Get FREE email communications from Fodor's Travel, covering must-see travel destinations, expert trip planning advice, and travel inspiration to fuel your passion.
Cape Town has grown as a city in a way that few others in the world have. Take a good look at the street names. Strand and Waterkant streets (meaning "beach" and "waterside," respectively) are now far from the sea. However, when they were named, they were right on the beach. An enormous program of dumping rubble into the ocean extended the city by a good few square miles (thanks to the Dutch obsession with reclaiming land from the sea). Almost all the city on the seaward side of Strand and Waterkant is part of the reclaimed area of the city known as the Foreshore. If you look at old paintings of the city, you will see that originally waves lapped at the very walls of the castle, now more than half a mile from the ocean.
Most guided tours of the Malay quarter include a visit to this 18th-century home, which originally belonged to well-known Turkish scholar and prominent local Muslim leader, Abu Bakr Effendi. The museum showcases local Islamic heritage and culture, with highlights including “Who Built Cape Town?,” “Mapping Bo-Kaap: History, memories and spaces,” and the documentary “Viewing Bo-Kaap.”
This tranquil national forest is planted with hundreds of tree species from all over the world, including Californian redwoods and a variety of oaks. A favorite spot for picnickers and cyclists, the Arboretum also has a simple tea garden that serves hearty home-style meals and delicious cakes. On the way in to the Arboretum is a crumbling Cape Dutch manor. Built in 1795 with a façade designed by famed architect Louis Michel Thibault, the homestead, which is not open to the public, is reputedly haunted.
Sign up for Travel Tips & News
Thank you for your interest!
