Cape Town City Guide

Heading to the Mother City? We’ve got your back. Here are our top picks of things to do and see.

Sights & culture

The Company’s Garden – Back in the 1600s, many of the Dutch East India Company’s sailors travelling on the Spice Route, died of scurvy, a disease caused by a lack of vitamin C. The solution was to plant a garden packed with fruits and vegetables at the tip of Africa. The oldest pear tree in the country, planted by the Dutch East India Company’s first gardener, Hendrik Boom, still grows in the garden today. There’s also a restaurant, an aviary, a top-notch art museum, a natural history museum, a planetarium, the parliament buildings, and a historic 1800s English Georgian period house museum. A favourite local pastime is to buy peanuts from one of the vendors to feed the garden’s resident squirrels.
V&A Waterfront – Tourists and locals alike love the V&A, and for good reason. The shopping and food are major drawcards, but there’s much more to enjoy. Boat trips from the harbour are especially popular. A spin on the Cape Wheel promises city views galore, while the Two Oceans Aquarium is a mind trip of weird and wonderful sea creatures. The V&A is also where the ferry to Robben Island departs. This island, where Nelson Mandela was incarcerated, is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Other attractions include an open-air cinema, escape rooms, and a park with basketball courts and a skate ramp.
Si vous voulez voir les principaux sites de la ville, achetez un billet pour le bus touristique rouge à impériale Hop-on Hop-off (montée et descente). Montez et descendez à votre rythme, tout en explorant les principales attractions – de Table Mountain à Camps Bay et Kirstenbosch.

Greenmarket Square, overlooking Onomo Hotel Cape Town Inn on the Square, is the second-oldest public space in the country. Steeped in history, it’s also where the declaration of the abolition of slavery was read. Today, it’s home to an African craft market and live events are sometimes held here. Every morning, free city walking tours depart from Motherland Coffee just around the corner.
The Bo-Kaap is a historic neighbourhood of steep, cobbled streets and colourful historic cottages at the foot of Signal Hill. Originally home to freed slaves, artisans, and exiles, the entire suburb is now a national heritage site and a great place to come for a stroll. Soak in the atmosphere and try some Cape Malay delicacies, like koesisters. Atlas Trading is an old-world spice shop, while the Bo-Kaap Museum delves into the history of the suburb. See here for info on free walking tours.
Cape Town is famous for its wine. Various companies provide shuttles to the popular wine valleys of Franschhoek and Stellenbosch (about an hour outside town). If you’re looking for something closer to home, the red City Sightseeing bus will take you to the Constantia Winelands. A must-do stop here is the country’s oldest wine-producing farm, Groot Constantia. The farm’s dessert wines were so highly sought-after in the 18th century, that in her novel Sense and Sensibility, Jane Austen refers to it as a cure for a broken heart. Rumour has it Napoleon ordered cases of it to be delivered to him in St. Helena while in exile.
History buffs should visit the Slave Lodge (to learn more about the history of slavery in the Cape) and the District Six Museum, a moving memorial to the people of District Six, an erstwhile racially mixed community who were forcibly removed from their homes under the Apartheid government’s Group Areas Act. Another highlight is the country’s oldest building, the Castle of Good Hope.

Nature & adventure

Everybody knows about Table Mountain. For something a little more off the beaten track, try its less lanky cousin, Lion’s Head, which offers the same great views but is a much easier hike. You can also paraglide off the top. On full moon nights, you can join the crowds for a much-loved local tradition – a hike to the top for a sundowner.
If you’re up for adventure, the Mother City has plenty to offer. Learn to surf in the seaside village of Muizenberg (where many famous figures, including mystery writer Agatha Christie, who wrote Murder on the Orient Express, learnt to surf for the first time). A slew of surf schools lines the beach, so head down and take your pick. There’s also shark cage diving in Simon’s Town and sea kayaking.
Animal lovers should head to the Boulders African Penguin Colony in Simon’s Town to say hello to the colony of adorable endangered African Penguins that bray like donkeys (so much so that they’re also known as Jackass penguins).
Another attraction the city is famous for is its beaches. The Camps Bay strip and Clifton are good choices close to the city. The road to Clifton is lined with some of the city’s most impressive mansions. Keep an eye out for the Iron Man house – the original owner was a Marvel fan and asked the architect to design a house resembling Tony Stark’s in the film. The Camps Bay strip bordering the beach has a Miami Beach vibe, which heats up at night as the well-heeled fill the restaurants and bars.
Beyond great beaches, the inner city also boasts two eye-catching public swimming pools. The Sea Point Pavilion hugs the ocean with views to die for, while the Long Street Baths, a historic bathhouse, has been helping swimmers beat the heat since 1908.

