Lonely Planet Cape Town & the Garden Route

Simon Richmond

Description

Lonely Planet: The world's leading travel guide publisher Lonely Planet's Cape Town & the Garden Route is your passport to the most relevant, up-to-date advice on what to see and skip, and what hidden discoveries await you. Soak in the view from the summit of Table Mountain, take a boat to Robben Island for an insight into the country's history, and explore the beaches, forests and verdant mountains along the majestic Garden Route - all with your trusted travel companion. Get to the heart of Cape Town and begin your journey now! Inside Lonely Planet's Cape Town & the Garden Route: Colour maps and images throughout Highlights and itineraries help you tailor your trip to your personal needs and interests Insider tips to save time and money and get around like a local, avoiding crowds and trouble spots Essential info at your fingertips - hours of operation, phone numbers, websites, transit tips, prices Honest reviews for all budgets - eating, sleeping, sightseeing, going out, shopping, hidden gems that most guidebooks miss Cultural insights provide a richer, more rewarding travel experience - covering history, people, music, landscapes, wildlife, cuisine, politics Covers City Bowl, Foreshore, Bo-Kaap & De Waterkant, East City, District Six, Woodstock & Observatory Gardens & Surrounds, Green Point & Waterfront, Sea Point to Hout Bay, Southern Suburbs, Simon's Town & Southern Peninsula, Cape Flats & Northern Suburbs, Stellenbosch, Franschhoek, Paarl, Robertson, Hermanus, Stanford, Darling, Langebaan, The Garden Route The Perfect Choice: Lonely Planet's Cape Town & the Garden Route is our most comprehensive guide to Cape Town, and is perfect for discovering both popular and offbeat experiences. Travelling further afield? Check out Lonely Planet's South Africa, Lesotho & Swaziland for a comprehensive look at what all these southern African countries have to offer. About Lonely Planet: Lonely Planet is a leading travel media company and the world's number one travel guidebook brand, providing both inspiring and trustworthy information for every kind of traveller since 1973. Over the past four decades, we've printed over 145 million guidebooks and grown a dedicated, passionate global community of travellers. You'll also find our content online, and in mobile apps, video, 14 languages, nine international magazines, armchair and lifestyle books, ebooks, and more. 'Lonely Planet guides are, quite simply, like no other.' - New York Times 'Lonely Planet. It's on everyone's bookshelves, it's in every traveller's hands. It's on mobile phones. It's on the Internet. It's everywhere, and it's telling entire generations of people how to travel the world.' - Fairfax Media (Australia)

Sujets

• Republic of South Africa
• South Africa
• Cape Town
• Le Cap
• Afrique du Sud

Informations

• Publié par: Lonely Planet
• Date de parution: 01 octobre 2018
• Nombre de lectures: 2
• EAN13: 9781788681469
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 24 Mo

Extrait

Cape Town & the Garden Route

Contents

Plan Your Trip

Welcome to Cape Town & the Garden Route
Cape Town & the Garden Route’s Top 15
Need to Know
What’s New
If You Like…
Month by Month
Itineraries
Getting Around
Eat Like a Local
Wine & Wineries
Activities
Regions at a Glance

On The Road

CAPE TOWN
Neighbourhoods at a Glance
Table Mountain National Park
Top Sights
Sights
Activities
Tours
Festivals & Events
Sleeping
Eating
Drinking & Nightlife
Entertainment
Shopping
AROUND CAPE TOWN
Road Trip > Driving Route 62
Winelands
Stellenbosch
Franschhoek
Paarl
Tulbagh
Robertson
The Overberg
The Elgin Valley
Hermanus
Gansbaai
Stanford
West Coast
Darling
Langebaan
Paternoster
GARDEN ROUTE
Surfing Along the Garden Route
Mossel Bay
George
Wilderness
Buffalo Bay
Knysna
Plettenberg Bay
Nature’s Valley

Understand

Understand Cape Town
Cape Town Today
History
People & Culture
Architecture
The Arts
The Natural Environment

Survival Guide

Directory A–Z
Accessible Travel
Accommodation
Children
Customs Regulations
Discount Cards
Electricity
Health
Insurance
Internet Access
LGBT Travellers
Money
Opening Hours
Photography
Post
Public Holidays
Safe Travel
Taxes & Refunds
Telephone
Time
Toilets
Tourist Information
Visas
Volunteering
Women Travellers
Transport
Getting There & Away
Getting Around
Language
Glossary
Behind the Scenes
Our Writers
Welcome to Cape Town & the Garden Route

There’s nowhere quite like Cape Town and the Garden Route – a coming-together of the diverse cultures, cuisines and spectacular landscapes of Southern Africa.

