Cape Town Attractions

A notable building in Strand Street is the Koopmans-de Wet House built in 1701 on a U-shaped ground-plan, with a façade by Louis Thibault (1771). The original interior has been preserved and gives a vivid impression of the life-style of a successful 18th C businessman. The period furniture is the work of both European and South African craftsmen.

ARTscape Theatre, formerly the Nico Malan Opera House and Theatre, Cape Town's most modern theater, stages a full program of opera, ballet, drama and concerts.

The theater is linked with the Civic Centre, the headquarters of municipal administration.

Adderley Street, the city's principal shopping street, runs past the railroad station (1970) and tourist information office and comes to the Golden Acre shopping center (1978).

During the construction of the center the remains of a water reservoir of 1663 were discovered and were incorporated in the new building.

On the ground floor is the High Water Mark, showing where the coastline of Table Bay ran in 1663.

There are more shops in the underground mall between the Strand Concourse and Adderley Street.

The Cape Town City Hall (1905) is a striking mix of Italian Neo-Renaissance and British colonial style. The 60m/200ft high bell-tower, with a carillon installed in 1923, was modeled on London's Big Ben.

The District Six Museum is for and about the people of the now-vanished district. On the museum's floor is a large-scale map on which former residents are encouraged to label their old homes and features of their neighbourhood.

70,000 residents of this multi-ethnic area were displaced in 1966 when the South African government decided the community was to be a white one. After District Six was bulldozed in 1982, the government changed the street layout and the names of the few roads remaining. Much of the area lays empty.

The Gold of Africa Museum is housed in the Martin Melck House, which was built in 1783. The interior of the house has been restored to capture the original floors, windows, and walls.

The exhibits feature a collection of treasures from the gold-rich African kingdoms that are not as well known as the gold of Egypt. Each piece holds historic legend, and ritual symbolism.

This square between the Castle and City Hall was originally laid out in 1710 as a parade ground. It is now a parking lot, except for one corner where there are flower and fruit stalls. A flea market is held here on Wednesdays and Saturdays.

The Groote Kerk (Great Church) is the oldest and best known church in South Africa. The first church on this site, built in 1678, was rebuilt in 1703 and again in 1836. The bell-tower dates from 1703. The Groote Kerk is the mother church of the Nederduitse Gereformeerde Kerk (NGK) of South Africa. The pulpit was carved by Anton Anreith.

The Groote Schuur Hospital, established in 1932, which became world-famed in December 1967, when Christiaan Barnard (b. 1922 in Beaufort West), a surgeon working in the hospital from 1958 to 1983, performed the world's first heart transplant.

Opposite the Library is the imposing façade of the Houses of Parliament. The original building, in which parliamentary sittings were first held in 1814, has been much altered and extended since then. Here the South African Parliament meets between the end of January and the end of June; during the rest of the year it meets in Pretoria. Its debates are open to the public. When Parliament is not sitting there are conducted tours of the building.

In the pleasant suburb of Rosebank is the house in which Irma Stern, an artist of German origin, lived from 1928 until her death in 1966. It is now a museum with over 200 of her works as well as antiques and other objets d'art.

The Josephine Mill (1818) is Cape Town's only surviving and operational watermill. Its original owner named the mill after Crown Princess Josephine of Sweden.

The three-storey national monument with a towering chimney and large waterwheel is used as a gallery and meeting space.

Kogelberg Nature Reserve is located south-east of Cape Town and is noted for its remote and unspoiled wilderness. The reserve has mountain peaks, valleys and over 1,600 plant species. There are also three sections of indigenous forest - Louwsbos, Platbos and Oudebos.

Long Street is a principal street in Cape Town, located in the City Bowl quarter. It is one of Cape Town's oldest streets and features a number of restored Victorian buildings. This busy and colourful street is home to restaurants, shops, and galleries.

In Strand Street is the Lutheran Church, one of the oldest Protestant churches in South Africa, consecrated in 1787. The bell-tower was added in 1818. The pulpit and choir screen were carved by Anton Anreith.

Mostert's Mill is a windmill dating from 1792 which is still in working order.

In the Observatory district is South Africa's oldest observatory, which dates from 1821. Since the construction of the South African Astronomical Observatory in the Karoo, the Cape Town Observatory has been used only by amateur astronomers.

The Tuynhuys was built in 1751. As the official residence of the State President, it is not open to the public.

In Riebeeck Square, where the first settlers on the Cape set up their camp, is St Stephen's Church. Originally a theater and opera house, it was converted into a Dutch Reformed church in 1839.

Rust-en-Vreugd, is a mansion in Cape Dutch-style built in 1778 with a magnificent façade. It houses a section of the William Fehr Collection including watercolors, African paintings and antiques.

From Signal Hill (350m/1150ft), to the west of the city center, there is a good view of the city and Table Bay. It is worth driving up after dark to see the shimmering sea of lights that is Cape Town at night. The approach to the hill is from the south by way of Signal Hill Street, which branches off Kloof Nek Road.

Every day (except Sunday) at noon a cannon (actuated by an electronic impulse from the Observatory) fires a single shot. In earlier days this "noon gun" served to give the exact time to ships anchored in the bay.

The South African Air Force Museum illustrates the history of the South African Air Force from the 1920s to the recent past, with the main emphasis on the two world wars. The museum has flight simulators for visitors to experience plus aeronautical artifacts and actual aircraft.

The South African Association of Arts has a collection of contemporary South African art. The display is changed every three weeks.

The modern South African Jewish Museum is entered through the oldest synagogue in the country (1863). Displays include a collection of Jewish art and exhibits illustrating the history of Jews in South Africa through the use of multi-media displays and includes a recreation of a typical village in Lithuania, a country to which most South African Jews can trace their origins.

The South African National Gallery is mainly devoted to South African artists but also contains works by British, French and Dutch masters of the 17th-20th C.

Frequent temporary exhibitions focusing on photography, sculpture, beadwork, textiles and architecture are included.

Near the Josephine Mill, the largest rugby museum in the world houses a valuable collection of mementos dating back to 1891.

The Suid-afrikaanse Sendinggestig Museum is housed in an old slave chapel built by the South African Missionary Society in 1804. The restored building's exhibits detail Christian missions in the Western Cape.

St George's Street is a pleasant pedestrian precinct with trees, fountains, benches and numerous shops, enlivened by street musicians and other performers.

St Mary's Cathedral is the oldest Roman Catholic church in South Africa.

Heerengracht, which runs towards the town center, leads to two bronze statues (by John Week and Dirk Wolbers) of Jan van Riebeeck and his wife Maria. They stand near the spot where van Riebeeck is believed to have landed on April 7th 1652.

The beaches of Camps Bay and Clifton are divided into small sections by rocks and tend to be crowded in good weather. The Round House, originally used by Lord Charles Somerset as a hunting lodge and now a restaurant has fine views over the little town.

Sea Point is a populous suburb of Cape Town. Between the modern high-rise blocks there still survive some handsome Victorian buildings. Strung along the 3km/2mi long seafront promenade are a succession of hotels, restaurants and night clubs.

The Twelve Apostles are 12 outlying peaks southwest of Table Mountain.