Cape Town Things To Do – Complete Guide

Cape Town things To Do - activities, hotels, golf courses & car rental

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The Cape Town hotel and activities guide offers stay over guests and cruise ship visitors information and discount reservations for hotels, villa rentals, car rentals, activities and shore excursions in Cape Town.

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Cape Town (Afrikaans: Kaapstad, English: Cape Town, Xhosa: iKapa) nicknamed the Mother City, is the capital of the Western Cape province and is the legislative center of South Africa. The city is part of the Municipality of Cape Town, which has a population of approximately 2.9 million (2001). Cape Town, together with Pretoria (executive branch) and Bloemfontein (judiciary branch), is one of the capitals of South Africa. It is the second largest city in the country after Johannesburg.

Located in the southwestern tip of South Africa, the city was originally a refreshment station for Dutch ships bound for East Africa, the Indies or the Far East. It was also one of the first permanent European settlements south of the Sahara. The Dutch in the service of the Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie first made contact with the leader of the Goringkhoina here in 1652.

From a small port city, Cape Town grew into the largest city in South Africa, but lost this place to Johannesburg in 1887 due to the gold rush to the Witwatersrand. The 2001 census found Cape Town to be the largest Afrikaans-speaking community in South Africa with 1.2 million people. Thanks to its nature and its location at the foot of the famous Table Mountain, Cape Town is a popular international destination for tourists.

Things to see

• De Groote Kerk stands on a plot where the first church in South Africa was founded in 1678. The current building is the third and dates from the year 1836.
• On the square between Herengracht and Adderley Street in Cape Town, a statue of Mary stands opposite the statue of Jan van Riebeeck, founder of South Africa. This statue was donated by the Dutch state in 1952 to commemorate the arrival of Jan van Riebeeck at the Cape of Good Hope (1652).
• Victoria & Alfred Waterfront located on the water; the main draw of the city with shops and other tourist attractions.
• Robben Island an island off the coast where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for 27 years.
• The Tafelberg (English: Table mountain) located on the western cape overlooks Cape Town. The highest points of Table Mountain are more than 1000 meters above water level. The mountain can be climbed in different ways. There is also a cable car to the top.
• Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden
• Two Oceans Aquarium
• The District Six Museum
• Leeuwkop (Lion's Head) and Signal Hill (Signal Hill)
• Bo Kaap
• Castle of Good Hope
• Groentemarkplein (Greenmarket Square), including the old town hall
• Lang Street (Long Street) and Kloof Street (Kloof Street) entertainment districts
• The Cape Beaches: Clifton Bay, Camps Bay, Bloubergstrand
• The Tuynhuys, the president's official residence
• Green Point Stadium (Green Point Stadium)
• Two 'Dutch-looking' windmills, Mosterts molen and the Nieuwe Molen
• Company's Garden