1. Go up Table Mountain
Table Mountain is a famous landmark in Cape Town. The mountain's name originated from the way the top of the mountain is flat like a table. It is also one of the seven natural wonders in the world. You can hike up this mountain (it takes a couple of hours) or you can go up in a cable car. This cable car rotates at 360 degrees so you can enjoy a panoramic view of the city. The best time to go up is on a clear day when the weather is not too windy or cloudy.
You should also look out for the cute animals called dassies on top of the mountain.
Saint James Beach is a quaint little beach near Kalk Bay. The colourful changing rooms on this beach really adds to its charm.
3. Visit Boulder's Beach and see African penguins on the beach
A colony of adorable African penguins call this beach in Cape Town their home. African penguins are the only penguin species that naturally inhabit the African continent and its islands. African penguins have shorter feathers than Antarctic penguins because they do not live in such a cold environment. African penguins also have a black stripe that curves across the top of the chest. They are also known as Jackass penguins because of the braying sound they make. You can walk on the beach with penguins and swim with the penguins. There is an entry fee to access the beach but the proceeds go towards wildlife conservation and helping the penguins so it is for a good cause. If you don't want to pay the entrance fee to the beach you can also walk on the wooden boardwalks for free. The boardwalks go through the vegetation where the penguins have their nests. This is an amazing place to visit and I would highly recommend visiting this beach in Cape Town!
3. Go hiking up Lion's Head Mountain
Lion's Head is a mountain right next to Table Mountain. Lion's Head mountain is a less strenuous hike compared to Table Mountain and it also has incredible views from the top.
Cheetah's are beautiful animals and they are the fastest running land animals in the world and they can run up to 98 kilometres per hour. The Cheetah Outreach is a preservation center for cheetahs and other animals with animal encounters (you can touch the cheetahs) and educational and volunteer programmes. They are open 365 days a year, 7 days a week from 9 am to 5 pm. It's a great place to visit and learn about protecting Cheetahs.
There are many vineyards in Cape Town and it is a great place to go winetasting. Some of the popular areas to go winetasting are Constantia, Stellenbosch and Franschoek. In Constantia I visited a wine farm called "Groot Constantia" which means "Big Constantia." "Groot" is the Afrikaans word for "big" in English. This wine farm offers a nice chocolate and wine pairing. There is a restaurant, cellar tour, art exhibition and the vineyards are beautiful to walk around.
The J.C Le Roux Distillery is also very nice to visit and you can enjoy tasting different J.C Le Roux sparkling wines (it's technically sparkling wine not champagne) with pairings like strawberries and chocolate.
7. Visit Blouberg beach
This beach has a fantastic view of Table Mountain in the background.
8. Relax at Camps Bay beach and enjoy cocktails at Café Caprice
Camps Bay is an affluent suburb in Cape Town with beautiful beaches and stunning, luxurious homes. Café Caprice is a café facing the beach that is a well known spot to enjoy some cocktails.
9. Go shopping at the V&A Waterfront
The V&A Waterfront offers world class shopping with stores like H&M, Louis Vuitton, MAC, Guess, Top Shop and so on. There are plenty of fantastic restaurants to eat at including 5 star restaurants like Beluga and there are also many yacht and boat cruises you can go on from the harbour. There is also an aquarium and many markets around the Waterfront. There is also a ferris wheel that has great views of the city.
10. Go shopping at Canal Walk
Canal Walk is the biggest shopping mall in Cape Town and it's my favourite shopping mall in Cape Town. There are plenty of restaurants, a food court, movie theatres, a games arcade and hundreds of shops at this mall including Swarovski, Forever 21, Cotton On, Foschini, Forever New, Top Shop, Truworths, YDE, Edgars, Mr Price and more.
11. Relax at Kirstenbosch garden
Kirstenbosch garden is a beautiful botanical garden at the foot of Table Mountain in Cape Town. It is a UNESCO World Heritage site and it has over 7000 species of plants. It is beautiful place to walk around or you enjoy a picnic lunch here. There are also restaurants in the garden. There are also summer concerts and open air movies that take place here. Recently a tree canopy walk way has been added which is a nice addition to the garden grounds.
12. Visit the harbour in Kalk Bay
This is a good spot to enjoy some delicious fish and chips at Kalky's or enjoy a fine dining experience at The Harbour House restaurant. Kalk Bay is a nice area to walk around and shop and enjoy an ice-cream at The Ice Cafe or cocktails at Cape to Cuba.
