Cape Town

South Africa·Africa

Currency

ZAR

Language

English, Afrikaans, Xhosa

Timezone

Johannesburg

Continent

Africa

Our guide

Discover Cape Town

Cape Town is wedged between a mountain and two oceans, and that constraint shapes everything. Table Mountain looms over the centre; Bo-Kaap, with its coloured houses, carries the history of the Cape Malay community; Kirstenbosch, set against the mountain, ranks among the finest botanical gardens anywhere.

When to go

The southern hemisphere inverts everything: November to March is the local summer, hot and dry. The south-easterly wind, nicknamed the Cape Doctor, blows hard in summer and can close the Table Mountain cableway.

Getting around

A hire car is the practical choice, public transport being limited. Ask locally which areas to avoid after dark — safety is a real consideration here, managed with information rather than constant worry.

Where to eat

The Africa Cafe offers a tour of cuisines from across the continent. More broadly, Cape Town has a remarkable food scene, helped by the Stellenbosch and Franschhoek vineyards less than an hour away.

Good to know

Twenty beaches are listed, but the Atlantic side is freezing — the False Bay coast is markedly warmer. Zeitz MOCAA and several institutions close on certain days. Only four halal addresses are listed, in a city with a long-standing Muslim community: that is incomplete data rather than reality.

Smart Planning