Art & culture

Zeitz MOCCAA – A short walk from Onomo Hotel Cape Town Waterfront is the world’s largest museum dedicated to contemporary African art. It hosts world-class exhibitions rival anything in Paris or New York. Art aside, the building alone is worth the visit. Housed in a former grain silo, the architects transformed forty-two 33-metre-tall concrete tubes into an awe-inspiring functional sculpture.
Norval Foundation – This art museum and gallery promotes modern and contemporary African art. The restaurant offers both a sit-down and a picnic menu to enjoy in the foundation’s sculpture garden.
On the first Thursday of every month the city dons its party shoes to host First Thursdays. Art galleries and hip boutiques stay open until late and restaurants and bars offer specials and live events.
Other great galleries in the city include STEVENSON (Woodstock), Goodman Gallery (Greenpoint), WHATIFTHEWORLD (Buiten Street), the AVA (Church Street, walking distance from Onomo Hotel Cape Town Inn on the Square), Everard Read (V&A Waterfront), Youngblood Africa (Bree Street), and Under The Aegis (Jamieson Street, Gardens).

Film buffs and theatre lovers can visit arthouse cinema darling, The Labia (Orange Street), or enjoy a picnic and a flick at the open-air Galileo Cinema (Battery Park, Kirstenbosch, and other venues in summer). The Artscape Theatre Centre (D.F. Malan Street) is the city’s premier theatre and is within walking distance from Onomo Hotel Cape Town Foreshore, while Maynardville Park hosts an annual summer Shakespeare in the Park festival.
Cape Town is also known for some impressive street art, especially the area around Salt River and Woodstock. Graffiti lovers can book a street art walking tour of the city through Baz Art.

Shopping

Bree Street is one of our favourite shopping streets in the inner city. Sneaker addicts shouldn’t miss a visit to Shelflife. Two more favourites on Bree Street are Good, Good, Good, an eco-conscious streetwear brand, and Duck, Duck, Goose, which stocks a well-curated collection of independently owned local fashion and lifestyle brands (think clothes, homeware, books, magazines, and even fragrances).
Inside a historic building on Long Street, you’ll find Merchants On Long, a fashion and homeware concept store with ethically sourced and made African goods from both emerging and established, award-winning brands.
AKJP Studio in vibey Kloof Street is a hip fashion concept store showcasing work from local designers. In addition to clothing, they also have art, ceramics, accessories, and coffee table tomes.
The V&A Waterfront is another shopping hotspot where you’ll find some of the country’s finest names in fashion and luxury goods. AAFRICAA is a lifestyle store for curated contemporary African design from some of the continent’s leading brands and designers – think fashion and accessories to homeware.
Another V&A highlight is Maxhosa Africa, a modern, Xhosa-inspired luxury knitwear brand. Beyoncé and Alicia Keys are both fans.

Eateries

Trendy neighbourhood eatery and bar, Blondie, in hip and happening Kloof Street, dishes up everything from wholesome pitas to crafty cocktails.
Arthur’s Mini Super is a hip little micro-deli, mini-market, eatery and bar in Sea Point that’s popular for breakfasts, sandwiches, salads, and coffee. At night it transforms into a mini-bar with a good selection of local beers and wines.
Club Kloof is an Italian eatery with an insta-worthy red interior.

For a uniquely South African take on afro-fusion, head to Klok at Onomo Hotel Cape Town Inn on the Square, 31A at Onomo Hotel Cape Town Foreshore and Vivaldi at Onomo Hotel Cape Town Waterfront.

Street food & sweet treats

If you want to try the Mother City’s famous street-food classic, The Gatsby, head to Mariam’s Kitchen. There is a branch next to Onomo Hotel Cape Town Foreshore and another along St. George’s Mall near Onomo Hotel Cape Town Inn on the Square.
Sweet tooths will be rapt about Rapt – The Art of Indulgence, a chocolate shop selling colourful, quirky chocolate treats – from salted caramel robots to pink popcorn ganaches shaped like tiny croissants. They also serve liquid nitrogen ice cream and have a build-your-own-chocolate-slab bar.
Mochi Mochi, a Japanese confectionary shop and café with playful tongue-in-cheek décor, has locals queueing up for their handcrafted mochi and other sweet and savoury treats. The Japanese-style cheesecake with miso caramel is a firm favourite.

Bars

Broke Klubhouse is a streetwear boutique that transforms into a hotspot for night owls after dark. The DJs pride themselves on playing predominantly local music, like Amapiano, Gqom, Hip Hop & RnB.
Each cocktail tells a story at Fable. These guys elevate alcohol to an art form with high-concept, creative cocktails inspired by local legends and fables.
Come the weekend, the art crowd flocks to The Power and the Glory (a popular local café that becomes a bar at night).
Shhh, don’t tell anyone, but The Art of Duplicity is a secret speakeasy-style cocktail bar hidden behind an unmarked door in the East City. To get in, you need to know the secret password. Head over to their website to find out more and book.
Other good options include Drama Bar in Long Street and Ayepyep Lifestyle Lounge in Kloof Street (serving authentic South African food by day and turning up the music at night).