13. Visit Hout Bay harbour and beach
Hout Bay is a beautiful sea-side area with a lovely beach and a harbour. The Mariner's Wharf is at the end of the beach and it has nice restaurants and shops. In Harbour Road there is also the Bay Harbour Market which is situated on the water’s edge and has more than 100 stalls selling everything from food to fashion.
14. Explore Bo-Kaap
The Bo-Kaap is an area in Cape Town formerly known as the Cape Malay Quarter. It is situated on the slopes of Signal Hill. The beautful, brightly coloured houses in thos area make it stand out. It has a long history and the residents of Bo-Kaap descended from the slaves who were brought to the Cape by the Dutch during the the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The slaves were from Malaysia but they were also from elsewhere in Asia so they became known as “Cape Malays” but not all of them are entirely of only Malaysian descent. There is some Indonesian vocabulary in BoKaap’s dialect such as “trim-makaasi” which means thank you and “kanalah” which means please in Indonesian. The slaves were excellent cooks and craftsmen and they brought Cape Malay cuisine to Cape Town. Cape Malay food is a fusion of Asian, European, Arab and African food. There is a food and craft market in this area and you can take a Cape Malay cooking class. After the abolishment of slavery, this area is still home to the descendants of the free slaves and many muslims.
15. Visit Robben Island
Robben Island is an island off the coast of Cape Town. You can go there by boat or ferry from the V&A Waterfront. This island is famous because it is the island with the prison on it where the famous Nobel Peace Prize Winner and former president of South Africa, Nelson Mandela, was kept for 18 years. During Robben Island's incredible history it has also housed a hospital, a mental institution, a leper colony and military base. It is a World Heritage site and has a museum and tours of the prison and the cell where Nelson Mandela was kept.
16. Get your caffeine fix at Truth Coffee in Cape Town
Truth Coffee is a steampunk cafe that was selected as one of the best coffee shops in the world by UK news agency The Telegraph. If you love a good cup of coffee then you should try the coffee at Truth Coffee.
17. Go partying in Long Street
Long Street is a street in Cape Town that is filled with restaurants, bars and clubs. If you want to experience the nightlife in Cape Town then check out The Waiting Room and Fiction.
18. Visit Stellenbosch
Stellenbosch is a beautiful area that has many lovely wine farms and it is also a student town because the University of Stellenbosch is located there. There are plenty of restaurants to enjoy and beautiful wine farms to visit in Stellenbosch.
19. Explore the markets
There are many wonderful markets in Cape Town such as the Route 44 market near Stellenbosch on the R44 between Somerset West and Stellenbosch. There is also the Bay Harbour Market in Hout Bay, the Old Biscuit Mill, the Lourensford Market, the Watershed Market at the V&A Waterfront, Green Market Square and the Hope Street Market. These markets sell food, clothes, arts and crafts and other items.
20. Visit Fish Hoek beach
Fish Hoek beach is a sea-side town in a valley surrounded by mountains. This beach has also been awarded the international Blue Flag status for excelling in safety, amenities, cleanliness and environmental standards. There is a nice walking path called the cat walk. This is a lovely beach to swim at and there are also rock pools to swim in, although the water can be quite cold. The False Bay area is known for sharks, but safety measures have been taken. There are shark spotters on duty and a shark warning flag is raised if sharks have been spotted.
21. Go surfing at Muizenberg beach
Muizenberg beach is a popular beach for surfers and there are surf schools on the beach such as Gary's Surf School that offer surfing lessons.
22. Ride horses on Noordehoek beach
If you would like to ride a horse along a beautiful, white sandy beach then you can book a horseback ride on the beach at The Dunes horseback riding stables or Sleepy Hollow horseback riding stables in Noordehoek. There are morning beach rides and afternoon beach rides and it costs R500-R530 for 1.5 hours.
24. Ride on a camel at Imhoff farm
Imhoff farm near Kommetjie in Cape Town is the only place in Cape Town where you can ride a camel. There are restaurants, coffee shops, a wine shop, farm shops, an art gallery and a farmyard where you can have animal encounters with chickens, geese, ducks, emus, an alpaca, cows, goats, sheep, pigs, rabbits, guinea pigs, a springbuck and camels. It's a nice place for family outings and you should visit if you want to experience riding a camel.
25. Enjoy high tea at the Mount Nelson hotel
For a really fancy afternoon tea you should look no further than the Mount Nelson Hotel. You can have a leisurely and luxurious high tea at this decadent 5 star hotel in Cape Town. The high tea consists of beverages with treats like a selection of cakes, pastries, tarts and finger sandwiches and it ranges from R225- R325 per adult. If the Mount Nelson is a too expensive you can also eat amazing cakes at Charlie's Bakery.
