The City Bowl & the Bo-Kaap
The City Bowl and the Bo-Kaap: under the mountain
Neighbourhood guide
Photo Credit
Image courtesy of © Dietmar Rabich · CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia CommonsAbout The City Bowl and the Bo-Kaap: under the mountain
The City Bowl is the amphitheatre between Table Mountain, Lion’s Head, Signal Hill and the sea. Its centre runs from the Castle of Good Hope and the Grand Parade up through the Company’s Garden; Bree Street and Kloof Street are lined with restaurants and cafés. The Bo-Kaap climbs Signal Hill to the west, and the suburbs of Gardens, Tamboerskloof and Oranjezicht rise towards the mountain.
Sights
The Castle of Good Hope, the Bo-Kaap, the Company’s Garden and the Iziko museums, the District Six Museum and the Holocaust & Genocide Centre.
Photo Credit
Image courtesy of © Dietmar Rabich · CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia CommonsEating and drinking
FYN off Church Square, Kloof Street House, Belly of the Beast, Truth Coffee, The Gin Bar, Tjing Tjing House and House of Machines.
Walk it: the City Bowl is compact, and every street ends in a view of the mountain.
Staying
The Mount Nelson in Gardens and the Taj on Wale Street.
Our advice: take a taxi after dark rather than walking between neighbourhoods.
Why it's on our list
- Sights
- Eating and drinking
- Staying
Opening hours, prices and seasonal openings change, so please check with The City Bowl and the Bo-Kaap: under the mountain before you go.
What’s nearby
Distances from The City Bowl and the Bo-Kaap: under the mountain are approximate, measured in a straight line (as the crow flies). Times are approximate too: walking at about 80 metres a minute, cycling at about 12 km/h and driving at typical city-traffic speeds. Traffic and routes vary.
Nearest MyCiTi stops
- CastleMyCiTi200 m2 min walk
- Lower PleinMyCiTi250 m3 min walk
- DarlingMyCiTi400 m5 min walk
Key sights
- Zeitz MOCAA1.6 kmWalk 20 minCycle 8 minCar or taxi 9 min
- Robben Island boats1.8 kmWalk 23 minCycle 9 minCar or taxi 9 min
- The V&A Waterfront1.9 kmWalk 24 minCycle 10 minCar or taxi 10 min
- The Table Mountain cableway3.5 kmWalk 44 minCycle 18 minCar or taxi 14 min
- Kirstenbosch7.0 kmCycle 35 minCar or taxi 22 min
- Cape Town International Airport17 kmCar or taxi 46 min
- Cape Point49 kmCar or taxi 122 min