Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden
It’s a guarantee that you will be swept off your feet witnessing the abounding biodiversity at the Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden. The garden safeguards and showcases an extraordinarily rich wealth of flora and was the first-of-its-kind in the world to be devoted to a country’s indigenous plant life. Meticulously looked after and expertly curated, this UNESCO World Heritage Site enjoys great popularity with residents and tourists alike. Ideal for solitary walks, revel in the colors, sound, and aromas of the natural environment punctuated by blossoming gardens, sparkling ponds and vegetation native to the Cape region. Walk on the paved pathways that lead off along and up the mountain slopes to capture the panoramic Cape Town in all its glory.
District Six Museum
Embark on a journey through the history of a vibrant community that was forcibly removed to the city’s periphery during apartheid. The museum is dedicated to local architecture, environmental planning, and the organization of activities in the field of literature, music, and art, wherein the native people have an active involvement. Experience the vibrancy of this repository of olden times that exalts the once lively multiracial area that was destroyed during apartheid. The museum aims at providing a platform for people to connect with each other while uniting the community, where there is respect for dignity, identity and an existence of different races next to each other. Explore the museum’s impressive collection of historical materials including photographs, paintings, artifacts, physical remains like street signs, books as well as audio-visual recordings of District Six, most which were donated by its former residents. The former Methodist Mission Church’s interiors have been recreated that exhibits photographs, testimonials, and recordings, all of which makes it evident of an evocative picture of a shattered but not entirely broken community.
Green Point Urban Park
Green Point Urban Park is famous for its lush green surrounding, a state-of-the-art stadium, biodiversity gardens and exercise circuits. Artificially fed by Table Mountain’s springs and rivers, the park has three imaginatively designed areas namely-People & Plants, Wetlands, and Discovering Biodiversity, which acts as an outdoor museum and a great way for people, especially kids, to learn new things. The park houses an indigenous vegetation native to the Cape in a Biodiversity Showcase Garden. Walk along the broad paths that circumnavigate a large, natural lake looking out towards Signal Hill and Lion’s Head. A perfect spot to take kids on a fun day out, this urban park offer activities like skateboarding and cycling in designated areas. Apart from this, the park houses creative outdoor play areas for kids, large area for a family picnic, a free outdoor gym and a labyrinth to sit and relax in solitude.
South African Jewish Museum
A center of homage, commemoration, education and enlightenment, the South African Jewish Museum offers valuable historical insights into the country’s Jewish community. The museum charts the history of the impoverished Jewish refugees who escaped persecution in Eastern Europe to build a community that commanded influential positions in the commercial, political and social life of their adopted country. The museum incorporates the Old Synagogue into the modern complex intricately built of glass, wood, and steel. One of the most prominent displays is the reconstruction of the village in Lithuania – the Shtetl. Most people of South Africa hail from here. A fascinating documentary is also being screened daily that is based on the life story of Nelson Mandela. Visit the Holocaust Museum that recounts the moving tale of the persecution of the Jews. The facts showcased here sheds light on the atrocities of the apartheid responsible for the dark and prejudiced past of South Africa.
Iziko Museums
Set against the beautiful backdrop of the Company’s Garden; the Iziko Museum has extensive African zoology, paleontology, and archaeology collections. An ideal jaunt for kids and history diggers, one can also take a tour of the Iziko Planetarium, adjacent to it, where the skies are clear whatever the weather is. The institution was founded by Lord Charles Somerset in 1825 as a general museum, which then showcased the natural history and material culture from local and other groups. Among these are pre-colonial and colonial artifacts, traditional arts and crafts from several cultures and San rock art. It later expanded further in the early twentieth century when it obtained its social and maritime history collection that became the nucleus of the museum and planetarium. The museum proudly exhibits the Slave Lodge, Koopmans-De Wet House, Rust en Vreugde, the Bo-Kaap Museum, Groot Constantia, Bertram House, and the William Fehr Collection at the Castle of Good Hope. A massive four storey wall is built separately within the museum to showcase the collections of terrestrial and marine vertebrates and invertebrates as well as skeletons of ocean mammals. Rummage through the most compelling of all exhibits- fossils dating back 700 million years. Among these are the remains and fossil samples of Miocene whale, from the Middle Devonian to Late Jurassic periods.
Company’s Garden
Those looking for a welcome break from the urban life, spend a few hours unwinding and exploring the natural, historical and architectural attractions at the Company’s Garden. Located in the heart of the city, Company’s Garden is home to scenic gardens, fish pond, aviary, historic buildings, museums, places of worship and an art gallery. The garden offers a lush green surrounding to recline and repose, reveling in nature’s glory. In contrast to the cityscape, this green oasis is a breath of fresh air. This oasis was built by the pioneers of South Africa and left for the future generations to enjoy. The garden houses a rich variety of flora, as well as a few points of national interest. Stroll around the park to catch a glimpse of the oldest cultivated tree in all of South Africa; the Delville Wood Memorial Garden erected commemorating the lost lives of the South African soldiers, and the rose garden that cultivates different varieties of roses. You may also find majestic stone renderings of famous icons such as the Cecil Rhodes, Sir George Grey and others, not to forget the aviary that exhibits colorful birds like Speckled Pigeons, Reed Cormorants, Egyptian Geese, European Starlings, Cape Canaries, and Olive Thrush.
Long Street
Let your hair down in Cape Town’s most buzzing precinct, the Long Street which is famous for being Capetonian’s favorite bohemian hang out with a mix of several bookstores, ethnic restaurants, and bars. Take a stroll along Long Street to experience the quintessential essence of this city, exploring the busy commercial and nightlife thoroughfare. If you’re a fan of old architecture, Long Street will keep you busy for days. Long Street’s buildings, its Victorian follies, and intricate ironwork have been mostly well-kept. The streets are partly lined with Victorian-era buildings featuring lovely wrought-iron balconies, once formed the border of the Muslim Bo-Kaap. Check out the pulsating pavements bustling with the movements of travellers, tours, breakfasting locals and shoppers. In the early afternoon the Purple Turtle bar fills up with regulars, young adventurers emerge from backpackers’ for a stroll down on the Long Street.
