What to do in Cape Town?

Ach, there are so many highlights! Cape Town is crammed with them! Table Mountain, Robben island, National Gallery, Slave Lodge, Kirstenbosch, V&A Waterfront, Long Street, Lion's Head, the beaches of Camps Bay and Clifton, The Company Garden, the 2 Oceans Aquarium, District Six Museum, and much more!

Quick Tips:

- Hike up Table Mountain: Some things you just gotta do!
- Hike Lion's Head on Full Moon: One of Cape Town's traditions
- Join a township tour. Get to know the other side of South Africa, and meet wonderful people and het to know their culture, way of life and history.
Just like a hike up Table Mountain, this is something you gotta do! Besides, by visiting the townships, you contribute to a better life in these vulnerable areas as you support local tourism.

Best Way To Get Around:

Exploring the city centre? Get a map and walk! It is the best way to get to know a city and its vibe.

But there is also the City Explorer, a topless double-decker bus that cruises along all the major highlights of Cape Town. A guide provides you with necessary info about the city.

You can also join a city walk, for instance the Footsteps to Freedom Walks. During this highly interesting stroll through Cape Town's city centre, a guide tells you about the history, culture, and people of Cape Town.

Actually, Long Street Baths - one of the hidden treasures of Cape Town - is not a spa but a Turkish Bath House. I discovered these baths last weekend, after a friend and me decided that is was time to get rid of our stress & tension and to give sore and stiff muscles their well-deserved break.

After four hours of steaming, swimming, sweating in the sauna and steaming and more relaxing I can truly say: This is my oasis in the heart of Cape Town. I felt relaxed and reborn. Especially due to Margie's wonderful massage. This sweet lady (61 years old) has worked here for 25 years and makes you feel completely at home, she explains you how a steam bath works and what good it does for you, and she makes sure you relax. She sees that as her duty.

What is nice about the Long Street Baths, apart from the fact that it is central, is that there are separate days for men and women. A day in the baths, including Margie's massage, costs R72 (±10 euro). Or R52 if you feel you don't need one.

On the slopes of Devil's Peak, Table Mountain's left shoulder, lies Rhodes Memorial. It’s a huge temple like construction made out of granite quarried from Table Mountain, carrying the inscription "To the Spirit and Life Work of Cecil John Rhodes, who loved and served South Africa”.

THE MONUMENT
The stairs are lined by statues of bronze lions overlooking the Cape.
Herbert Baker designed the memorial and its construction began in 1906, but was only officially dedicated to Rhodes on 5th July 1912.
One can, besides visiting the monument, go for a hike through the pine forests surrounding the memorial with a breakfast/lunch at Rhodes Memorial Tea Gardens afterwards. Or just sit on the steps and overlook the city, airport, the Cape Flats, Hottentots Holland Mountains and Genadendal, the President's Cape Town residence.


CECIL RHODES
Sir John Cecil Rhodes (1853) came to South Africa in 1870 at the age of 17. In 1871 he moved to Kimberley, due to the diamond rush. Later, he would be the owner De Beers Consolidated Mines and later the Consolidated Gold Fields of South Africa, operating from the Witwatersrand.
He became the Prime Minister of the Cape until he resigned in 1896. He introduced the Glen Grey Act to push Black people from their lands and make way for industrial development.

EXTENTION CAPE COLONY
During his rule, he extended the Cape colony towards the north and the west. It was Rhode’s intention to bring the two Boer Republics, the Orange Free State and the South African Republic in Transvaal (proclaimed between 1854 and 1856) under British control.
To reach his goal, Rhodes in 1885 persuaded Britain to annex Bechuanaland (now Botswana), in an attempt to prevent the Boer Transvaal Republic from extending its territory northwards.

FROM CAPE TO CAIRO
It was Rhodes' dream to build a railway from the Cape to Cairo and to have every Africa country along this route under British control.
Rhodes used his wealth to pursue his dream of expanding Britain's empire in Africa, and in his British South Africa Company, which had a police force, colonised Mashonaland and Matabeleland, the present Zimbabwe and Zambia.

THE TWO RHODESIAS
When the indigenous population rebelled against the coming of the White settlers to their land, the British South Africa Company police crushed them. The conquered lands were named Southern and Northern Rhodesia. Today, the two countries are known as Zimbabwe and Zambia.

One of the most interesting museums in Cape Town is the one dedicated to the people who once lived in the now-vanished District Six.

