Things to see & do in Cape Town & surrounds

That said, remember that Cape Town is like the rest of South Africa – a land of contrasts. It’s regularly touted as one of the most livable cities in the world, like Vancouver, but in reality it’s starkly polarised between rich and poor. There are fantastically wealthy suburbs like Camps Bay and Llandudno, and cool areas with lots of bars, restaurants and lovely Old Dutch architecture, all interspersed with enormous townships with exceedingly high crime rates. Behind Table Mountain you’ll also find the Cape Flats: miles and miles of shanty towns. This is where you land if you fly into Cape Town and if you want to go to the Winelands or Hermanus, you’ll pass through the Flats.

Come to enjoy Cape Town, but remember it has a poor and segregated side, too. Cape Town is a cultural melting pot, with a black population, a large mixed race population, including Coloured and Cape Malay, and white South Africans, both Afrikaans and English speaking. The Western Cape has the highest percentage of whites in the country, and Cape Town itself is not as integrated as Johannesburg, which has mixed schools and white people moving into Soweto in search of cheaper property. So, in Cape Town, be prepared to see the full picture – it’s still an incredibly, and visibly, unequal society.

Table Mountain has its own micro climate, so exploring it is always weather dependent, with cloud and wind sometimes standing in the way. With this in mind, if you plan to ride the cable car, buy tickets on the spot, rather than in advance. Most visitors who ride the car up hang around the Western Table area, near the restaurants, but head off with your hiking boots on and you can discover a different, unspoiled side to this iconic, flat-topped beast. Walk around the table itself to see the birdlife, and the fynbos, which is the natural shrubland and heathland unique to the Western Cape. If you’re a keen walker, hike all the way up to the top, too, which is a fairly tough three to four hour route, but worth it for the breath taking views over the Apostles, the Atlantic and the city below.

Cape Town is a green city, with parks and gardens peppering the urban landscape. The historic Company’s Garden and Green Point Urban Park are worth strolling through, while Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden is a real delight. It’s beautifully laid out, with some raised walkways, and as it stretches up Table Mountain, there’s an incredible vista looming up behind all the dense, tropical greenery.

The Nature Reserve here covers 7,680 hectares and is home to eland, bontebok, grysbok, springbok, wildebeest, baboon and ostrich. It’s a brilliant place to hike through, made up of rugged cliffs, unspoiled beaches, shipwrecks and beautiful flora. Walk to the old lighthouse for panoramic views, and follow the downhill path to the Cape of Good Hope itself.

To the northeast of Cape Town lie the fertile valleys of the Winelands, where vines cling to the sweeping hillsides and some temptingly lovely towns, complete with superb restaurants and galleries, await. You can tour the wine estates, take a guided tasting and even stay overnight at some – a really worthwhile excursion from Cape Town.

The beautiful Franschhoek Valley was settled by French Huguenots some 300 years ago, and they brought vines with them. Franschhoek itself is incredibly pretty. Here, you can hop on and off the wine tram, to explore the valley’s history and vineyards, and taste a few wines, too. In Stellenbosch, one of South Africa’s oldest colonial settlements, discover tree lined streets and white washed, Cape Dutch architecture. If you prefer to stay closer to Cape Town, head instead to the Constantia valley, which is home to some of the region’s oldest and best wineries. You can enjoy a wine tasting and a good meal here, without traveling all the way to the Winelands.