Cape Town City Centre

About 2.5 – 3 Hours

Our historic city bowl is rich in heritage and offers a mix of historical buildings, architecture, museums, churches, art galleries, boutique shops, artisanal coffee shops and cute eating spots.

cape-town-city-hall

Cape Town is a melting pot of cultures created by three and half centuries of our First Nations, colonial, and political apartheid influences.  This rich tapestry of history is absorbed on foot at a leisurely pace through architecture, religious buildings, memorial art and stories about people and events which have shaped our community through to today.

We will meet in a convenient spot in the city centre (usually a hotel or café) and proceed on foot from there.

Please note on Saturdays, the churches are closed and on Sundays the museums/churches are closed to visitors.

In the City Centre you can select an overview orientation of our historic centre (I will send you a sample itinerary ), or I can curate a route including some of the following sites:

  • Castle of Good Hope (optional guided visit, 45 minutes)
  • Enslaved lives precinct, Slave Lodge (gain an understanding of enslaved lives at the Cape)
  • Greenmarket Square: Town House & market
  • City Hall & the Grand Parade: view the bronze statue of Mr Mandela where he gave his first speech as a free man in 1990
  • District Six museum: story of the Forced Removals (optional guided visit around 20 minutes)
  • Company Gardens: first fruit and vegetables planted by the Dutch East India Company
  • War memorials
  • St George’s Cathedral: the story of Archbishop Desmond Tutu
  • Parliament buildings
  • Memorial art and statues on route
  • Art Deco buildings
  • Bo Kaap: the Cape Malay quarter

Tour Highlights

The Bo Kaap: Cape Malay Quarter
Stories about enslaved lives and Islam at the Cape
The Castle of Good Hope
The oldest surviving building in South Africa and the original Headquarters for the Dutch East India Company
The bronze statue of Mr Mandela
on the balcony of the City Hall, Grand Parade, the site of his first speech as a free man, February 11, 1990
The Arch for The Arch memorial art: a tribute to Archbishop Desmond Tutu
Looking through The Arch, the Slave Lodge and the Groote Kerk (Dutch Reformed church)
The Flower market in Adderley Street
Flowers have been sold here on the pavement since the late 19th century.
The Company’s Garden
The first ever landscaped gardens in South Africa, the Dutch East India Company planted the first fruit and vegetables here to supply passing ships.
A re-creation of the Dutch East India Company’s garden
fruit and vegetables were planted to supply the passing ships
Memorial art for enslaved lives at the Cape with the Slave Lodge behind.
WW1 memorials
New memorial to remember black soldiers in WW1, to the left the memorial to remember the battle of Deville Wood.

Let’s talk.

Use this form to make an enquiry about a walking tour.

I look forward to hearing from you 🙂