26. Watch a theatre show
There are many great theatres in Cape Town such as the Artscape Theatre, Labia Theatre, Maynardville, The Masque Theatre, Kalk Bay Theatre or Theatre on the Bay. If you enjoy the dramatic arts then why not watch a theatre show in Cape Town.
27. Go strawberry picking
A nice place to go strawberry picking is at Mooiberg Farm Stall which is in the Stellenbosch area on the R44 road between Stellenbosch and Somerset West. Strawberry picking season begins around the summer months when the weather is getting warmer and you can collect a basket before heading out into the strawberry fields to pick some delicious strawberries. Once you are done your basket will be weighed and you are charged per kilogram.
28. Walk along the Sea Point Promenade
Put on your walking shoes and go for a walk along the Sea Point beachfront promenade and enjoy some stunning sea views and fresh air. This promenade is frequented by joggers, walkers, skateboarders and cyclists. There is also a free outdoor exercise area/ gym. You can see Table Mountain, Lion's Head and Signal Hill from different angles as you walk along the sea. You can even hire a bicycle at Up Cycles on Beach Road in Sea Point and cycle along the promenade.
29. Play putt-putt in Sea Point
If you walk along the Sea Point Promenade you will see a Putt-Putt (mini golf) course located near the lighthouse on the Mouille Point side. Putt-putt is a fun activity to do.
30. Walk around Green Point park
If you keep walking along the Sea Point Promenade towards Green Point you will find Green Point park on your right. It is a public park near the Stadium. It's a beautiful place to walk around or go jogging around and it's a great spot to have a picnic. It's a perfect place for families to bring their children and there are playgrounds for children to play on in the park. It's even a good place for a school outing.
Monkey Town is in Somerset West, Cape Town outside of Somerset West on the N2 en route to the Garden Route. There are over 230 animals and it is an interesting place to visit. There are over 28 species of monkeys and many of them are on the endangered list and they are protected in this centre. There are also other animals like emus, ostriches and other birds. There is a restaurant, a play park for children, a swimming area and a picnic area.
32. Visit the Ostrich Ranch
The Cape Town Ostrich Ranch is only 20 minutes from the city centre and it offers 45-minute tours in English, Afrikaans, German and French. There are around 200 Ostrich on the farm. Ostrich eggs are really strong and big and they won't break even if you stand on them! Ostrich eggs are also used in arts and crafts to make beautiful lamps. Ostriches are big birds and you can even ride on Ostriches.
33. Visit Grand West casinoYou can try and get lucky at the casino or watch a movie here or go ice-skating here.
33. Watch cricket or rugby at Newlands Stadium
Cricket and Rugby are popular sports in South Africa. If you enjoy watching sports then why not watch a cricket or rugby match at Newlands Stadium in Claremont.
34. Go paragliding from Lion's Head or Signal Hill
If you want to do something more adventurous why not try paragliding from Lion's Head or Signal Hill.
35. Visit Ratanga Junction
Ratanga Junction is a theme park in Cape Town with various rides like The Cobra, The Slingshot and Monkey Falls. There are rollercoasters and water rides.
Chapman's Peak, known by locals as "Chappies", is arguably one of the most scenic drives in South Africa if not the world and it is a drive over the steep mountains with a breathtaking sea view. It is a road along the mountain cliffs between Hout Bay and Noordhoek.
37. Hike up Signal Hill
Signal Hill is a little less strenuous of a hike than hiking up Table Mountain (the most strenuous) and Lion’s Head and Signal Hill also offers astounding views. It is a great spot to watch the sunset and you can also go paragliding from this spot.
38. Walk around Company's Garden
This inner city garden was established in 1652 by Dutch settlers. There are also a number of museums around the garden including the Iziko Museums’ South African Museum, the South African Jewish Museum, the District Six Museum, as well as the South African National Gallery.
39. Visit the Two Ocean's aquarium at the V&A Waterfront
This aquarium is home to over 3000 sea creatures and 88 species including Great White Sharks, eels, sting ray, dolphins, seals, penguins, jelly fish, sea turtles and clownfish.
40. Visit the Castle of Good Hope
The Castle of Good Hope is a fort that was built in the 17th century in Cape Town, South Africa. There is a dungeon and a military museum and it's an interesting place to visit and learn about Cape Town's history.
41. Visit Cape Point
Cape Point is famous for being the most South-Western point of the African continent. It is a national park with hiking trails and a lighthouse. There are amazing views and the park is along the coast so you can enjoy lovely sea views.
Cape Town has a lot of fun and interesting things to do and see. It's a city with incredible natural beauty and it is a perfect holiday destination.
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