Table Mountain Cableway
Get a spectacular view of the Mother City from the top of the city’s most iconic landmark. Take the Table Mountain cable car 1,000 meters above sea-level and gaze down upon the sea and city. Grab a bite to eat and shop for souvenirs before making your way down again. Adventurous visitors can descend the mountain by hiking or abseiling. The first car leaves at 08h30 and the last car leaves between 16h30 and 20h30, depending on the time of year.
Tickets cost R255 person, return, and must be purchased from Webtickets.co.za
www.tablemountain.net
District 6 Museum
During apartheid, residents of District Six were forcibly relocated, the buildings, with the exception of religious structures, demolished, and the area fell into disrepair. The museum, which is housed in an old church, is one way the former residents and their descendants are holding onto the area’s memories and cultural heritage. The permanent multimedia exhibition, ‘Digging Deeper’, tells the life stories and history of District Six’s residents.
The museum is open from Monday to Saturday from 09h00 to 16h00. A self-guided visit costs R30 per person, but if you’d like to be guided through the museum by a former resident at 10h00, 11h00, 12h00 or 14h00, it will cost R45.
www.districtsix.co.za
Bay Harbour Market
Inside a refurbished fish factory is the Bay Harbour Market in Hout Bay, where you can browse through stalls stocking locally-made arts, crafts, fashion and décor. And when you’re done shopping, enjoy some live entertainment from established and up-and-coming musical artists while sampling food from an array of stalls – craft beers, fresh seafood, sushi, as well as Mexican, Tunisian and German fare, to name a few.
The market is open every Friday from 17h000 to 21h00, and Saturdays and Sundays from 09h30 to 16h00.
www.bayharbour.co.za
Robben Island
A trip to Cape Town is not complete without seeing Robben Island. At times a leper colony, mental hospital, defence training base, and prison in which former president Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela spent 18 years, Robben Island is also a World Heritage Site. The Tour guides inside the prison are former political prisoners. They are fully conversant and knowledgeable about the Island’s multi-layered 500 year old history. The tour route includes the graveyard of people who died from leprosy, the Lime Quarry, Robert Sobukwe’s house, the Bluestone quarry, the army and navy bunkers and the Maximum Security Prison. The tour culminates with a viewing of Nelson Mandela’s cell.
There are three tours a day – at 09h00, 11h00 and 13h00. Tickets need to be booked in advance and cost R320 per person. The ferries depart from the Nelson Mandela Gateway at the V & A Waterfront. The tour takes 3.5 hours including the ferry trip to and from the island.
www.robben-island.org.za
Honest Chocolate
Indulge your sweet tooth with a little handcrafted raw Ecuadorian cacao chocolate. All ingredients used in these delectable treats are made without dairy, processed sugar, preservatives or artificial flavouring. Everything is done by hand, including tempering, dipping and packaging. Honest Chocolate also makes great coffee and cakes, so you can take your time deciding which chocolatey treats you want to take home.
The Wale Street café and shop opens daily at 09h00 and closes at 18h00 from Monday to Thursday, 21h00 on Fridays and Saturdays, and 16h00 on Sundays.
www.honestchocolate.co.za
Two Oceans Aquarium
Within the V&A Waterfront, the Two Oceans Aquarium houses thousands of sea animals – sharks, jellyfish, seahorses, penguins, turtles and numerous species of fish. Spend 90 minutes on catamaran in Table Bay, learning all about the rich biodiversity of Cape Town’s waters, and looking out for dolphins, seals, sunfish and whales. Dive with shoals of Yellowfin Tuna, Striped Bonito, Dusky Kob, Musselcracker and turtles. Get up close and personal with rockhopper penguins, who love sitting in people’s laps.
The aquarium is open from 09h30 to 18h00 daily and entry costs R150.
www.aquarium.co.za