Cape TownTravel Guide

Take the rotating cable car to the flat-topped mountain that defines Cape Town's skyline — 360° views of the Cape Peninsula, Robben Island, and two oceans. Go early morning to avoid afternoon cloud.

Franschhoek is South Africa's gourmet capital — a French Huguenot village with world-class restaurants and wine estates. The wine tram connects 8 estates. Stunning mountain-valley setting.

A colony of 3,000 African penguins living on a suburban beach near Simon's Town — waddling past sunbathers, swimming in the clear water, and generally being extraordinary.

The brightly painted houses of the Cape Malay quarter — one of Cape Town's most photographed neighbourhoods. The Noon Gun fires from Signal Hill above every day at noon.

One of the world's most dramatic coastal roads — 9km carved into a cliff face above the Atlantic between Hout Bay and Noordhoek. Drive it at sunset with a bottle of Chenin Blanc.

A ferry from the V&A Waterfront to the island prison where Nelson Mandela was held for 18 years — guided by former political prisoners, the tour is sobering and essential to understanding South Africa's history.

Cape Town's harbourfront hub of restaurants, shops, and craft markets, with views of Table Mountain and the working harbour — also the departure point for Robben Island ferries and harbour cruises.

One of the world's great botanical gardens on the eastern slopes of Table Mountain — native fynbos, a treetop canopy walkway (the "Boomslang"), and summer sunset concerts on the lawns.

The dramatic southwestern tip of the Cape Peninsula, where towering cliffs meet two oceans — a funicular climbs to the old lighthouse, with wild ostriches, baboons, and antelope along the reserve roads.

A small but powerful museum telling the story of District Six, a vibrant multiracial neighbourhood demolished under apartheid in the 1970s — personal testimonies, street signs, and a floor map drawn by former residents.