping venue. The stadium had a seating capacity of 64,100 during the 2010 World Cup, later reduced to 58,309. The stadium is connected to the waterfront by a new road connection, Granger Bay Boulevard. Cape Town Stadium is the 5th biggest stadium in South Africa; the biggest in Cape Town.[10]
Address: Vlei Road, 8051 Cape Town Central
St. George's Cathedral
Cathedral in Cape Town, South Africa. St George's Cathedral is the Anglican cathedral in Cape Town, South Africa, and the seat of the Archbishop of Cape Town. St. George's Cathedral is both the metropolitical church of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa and a congregation in the Diocese of Cape Town.
The cathedral was designed by Sir Herbert Baker and the first stones of the foundation were laid in 1901. The cathedral replaced an incomplete church that was originally built at that site.[11]
Address: 5 Wale Street, 8001 Cape Town Central
Llandudno Beach House
Beach
Address: 2 Sunset Close. Llandudno, Cape Town
Labia Theatre
Also known as: Labia
Theatre in Cape Town, South Africa. The Labia Theatre is one of the oldest independent movie theatres in Cape Town, South Africa.[12]
Newlands Stadium
Also known as: Nuwelandstadion
Stadium in Cape Town, South Africa. The Newlands Stadium, referred to as DHL Newlands for sponsorship reasons, is located in Cape Town, South Africa. The stadium has a capacity of 51,900 people, but is not an all-seater venue.
Various sports teams use the stadium as their home base, including:
- Stormers in Super Rugby
- Western Province in the Currie Cup
Tenants Stormers finished in first place in the 2012 Super Rugby season for the first time in their history. Western Province also use the venue for home games. The city's soccer clubs Ajax Cape Town, Santos and the dissolved club Vasco da Gama have in the past occasionally hosted matches at the Newlands Stadium.[13]
Address: 8 Boundary Road, 7700 Newlands
Hout Bay Museum
Museum in Cape Town, South Africa. Hout Bay Museum is a province-aided museum at 4 Andrews Road in Hout Bay near Cape Town, South Africa. Opened on 5 April 1979, the museum has displays on the history of the Hout Bay valley and its people, focusing on forestry, mining, and the fishing industry up to modern times. The museum also organises weekly guided nature walks into the surrounding mountains. The first curator at Hout Bay Museum was Pam Wormser.[14]
Address: 4 Andrews Rd, 7806 Cape Town
Lutheran Church in Strand Street
The Lutheran Church in Strand Street in Cape Town is one of the oldest church buildings in South Africa, dating back to 1792. It was declared a National Monument in 1949.[15]
Address: 98 Strand Street, Cape Town
Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa
Museum in Cape Town, South Africa. The Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa is a contemporary art museum located in the Silo District at the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town, South Africa. It is the largest museum of contemporary African art in the world.
The museum opened on September 22, 2017.[16]
Address: Silo District, V&A Waterfront, 8001 Cape Town
Iziko South African National Gallery
Also known as: Suid-Afrikaanse Nasionale Kunsmuseum
Major museum for African and European art. The Iziko South African National Gallery is the national art gallery of South Africa located in Cape Town. It became part of the Iziko collection of museums – as managed by the Department of Arts and Culture – in 2001. It then became an agency of the Department of Arts and Culture. Its collection consists largely of Dutch, French and British works from the 17th to the 19th century. This includes lithographs, etchings and some early 20th-century British paintings. Contemporary art work displayed in the gallery is selected from many of South Africa's communities and the gallery houses an authoritative collection of sculpture and beadwork.[17]
Address: Government Ave, 8000 Cape Town
Company's Garden
Also known as: Kompanjiestuin
Restaurant in Cape Town, South Africa. The Company's Garden is the oldest garden in South Africa, a park and heritage site located in central Cape Town. The garden was originally created in the 1650s by the region's first European settlers and provided fertile ground to grow fresh produce to replenish ships rounding the Cape. It is watered from the Molteno Dam, which uses water from the springs on the lower slopes of Table Mountain.[18]
Address: 19 Queen Victoria Street, 8001 Cape Town Central
Green Point Lighthouse
Also known as: Groenpunt-vuurtoring
Lighthouse in Cape Town, South Africa. The Green Point Lighthouse, Cape Town is an operational lighthouse on the South African coast. First lit on 12 April 1824, it is located on Mouille Point. The lighthouse was the first solid lighthouse structure on the South African coast and the oldest operational lighthouse in South Africa. The lighthouse was commissioned by acting Governor of the Cape Colony Sir Rufane Shaw Donkin and designed by German architect Herman Shutte. Building commenced in 1821 and was completed in 1823. The lighthouse started operating in 1824. The lighthouse cost approximately £6,420 pounds sterling to build. When the lighthouse was first lit, it burned Argand lamps fueled by sperm whale oil. The light from these lanterns could be seen for 6 nautical miles. The lighthouse was expanded to its present height in 1865. In 1922, the range of the light house was extended to 22 nautical miles when 3rd order dioptric flashing lights were installed. Its present characteristic is a white light flashing every 10 seconds. In 1926, a foghorn was installed in the lighthouse despite a letter of complaint sent to the Mayor of Cape Town in 1923 by Green Point residents. Local Residents call the Green Point Lighthouse "Moaning Minnie".[19]
Address: Beach Rd., Cape Town
District Six Museum
Museum in Cape Town, South Africa. District Six Museum is a museum in the former inner-city residential area and, District Six, in Cape Town, South Africa in an old Methodist church.
