By air
Cape Town International (CPT), ~20 km
South Africa
Cape Town, South Africa
A mountain city between two oceans
Getting there
Best time to visit
November to March — summer
Don't miss
Table Mountain
The V&A Waterfront
Robben Island
Kirstenbosch Gardens
Things to do
Table Mountain by cable car
The Cape Peninsula drive
Robben Island
The V&A Waterfront
Where to eat
Sources: Photo: Diego Delso · CC BY-SA 4.0
What to pack
Layers (it is windy), sunscreen
A quieter corner
The Bo-Kaap's painted streets
Questions travellers ask
When is the best time to visit Cape Town?
November to March, the summer months. It is windy, so pack layers, and bring plenty of sunscreen.
What shouldn't I miss in Cape Town?
Ride the cable car up Table Mountain, visit Robben Island and the V&A Waterfront, and stroll through Kirstenbosch Gardens. The Cape Peninsula drive is well worth it too.
What local food should I try in Cape Town?
Head to the Bo-Kaap for a Cape Malay curry and a wander through its painted streets. A braai and the weekend food markets are musts too.
Which airport serves Cape Town?
Cape Town International (CPT), roughly 20 km from the city.
About Cape Town
- Coastal
- Mountains
Where it is
Cape Town is South Africa's legislative capital and the capital of the Western Cape province, set on Table Bay at the northern end of the Cape Peninsula, beneath the flat-topped Table Mountain.
History
Khoekhoe and San peoples lived around the Cape for thousands of years before the Dutch East India Company founded a supply station here in 1652. The colony grew on the labour of enslaved people from Asia and Africa, passed to Britain in the early 19th century, and became the seat of Parliament when the Union of South Africa was formed in 1910. Under apartheid District Six was razed, and Robben Island held Nelson Mandela for 18 of his 27 years in prison.
People
Capetonians speak Afrikaans, English and isiXhosa, the province's official languages. The Cape Malay community, descended largely from people brought from South-East Asia, gave the city dishes such as bobotie and koesisters, and each January the Kaapse Klopse minstrel troupes parade through the streets.
Known for
- Table Mountain and its cable car
- Robben Island
- The V&A Waterfront
- Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden
- The painted houses of the Bo-Kaap
Did you know?
The strong south-easterly wind that pours cloud over Table Mountain as a tablecloth is known as the Cape Doctor, because it was believed to blow away the city's pollution and disease.
We haven't written a guide for this place yet — you can still plan a trip here.