Cape Town is South Africa’s oldest city, with remarkable tours and historical landmarks on offer, not to mention breathtaking scenery.
Robben Island Prison Museum
Robben Island Prison Museum is the notorious jail on Robben (the Dutch word for ‘seals’) Island used during the apartheid regime, where former South African President Nelson Mandela and many other black political prisoners were held.
Today former prisoners act as guides at this World Heritage Site. There are daily ferry trips to Robben Island, weather permitting, leaving from the Clock Tower Precinct at the V&A Waterfront. Allow half a day for your trip and book in advance.
- Tel: +27 21 413 4200.
- Website
- You can also book a Robben Island tour at any Cape Town Tourism Visitor Information Centre or contact: +27 21 487 6800
The Iziko Maritime Centre
The Iziko Maritime Centre offers a history of local shipwrecks, maritime exhibits and enough interactive displays to keep children amused for hours
- Address: Situated at the V&A Waterfront (opposite the V&A hotel and inline with the NSRI station).
- Tel: +27 21 405 2880/ +27 21 464 1261
- Website
District Six Museum
Originally established as a mixed community of freed slaves, merchants, artisans, labourers and immigrants, District Six was a vibrant centre with close links to the city and the port. By the beginning of the twentieth century, however, the history of removals and marginalisation had begun. The first to be ‘resettled’ were black South Africans, forcibly displaced from the District in 1901. As the more prosperous moved away to the suburbs, the area became the neglected ward of Cape Town. The Museum, established in 1994, works with the memories of these experiences and with the history of forced removals more generally.
- Address: 25A Buitenkant Street, Cape Town.
- Tel: +27 21 466 7200
- Website
Church Square and the Slave Lodge
Church Square and Slave Lodge bear witness to the turbulent past of the Cape of Good Hope. Located at the entrance of the Gothic-style Groote Kerk, Cape Town’s historical Church Square is where slaves would wait under a “slave tree” while their owners attended church. Today the old Slave Lodge is a monument that pays tribute to the past. There are fascinating historical displays about the Cape as well as a collection of antiquities and artefacts from around the world. The 186 Years of Slavery exhibition is one such major highlight. Slavery was officially abolished in the Cape in 1838.
- Address: Top corner of Adderley Street
- Tel: +27 21 460 8242
- Website
Castle of Good Hope
Built between 1666 and 1679 by the Dutch East India Company (VOC) as a maritime replenishment station, the Castle of Good Hope is the oldest surviving colonial building in South Africa. Today the Castle is the seat of the military in the Cape, and houses the William Fehr Collection of Africana and the Castle History Museum.
- Address: Corner of Darling and Buitenkant Streets.
- Tel: +27 21 787 1249
- Website
Have we left anything out? If you’re a fan of this host city leave your recommendations in the comment box below. Don’t forget an address and website link, along with any other relevant information.