District Six Foundation was founded in 1989 and the museum in 1994, as a memorial to the forced movement of 60,000 inhabitants of various races in District Six during Apartheid in South Africa in the 1970s.
The floor of the museum is covered with a big map of the district with hand written notes of former inhabitants, which indicate where their houses were located. One former resident is jazz musician, Abdullah Ibrahim, better known by the name Dollar Brand. Other pieces in the museum are old traffic signs, exhibits of historical moments and lives of families from the area, historical declarations, and exhibits about the demolition.
Furthermore, the museum offers programmes for current inhabitants to help develop the district. The museum is dedicated to the construction of housing, environmental planning, and the organisation of music, literature, and art activities, with the active involvement of the public. The museum's goal is to join people into a community where there is respect for dignity, identity and the co-existence of different races.
In 2003, the museum was honoured with a Prince Claus Award from the Netherlands.[20]
Address: Buitenkant St, 8000 Cape Town
Woodhead Dam
Woodhead Dam is a dam on Table Mountain, Western Cape, South Africa. It was built in 1897 and supplies water to Cape Town. The dam, which was the first large masonry dam in South Africa, was designated as an International Historic Civil Engineering Landmark by the American Society of Civil Engineers in 2008.[21]
Jack Muller Danie Uys Park
The Jack Muller Danie Uys Park is a municipal park situated in Boston, Bellville, Western Cape, South Africa.[22]
Address: Frans Conradie Drive, Cape Town
Cecil John Rhodes Statue
Statue by Herbert Baker. The Cecil John Rhodes Statue is a monument erected at Company's Garden in Cape Town. The statue was erected in 1908. It features a full body replica of Rhodes wearing a three-piece suit, standing with his left hand raised and pointing north. It has been compared to the Jan van Riebeeck statue, which faces south and asserts a different sense of occupation. Despite its size, the present location of the monument in the company's Garden makes it less significant in comparison to that of Jan Smuts at Adderley Street, Cape Town, a location that had been considered for the placement of the Rhodes statue.[23]
De Waal Park
Park in Cape Town, South Africa. De Waal Park is a public park and heritage site in the Oranjezicht suburb of Cape Town. The park, which contains over 120 species of trees, is popular with dog walkers.
The park is roughly rectangular. Molteno Dam borders the park to the south, with the other three sides bordered by roads. There are four tennis courts belonging to the Gardens Tennis Club in the South West corner.
In summer, the park hosts free outdoor concerts on Sunday afternoons.[24]
Address: Upper Orange St, 8001 iKapa
City Hall
Building in Cape Town, South Africa. Cape Town City Hall is a large Edwardian building in Cape Town city centre which was built in 1905. It is located on the Grand Parade to the west of the Castle and is built from honey-coloured oolitic limestone imported from Bath in England.[25]
Address: Cape Town, Grand Parade
Grand Parade
Also known as: Parade
The Grand Parade is the main public square in Cape Town, South Africa.
The square is surrounded by the Cape Town City Hall, the Castle of Good Hope, and the Cape Town railway station.
The square is generally used as a market place and parking area but has also been the venue of major political rallies. It was the first place where Nelson Mandela addressed South Africans following his release from prison in 1990 and also following his election as president on 9 May 1994.
