A mountain, an island and two oceans: Cape Town’s great sights

About A mountain, an island and two oceans: Cape Town’s great sights

By the ULTIMATE Cape Town Editorial Team

Editor-in-Chief: Jai Michael

Most cities have a mountain nearby; Cape Town has one in the middle. Table Mountain and its national park run down the whole peninsula, 70 km from Signal Hill to Cape Point in SANParks’ words, and the city wraps around it. From the harbour at the V&A Waterfront, boats leave for Robben Island, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. On the mountain’s eastern slopes is Kirstenbosch; over the Twelve Apostles, Chapman’s Peak Drive runs along the cliffs to Hout Bay.

The mountain

The Table Mountain Aerial Cableway runs from the lower station on Tafelberg Road to the summit, weather permitting: on windy days it stops, and tablemountain.net shows the day’s status. Hikers take the Platteklip Gorge path up the front face. Lion’s Head and Signal Hill are the mountain’s lower neighbours.

The island

Robben Island, in Table Bay, was a place of banishment and imprisonment for centuries and is now a museum and UNESCO World Heritage Site. Tours leave from the Nelson Mandela Gateway at the V&A and are guided on the island; book with the Robben Island Museum (robben-island.org.za) well ahead.

Go up the mountain on the first clear, still morning, whatever your plan said.

The harbour

The V&A Waterfront is a working harbour, with the Two Oceans Aquarium, Zeitz MOCAA in its grain silo, and the boats to Robben Island.

The peninsula

Chapman’s Peak Drive is a toll road cut into the cliffs between Hout Bay and Noordhoek. At the end of the peninsula are Cape Point and the Cape of Good Hope, in Table Mountain National Park, with the Flying Dutchman funicular to the old lighthouse, and on the way back, the penguins at Boulders.

Our advice: give the peninsula a whole day, and drive it clockwise, so the sea is on your side of the car on Chapman’s Peak.

Opening hours, prices and seasonal openings change, so please check with A mountain, an island and two oceans: Cape Town’s great sights before you go.