There is the Cape Town you see. And then there is the Cape Town you discover.
From the air, on a clear day, she introduces herself before you have even landed.
Table Mountain. Lion’s Head. Signal Hill. The sweep of the Atlantic.
Perhaps it is the extraordinary meeting of mountain, sea, forest and city, but Cape Town has a
way of enchanting people. Visitors arrive curious and leave a little reluctant. Locals disappear
for a weekend and somehow rediscover the city they thought they knew.
But here is the secret:
To really experience Cape Town, stay in the city. And then… walk.
Leave the car behind. Put away the itinerary for an hour. Step outside and allow the city to
reveal herself. Because Cape Town’s real magic lives in the details.
Look closer
Walk slowly and you begin to notice things.
Narrow doorways tucked into beautifully preserved Art Deco buildings. Grand old churches of-
fering moments of quiet contemplation. Intricate balconies and balustrades. Street art appear-
ing where you least expect it. Painted walls, decorated bollards, quirky pedestrian crossings
and architectural details that disappear in seconds when viewed through a car window. On foot, you begin to see the city rather than simply move through it.
And then there are the people.
Cape Town has always been shaped by people arriving, settling, trading, creating and beginning
again. Walk through the city today and you will encounter merchants, designers, chefs, artists
and entrepreneurs whose roots stretch from Lebanon to Senegal, Somalia to Germany, Turkey
to Tanzania and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
They are part of Cape Town now, but they bring pieces of somewhere else with them.
You taste it in the food.
Hear it in the music.
See it in the fashion.
Find it in the art.
This is the Cape Town we want you to discover.
Follow your senses
Cape Town can certainly dress for dinner. We have extraordinary restaurants, brilliant chefs and
dining experiences worthy of travelling for.
But some of the city’s best discoveries are far less obvious.
A tiny café hidden down a side street. A food truck you didn’t know existed. A coffee shop with
six tables and a fiercely loyal following. A little bar behind a doorway you have walked past a
dozen times.
Stay curious.
Perhaps afternoon tea becomes an exploration of fragrance at Labotessa. Perhaps you find
yourself creating your own scent at Gozdava 1590 on Loop Street.
Perhaps one drink becomes two at Talking to Strangers, or you wander into Culture Wine Bar
and discover a South African wine you have never tasted before.
Or perhaps you walk into a fabric shop and leave with an idea.
A few conversations later, that idea becomes a garment made especially for you – something
created in Cape Town, from Cape Town, carrying the hands and stories of the people
who made it.
Now that’s a souvenir.
And then you hear it…
A drum. A voice. Hands clapping. Feet finding a rhythm.
On weekends especially, Cape Town’s streets have their own soundtrack. Buskers appear.
Musicians gather. Performers claim their corners and suddenly an ordinary walk becomes a
performance you didn’t buy a ticket for.
Stop. Listen. Stay for the whole song.
Because this is exactly what you miss from inside a car. Through a window, the moment is
fleeting. On foot, you become part of it.
Somewhere in this city, you can even swap your laptop keyboard and mobile phone
for a djembe drum. For an hour, learn how to coax a sound from it. First a hum, then a beat,
then a roar. Cape Town carries out moving, you lose yourself in the rhythm,
in the streets of the city.
Stay. There is more
This is why we believe staying in the city is different from simply visiting it. Stay because dinner
can become a walk. Stay because after the theatre you don’t necessarily have to go home. Stay
because First Thursdays should end when you are ready, not when you need to begin the long
drive back.
Stay because tomorrow morning there is coffee around the corner, a gallery you haven’t
discovered, a restaurant someone told you about last night and another street you haven’t
walked yet.
And if you already live in Cape Town?
Stay anyway.
Book a night or two in your own city. Become a traveller at home. Turn left where you
usually turn right. Have breakfast somewhere new. Walk instead of drive. Look up at the
buildings. Talk to people. Follow the music.
You may be surprised by how much of Cape Town you have never actually met.
Whether you are coming for business, a conference, a concert, the theatre, First Thursdays, a
celebration – or simply because you need a change of scenery – give the city a little more of
your time.
Stay in the city.
Not simply because it is convenient.
Stay because Cape Town is best experienced slowly, curiously and up close.
Stay long enough for the streets to become familiar.
Stay long enough to find your coffee shop, your bar, your favourite corner.
Stay long enough for the city to stop feeling like somewhere you are visiting.
Stay long enough to fall a little bit in love.