The Grand Parade underwent extensive upgrades prior to being the venue for the 2010 World Cup FIFA Fan Fest in Cape Town.[26]
Address: Darling Street, Cape Town
Tokai Park
Tokai Park, previously known as "Tokai Forest", is a small wing, about 600 ha, of the greater Table Mountain National Park in Cape Town, South Africa. Tokai Park is made up of two sections: upper and lower Tokai Park. Lower Tokai Park is flat, and characterized by the threatened Cape Flats Sand Fynbos. Upper Tokai Park is on the slopes of Constantiaberg Mountain, and consists of conservation area as well as the Tokai Arboretum. Upper Tokai Park is characterized by Peninsula Granite Fynbos, Peninsula Sandstone Fynbos and Afromontane Forest and noted for its diversity.
Until recently, most of Tokai Park was under plantation. However the lease of Tokai Park by MTO Forestry expires in 2025, and the removal of the last of the commercial plantations has been followed by restoration efforts by South African National Parks and other conservation organisations. Today Tokai Park has over 110 plant species threatened with extinction or extinct in the wild and restored at Tokai. Perhaps the best known example of a species that is extinct in the wild, but which is recovering at Tokai Park is Erica verticillata. More than 350 plant species have already naturally returned. There are now over 440 recorded plant species at Lower Tokai Park according to a species list compiled by scientists. According to William Frederick Purcell's list, there may be over 500 plant species expected.
Tokai Park is also a popular recreational area, with walking trails, horse-riding and cycling trails as well as a picnic area. Whilst recreation is regarded by all as an important ecosystem service provided by this park, there has been much contention over shaded walk-ways, with scientists maintaining that shaded recreation is not compatible with Fynbos restoration, and a group of the public who wish to retain the plantations for shaded recreation.[27]
Church Square
Church Square in Cape Town, South Africa, lies in front of the Groote Kerk at the intersection of Parliament and Spin Streets. It currently features a park.
In the middle of the square lies a statue of Jan Hendrik Hofmeyr (Onze Jan). The name Spin Street comes from a silk–spinning factory between Plein Street and Parliament Street, that was operating for a short time. A plaque on a traffic island on Spin Street commemorates the slave market once using the square. A building south of the square housed the old slave quarters and later was home to the High Court. Today, it houses a cultural and historical museum. In 1961, the square was declared a heritage site.[28]
Address: Church Square, 8000 Cape Town Central
Iziko South African Museum
Also known as: Suid-Afrikaanse Museum
Fossils, animals and man-made artifacts. The Iziko South African Museum is a South African national museum located in Cape Town. The museum was founded in 1825, the first in the country. It has been on its present site in the Company's Garden since 1897. The museum houses important African zoology, palaeontology and archaeology collections.
Iziko is a Xhosa word meaning "hearth".[29]
Address: 25 Queen Victoria St, 8001 Cape Town
Slave Lodge
Museum in Cape Town, South Africa. The Slave Lodge is a South African social history museum located in Cape Town. It has been on its present site in the Company's Garden.[30]
Address: Wale St, 8000 Cape Town
Milnerton Lighthouse
Also known as: Milnerton-vuurtoring
Lighthouse in Cape Town, South Africa. The Milnerton Lighthouse, commissioned on 1960-03-10, is located on Table Bay shore in Milnerton, South Africa. Its red sector covers Robben Island.[31]
Address: Woodbridge Island, Cape Town
Cape Town International Convention Centre
Convention center in Cape Town, South Africa. The Cape Town International Convention Centre is a convention centre in Cape Town, South Africa. The centre opened in June 2003. It is run as a partnership between the City of Cape Town and the Western Cape government.[32]
Heart of Cape Town Museum
Museum in Cape Town, South Africa. The Heart of Cape Town Museum is a museum complex in the Observatory suburb of Cape Town, South Africa. It is in the Groote Schuur Hospital on Main Road. The hospital was founded in 1938 and is famous for being the institution where the first human heart transplant took place, conducted by University of Cape Town-educated surgeon Christiaan Barnard on the patient Louis Washkansky. The museum opened on December 3, 2007 marking the 40th anniversary of the heart transplant by Christiaan Barnard. The Heart of Cape Town Museum honors everyone who played a major role in a surgical feat that created a new medical era. It also brings attention to ethical and moral implications that came up at the time. It also highlights the ways in which Barnard's accomplishment put South Africa and the University of Cape Town on an international stage.[33]
Address: Groote Schuur Dr, 7925 Cape Town