Whether you seek adventure at the top of Table Mountain, a wine-tasting session in Franschhoek, or a cultural culinary at an Ethiopian restaurant, this guide highlights the finest activities to enrich your coastal getaway.
It’s one of those days when everything drags on, and time moves painfully slowly, work, school or life has been piling up and it’s around time to take a breather; and what better air to breathe than a fresh, chilling gust from over the Atlantic Ocean?
Close your eyes for a second and imagine it - the warm sun and sandy beaches, the boats docked along the waterfront, the singing seals and squawking penguins, the lush grasslands and overflowing culture. This is Cape Town, and it’s always an amazing treat to pay a little visit. Here’s what to look forward to the next time you need a breakaway, the best things to do along Cape Town’s coast:
A Hike to the Top of the World
Starting strong, visit the landmark for which illustrious Cape Town is known, the majestic Table Mountain. Perhaps you could begin with a relaxing cable car ride up to the top. Wrong, starting right at the base stretch out your muscles and hike into the clouds. If you aren’t keen on doing much physical activity during your break, don’t worry, most hiking trails up the mountain are quite easy to complete. However, if you are the athletic type and looking for something a bit more challenging, more demanding hiking trails along the mountain await you.
Taking a hike is always a good way to clear your head and take a moment to truly appreciate the surrounding nature. With greenery that lines the rocks, the sound of the chirping birds, and pure mountain air filling your lungs, whatever struggles you encounter at the top, will be worth the effort once you reach the top and take in the vastness of the ocean, with the clouds close enough to reach out and touch.
Wine Stop? Wine Not?
What is better than relaxing with a glass of some of the Cape’s most famous wines? Working up a sweat on the hiking trail and THEN relaxing with a glass of some of the Cape’s most famous wines. Babylonstoren Wine Farm is one of the oldest Cape Dutch wine farms found within Franschhoek Wine Valley. A day visit to the farm is sure to give you the break you need with an itinerary that could include a cellar tour, garden walks, workshops or a simple lunch date. There are also several events hosted by the team throughout the year to celebrate seasonal milestones and calendar highlights.
One of the most exciting highlights of the wine farm is the one and only Soetmelksvlei, an olden-day 19th-century village. Experience what life was truly like in the olden days: walking along the dirt roads, greeting the village workers, as you head over to the farms to practice your cow milking skills, right before you feed the chickens and harvest freshly laid eggs. As your morning on the farm ends, catch an ox wagon back into the village, where you will watch the blacksmiths cut and mould iron ingots into working tools right before your eyes. Break with a picnic lunch amidst the beautiful rolling fields, before embarking on a butter-churning lesson, using fresh milk collected that very morning. End your temporal experience with an apprenticeship class, punching holes into your newly handmade leather.
Heading East?
A cultural culinary experience awaits you beyond the doors of Madam Taitou Ethopian Restaurant, adding an international twist to your holiday escapades. Your arrival is greeted with the bright and vivid textile art pieces that hang from the walls, and the lush greenery of potted plants stretches out beside the path invoking a sense of sitting in nature, despite being inside. Ethiopian music rings throughout the room, accompanied by chatter and laughter from fellow patrons.
Take a seat at a table large enough to sit your entire dinner party, and order some traditional sharing platters. Encouraged by your waiter, who informs you on the Ethiopian traditions of sharing big plates and eating with your hands, your table is slowly consumed by the savoury and sweet aromas of rich brown beef stews, spiced couscous, shimmering Berber sauce over tender slow-cooked chicken, Ethiopian-style spinach, curried vegetables and traditional salad. This is a meal you're sure to remember, licking your fingers clean with every bite.
Take a Walk Down Artistic Alley
A trip to the Cape isn’t a trip without a moment tappreciate some art along the way, and a stop by the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa is just the location for that. Nestled within the V&A Waterfront, the museum aims to preserve and research contemporary art from Africa and its diaspora. Its galleries feature permanent displays and a rotation of temporary exhibitions.
Unlike most galleries, the artwork isn’t confined to wall hangings and installations, but in the architecture itself. The building’s exterior exudes an industrial feel, with its straight lines and monumental height — but once inside, a whole new aesthetic awaits. The curved walls stretch up into circular skylights and the rounded edges of each wall seamlessly blend into the next. The smooth stone accents and the subtle orange glow of the sunlight streaming into hidden corners make each section of the museum the perfect picture opportunity.
From adventurous outdoor excursions to scenic vineyards and interactive art galleries, experience Cape Town in all the best ways imaginable. The next time you decide to take a trip over to the Southern edge of the continent, remember these stops and consider adding them to your itinerary to explore the coastal cape unforgettably.
