23 of the best · Cape Town, South Africa
Zeitz MOCAA and the Norval Foundation, the National Gallery in the Company’s Garden, the galleries of the V&A, Artscape’s opera and ballet, the District Six Museum and the jazz festival.
Our 23 favourites, listed A–Z · Updated October 2026
Browse by type
Three Cape Town addresses we return to, chosen from this list by people who know the city well.
In a grain silo
The Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa, carved out of the V&A’s old grain silo.
Silo District, South Arm Road, V&A Waterfront, Cape Town, 8002Explore View on map
A sculpture garden
An art centre and sculpture garden in Tokai, below the mountain.
4 Steenberg Road, Tokai, Cape Town, 7945Explore View on map
Opera, ballet and drama
The city’s big theatre centre on the Foreshore, with opera, ballet, drama and concerts.
D.F. Malan Street, Foreshore, Cape Town, 8001Explore View on map
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Zeitz MOCAA, the stages of Artscape and the museums that remember.
The back story
A museum of contemporary African art carved out of a grain silo, a sculpture garden by a wetland, opera at Artscape, the galleries of the V&A and Woodstock, and a jazz festival every year: how Cape Town makes and shows art.
Visual arts
Contemporary African art in a grain silo, the national collection, and the museums that remember.
Education and remembrance
A centre for Holocaust and genocide education, in Gardens.
88 Hatfield Street, Cape Town, 8001Explore View on map
Memory and community
The museum of District Six, its community and the forced removals, in a former church on Buitenkant Street.
15 Buitenkant Street, Cape TownExplore View on map
Iziko Museums
The national art collection, in the Company’s Garden.
A sculpture garden
An art centre and sculpture garden in Tokai, below the mountain.
4 Steenberg Road, Tokai, Cape Town, 7945Explore View on map
UNESCO World Heritage
The island in Table Bay where political prisoners were held, now a museum and World Heritage Site; boats leave the V&A.
In a grain silo
The Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa, carved out of the V&A’s old grain silo.
Silo District, South Arm Road, V&A Waterfront, Cape Town, 8002Explore View on map
South African and African artists at the V&A and beyond.
Painting and sculpture
The Cape Town gallery of Everard Read, on Portswood Road at the V&A.
3 Portswood Road, Cape Town, 8002Explore View on map
Contemporary art
An international contemporary art gallery with a space in Cape Town.
Collectible design and art
A gallery of contemporary art and collectible design in Silo 5 at the V&A.
Silo 5, V&A Waterfront, Cape TownExplore View on map
Since 2003
A contemporary gallery founded in 2003, with spaces in Cape Town and Amsterdam.
A 17th-century fort, the painted Bo-Kaap and a Cape Dutch manor.
Cape Dutch manor and wine
A historic wine estate in Constantia, with a Cape Dutch manor house, tastings and restaurants.
Painted houses
The painted houses and cobbled streets on the slope of Signal Hill, the historic heart of the Cape Malay community.
A 17th-century fort
The five-pointed stone fort built by the Dutch East India Company in the 17th century, with museums inside.
Performing arts
The city’s orchestra, at the City Hall and Artscape.
Concerts all year
The city’s orchestra, playing at the City Hall, Artscape and beyond.
Artscape on the Foreshore and the playhouse in Camps Bay.
Opera, ballet and drama
The city’s big theatre centre on the Foreshore, with opera, ballet, drama and concerts.
D.F. Malan Street, Foreshore, Cape Town, 8001Explore View on map
Plays and musicals
Pieter Toerien Productions’ theatre in Camps Bay, for plays, comedies and musicals.
The city’s opera and ballet companies.
Classical and new work
The city’s ballet company, performing at Artscape and on tour.
At Artscape and beyond
South Africa’s opera company, performing at Artscape and on tour.
An independent cinema on Orange Street.
On Orange Street
An independent cinema on Orange Street, for art-house and independent films.
68 Orange Street, Gardens, Cape TownExplore View on map
Folk & cultural traditions
Studios and the Saturday market in Woodstock.
Saturdays
Design shops and studios in an old biscuit factory in Woodstock, with the Neighbourgoods food and design market on Saturdays.
373–375 Albert Road, Woodstock, Cape Town, 7925Explore View on map
Jazz and carnival on the city’s calendar.
The 2027 edition
The city’s annual jazz festival; the 2027 edition is announced on its website.
