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Home - City Guide - Cape Town - Sightseeing | ||
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Sightseeing One of the biggest problems facing the first-time visitor to Cape Town is how to fit in all the attractions. The city centre is small and compact, and contains a fascinating mix of architectural styles, including Cape Dutch, Victorian and Edwardian, wedged between modern skyscrapers. Table Mountain, with its cable car to the summit, towers over it all, and is a constant landmark and point of orientation. The upper slopes of the eastern arm of the city house the Bo-Kaap (Top Cape), also known as the Malay Quarter. This area was for generations home to freed slaves, and their descendants resisted all attempts at removal by the apartheid authorities. Offshore, in the middle of Table Bay, lies Robben Island, the prison where Nelson Mandela and many of the other current top political leaders of South Africa today were gaoled by the apartheid regime. The embarkation point for Robben Island is the Victoria and Alfred Waterfront, a bustling, working harbour that has been immaculately restored and now houses a vast range of restaurants, shops, museums and other attractions, including the world-renowned Two Oceans Aquarium. A tour of the 'townships' - the predominantly black and 'coloured' or mixed-race ghetto areas - is high on the agenda of many visitors. However, it is inadvisable to venture into the townships without a guide, and it is best to go on an organised tour: crime levels are high, car hijackings happen daily, and Cape Town has among the highest rape and murder levels in the world. A typical township tour will include a visit to significant sites of struggle against the apartheid regime, lunch in a shebeen, a visit to a craft market and a stop at a self-help development project. Further afield, Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens, the Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve (Cape Point), and the coastal villages of Hout Bay, Noordhoek, Kommetjie and Simon's Town all lend themselves to half or full-day excursions. Also within a half or full day are the Winelands of the Cape, literally hundreds of world-class wineries, many of which are open to the public for tastings and sales, and a number of which have restaurant and picnic facilities. Tourist Information Cape Metropolitan Tourism Pinnacle Building, corner of Burg and Castle Streets Tel: (021) 426 4260. Fax: (021) 426 4266. E-mail: info@cape-town.org Web site: www.gocapetown.co.za Opening hours: Mon-Fri 0830-1700, Sat 0900-1300. |