Did you know? · Cape Town
Cape Town fun facts
Things you might not know about Cape Town. Every fact comes from an official or primary source, named alongside it.
Updated October 2026
A national park in the city
Table Mountain National Park stretches 70 km from Signal Hill and Table Mountain to Cape Point, includes a Marine Protected Area, and is home to 22 mammals and 250 birds to find, according to SANParks (sanparks.org).
A museum and a hotel in a grain silo
At the V&A Waterfront, Zeitz MOCAA occupies the lower floors of the old grain silo and The Silo Hotel the floors above (zeitzmocaa.museum, theroyalportfolio.com).
Two World Heritage Sites
Robben Island is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and so is the Cape Floral Region, of which Table Mountain National Park and Kirstenbosch are part (robben-island.org.za, sanbi.org, sanparks.org).
A hotel painted pink for peace
The Mount Nelson was painted pink for peace in 1918, at the end of the First World War, and has kept the same shade since, according to Belmond (belmond.com).
Penguins on the beach
At Boulders, near Simon’s Town, African penguins nest among granite boulders within Table Mountain National Park (sanparks.org).
Questions and answers
How long is Table Mountain National Park?
It stretches 70 km from Signal Hill to Cape Point, according to SANParks.