WHITES ONLY
In 1965, the governement declared Disctrict Six a a "whites-only" zone and its inhabitanst were forcibly removed which meant the end of an impoverished yet vibrant and multi-racial community. Over 60 000 people had to leave their home, livelihoods, community centres and social networks and were relocated to the Cape Flats, more than 30km kilometres away.
THE MUSEUM
In an effort to preserve the memories of District Six and create a monument to the thousands of people around the country forcibly relocated under apartheid, the District Six Museum Foundation was established in 1989.
SOPHIA TOWN
District Six was not the only neighbourhood in South Africa where people had to leave their homes to make space for whites. The black and colored community Sophiatown in Johannesburg was destroyed as well, to become a white residential area with the name Triomf – Afrikaans for Triumph. In total 65 000 people were removed and relocated to Soweto.

Every Sunday, a huge flea and crafts market is held on the parking lot of Greenpoint stadium in the suburb of Greenpoint. This is, apart from Greenmarket Square in the centre of Cape Town, the perfect place to buy your (South) African souvenirs.
What they sell? What don’t they sell is a better question. Anyway, you can find masks, clothes, paintings, drawings, statues, jewelry, wood works, pottery, bead work, toys, food, interior stuff, and everything else you are looking for.
How to get there? The easiest way to get to Greenpoint is with a mini taxi in the direction of the Seapoint suburb, and ask them to stop at the 7-Eleven/ Friendly Store. Greenpoint Stadium/Buena Vista are just a few footsteps away.
You can catch one of these mini taxis on for instance Adderley Street, at the zebra crossing between The Golden Acre shopping centre and Woolworth's.

Apart from buying and browsing for African curio, souvenirs, crafts, leather work, and African music, Greenmarket is just one of the many historic sites in Cape Town.
The square dates back to 1696, when the first Burgher Watch House (Now the Old Town House) was built. As a result, the square was known as the Burgher Watch Square. From here guards patrolled the streets of Cape Town to maintain law and order.
The Old Town House, the most prominent building on the square, accommodated the guards and served as the Burgher Senate. From 1840 till 1905 the Old Town House served as Cape Town’s City Hall.
It was in the 19th century that the square’s name was changed to Greenmarket Square. Here the fresh fruit and vegetables were sold by slaves earning their coolie money or slave earnings. The slaves used a tavern next to the Old Town House for drinking and gambling.
While slaves were at work, important proclamations were read from the balcony of the Old Town House, including the slave code. These were some of the rules slaves had to follow:

- They had to go bare feet and wear passes.
- Talking to another slave was answered with corporal punishment.
- Slaves had to indoors by 10pm.
- Slaves who raised their hands against a slave owner were put to death.


In 1914, the Old Town House became the city's first art museum. Currently it is the proud owner of the world-renowned Michaelis Collection, consisting of early and priceless Dutch and Flemish paintings, like those, for instance, of Johan Vermeer and Frans Hals.

Together with Table Mountain and Robben Island Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens is one of the top attractions of Cape Town.

This beautiful garden is situated on the eastern slopes of Table Mountain, and is world renowned for its beauty and diversity of the Cape flora.

Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens cover 528 hectares and was purchased by Sir Cecil Rhodes to preserve the area. With his death, Rhodes handed Kirstenbosch over to the government.In 1913, Kirstenbosch was established as a National Botanical Garden with the aim to research and protect the indigenous flora of Southern Africa.

Today Kirstenbosch only boasts flora indigenous to southern Africa, and harbors over 5000 species, including favourite South African plants such as proteas, ericas, restios and pelargoniums. Here one can spend hours wandering through the splendour of countless different botanical displays, such as the Fragrance Garden, the Dell, the Cycad Amphitheatre, Matthew's Rockery and the Fynbos Walk.

Alternatively, organise a summer picnic on the green lawns, gazing at the breathtaking mountain backdrop while listening to the music of one of Kirstenbosch's many sunset concerts held every summer.

The purpose of Robben Island changed a number of times over the last century. It used to be a leprosy colony, then an ordinary prison, and it served as a defence fortification during the two world wars. And from the second half of the 20th century until the 1990s, Robben Island was one of the most notorious prison islands in the world.

Here, on this tiny island 11km from Cape Town's coastline, thousands of anti-apartheid activists and dissidents were held for years, including Nelson "Madiba" Mandela, South Africa's first democratically elected president and one of the world's most-loved personalities.

I have been to Robben Island a couple of times, and I have the feeling I will go back there at least once more. Tours around the island and through the prison are simply extremely interesting.

A trip to Robben Island takes about 3 hours and takes visitors to the prison and on an island tour, with a viewing of the limestone quarry, Garrison Church (1841), lighthouse (1863), Leper's Church (1895), guesthouse (1895), and Kramat, or Muslim shrine.

Robben Island is home of a variety of seabirds, including the African (jackass) penguin and a colony of Cape cormorants. There is also wildlife, such as the bontebok and ostriches.

During your trip, you not only learn about the cruelty and brutality of the apartheid regime and the miserable situation in the prison, but you also learn about courage, faith, and strength, and about how prisoners dealt with their situation, what they did to prevent their spirits from being broken, how they made friendships amongst another, and how they forgave and moved on.

Detail: The tours through the prison, which was built by the prisoners themselves on top of an old leprosy grave yard, are given by former prisoners.

In 1999, Robben Island was added to UNESCO's World Heritage list. Several times a day, ferries depart from the Robben Island Exhibition and Information Centre, situated next door to the Clock Tower building.

This granite building harbors a museum depicting the history of Robben Island and the political struggle against oppression and for freedom and democracy. Here one can purchase lithographs of original Nelson Mandela paintings.

ADVICE: A ticket to Robben island costs about R150 (±17 Euro) and is to be purchased at the Nelson Mandela Gateway. If you have a credit card, you may make reservations over the phone. This is highly recommended in summer, as Robben Island is one of the most popular attraction; prevent disappointment and make that reservation.

There is no doubt: One of the best days in Cape Town is the 2nd of January. On this day, the Tweede Nuwe Jaar, or Second New Year, the entire city is the stage of the biggest party of the year: the Cape Town Minstrel Carnival, or Kaapse Klopse.

I witnessed this event last year for the first time, and I swore to be there in 2006, as the sight of thousands and thousands (20,000) minstrels, young and old, was unforgettable.

I kept my promise: Like last year, the 2006 carnival was, again, a bright, colorful, vibrant, eclectic, musical, warm, passionate event in which true Cape culture was represented. Thousands and thousands of minstrels, drum bands, and dancers made their way through the city dressed in colourful outfits and brightly painted faces. They came from all over and around Cape Town, but were mostly from coloured communities like Elsies Riverm, the former District Six, Heideveld, and Mitchell's Plain.

The parade starts in the area that used to be host to District Six, moves through the entire city, and ends at Greenpoint Stadium in the suburb of Greenpoint.

The Cape Carnival is mainly the tradition of coloured Capetonians (those people of mixed descent) and has roots in the 19th century. The opinions about the origins of the carnival differ. Some claim that until slavery in the Cape was abolished by the Brits in 1834, slaves had their one and only day off per year on the 2nd of January.

Others claim that the Cape Carnival is a tribute to the official abolishment of slavery in the Cape (December 1, 2025), a historic moment that was celebrated by the slaves every year with parades and other festivities.

Others again say the carnival is a tribute the white minstrel entertainers, with black-painted faces and brightly coloured outfits, who stopped by in Cape Town on American ocean liners in the late 18th and 19th century.

Whatever the story is: When you are in Cape Town during Christmas and New Year's Eve this year, make sure not to miss this spectacular event!

The Company Gardens are the oldest gardens in South Africa, established in 1652 by the VOC (Dutch East India Company) to supply passing ships with fruit and vegetables. They now boast a wide variety of trees and plant species. The Garden is inhabited by a battalion of tame grey squirls – and one white one, offspring of the squirls John Cecil Rhodes brought with from the United States of American.

The Company Gardens provide a perfect spot for a bit of relaxation in the heart of Cape Town. You can stroll down Government Avenue, which runs through the Gardens. This oak tree-lined lane takes you along places of interest as the Houses of Parliament and the Tuynhuys.

The Tuynhuys, meaning garden house, is the office of the State President and was built in 1700 as the Company's Guest House to accommodate important visitors to the Cape.

Apart from that, Government Avenue leads you to the South African Museum, the National Gallery and maany other interesting museums. One of these is the Cultural History Museum or Slave Lodge, situated close to the entrence of the Company Gardens.

The building was built 1679 by Willem Adriaan van der Stel to house the slaves who worked in the gardens for the VOC. It is the second oldest existing colonial structure in South Africa.

After the second British occupation in 1806, when the British claim to the Cape was recognised by the rest of Europe, the Slave Lodge was turned into government offices in 1807. At that stage 283 slaves were housed in the Lodge: 187 men, 73 women, and 23 children.

The governor, the Earl of Caledon, sold some of slaves at a public auction and the remaining slaves were moved into the western wing of the Lodge. In 1811, these remaining slaves were moved a new slave lodge in the Gardens. These 135 slaves were manumitted in 1828, six years before universal emancipation of slaves in the British Empire.

The Old Slave Lodge now houses collections of Cape silverware and furniture, weaponry from across the globe, coins, and other interesting items connected to South Africa’s history.

It also houses an interesting section on the early history of the Cape, including some VOC relics and postal stones. These stones marked caches of letters that were left by the crews of ships, in the hope that they would be picked up by the next ship heading in the right direction. In use as a courtroom for over a century, the building was subsequently used for various other quarters of officialdom.