Natural Wonders
Table Mountain National Park defines the city. The flat-topped mountain is the headline act, but there are many other equally gorgeous natural landscapes within the park’s extensive boundaries. Cultivated areas, such as the historic Company’s Garden, Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden and Green Point Urban Park, also make exploring the city a pleasure. Follow the lead of locals by taking full advantage of the abundant outdoor space: learn to surf; go hiking or mountain biking; tandem-paraglide off Lion’s Head; abseil off the top of Table Mountain – just a few of the many activities on offer.

Art & Design
Human creativity is also self-evident here. From the brightly painted facades of the Bo-Kaap, to the Afro-chic decor of its restaurants and bars and the striking street art and design boutiques of the East City and Woodstock, this is one great-looking metropolis. The informal settlements of the Cape Flats are a sobering counterpoint, but these townships also have enterprising projects that put food from organic market gardens on tables, or stock gift shops with attractive souvenirs.

People & Culture
Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Hindu and traditional African beliefs coexist peacefully in this proudly multicultural city. Given South Africa’s troubled history, such harmony has been hard-won and remains fragile: nearly everyone has a fascinating, sometimes heartbreaking story to tell. It’s a city of determined pioneers – from the Afrikaner descendants of the original Dutch colonists and the majority coloured community to the descendants of European Jewish immigrants and more recent Xhosa (isiXhosa) migrants from the Eastern Cape. They all bring unique flavours to Cape Town’s rich melting pot.

Beyond the City
Wrenching yourself away from the magnetic mountain and all the delights of the Cape Peninsula is a challenge, but within an hour you can exchange urban landscapes for the charming towns, villages and bucolic estates of Winelands destinations, such as Stellenbosch and Franschhoek. Hermanus is a prime whale-watching location, and also a base from which to organise shark-cave diving. Further afield, the delights of the Garden Route unfold, with more inspiring scenery to be viewed on thrilling drives down the coast and over mountain passes.

Camps Bay Beach | HELEN CATHCART/GETTY IMAGES ©

Why I Love Cape Town & the Garden Route
By Simon Richmond, Writer
Mother Nature surpassed herself when crafting the Mother City. Whether jogging along Sea Point promenade, climbing up Lion’s Head in the dawn light, clambering over giant boulders at Sandy Bay or driving the amazing coastal roads down to Cape Point, I never fail to feel my spirits soar as I take in the breathtakingly beautiful vistas. You don’t need to break a sweat: sipping wine on a historic farm in Constantia or enjoying a picnic at an outdoor concert in Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden are equally memorable ways to commune with Cape Town’s great outdoors.
For more, see our writers
Cape Town & the Garden Route’s Top 15

Table Mountain
Whether you ride the revolving cableway or put in the leg work and climb, attaining the summit of Table Mountain is a Capetonian rite of passage. Weather permitting, your rewards are a panoramic view across the peninsula and a chance to experience some of the park’s incredible biodiversity. Schedule time for a hike: the park’s 245 sq km include routes to suit all levels of fitness and ambition, from gentle ambles to spot fynbos (proteas, heaths and ericas) to the two-day, 33.8km Cape of Good Hope Trail.

BENJAMIN B /GETTY IMAGES ©

Top Experiences
V&A Waterfront
Cape Town’s top sight in terms of visitor numbers, the V&A Waterfront is big, busy and in a spectacular location, with Table Mountain as a backdrop. There’s a pirate’s booty of consumer opportunities, from chic boutiques to major department stores, plus plenty of cultural and educational experiences, including walking tours of its well-preserved heritage buildings and public sculptures, the excellent Two Oceans Aquarium, and the spectacular new Zeitz MOCAA museum of contemporary art. Be sure to take a harbour cruise, too – preferably at sunset.

BRIAN EDEN/GETTY IMAGES ©


Top Experiences
Robben Island
A Unesco World Heritage Site, the former prison on Robben Island is a key location in South Africa’s long walk to freedom. Nelson Mandela and other Freedom struggle heroes were incarcerated here, following in the tragic footsteps of earlier fighters against the various colonial governments that ruled over the Cape. The boat journey here and the tour with former inmates provides an insight into the country’s troubled history – and a glimpse of how far it has progressed on the path to reconciliation and forgiveness.

DENNIS K. JOHNSON/GETTY IMAGES ©

Top Experiences
Bo-Kaap
Painted in vivid colours straight out of a packet of liquorice allsorts, the jumble of crumbling and restored heritage houses and mosques along the cobblestoned streets of the Bo-Kaap are both visually captivating and a storybook of inner-city gentrification. A stop at the Bo-Kaap Museum is recommended to gain an understanding of the history of this former slave quarter. Also, try Cape Malay dishes at one of the area’s several restaurants, or stay in one of the homes turned into guesthouses and hotels.

ESPIEGLE/GETTY IMAGES ©


Top Experiences
Cape of Good Hope
Make the spectacular journey out to this historic headland , and onward to Cape Point, the dramatic tip of the peninsula protected within Table Mountain National Park: rugged cliffs shoot down into the frothing waters of the Atlantic Ocean; giant waves crash over the enormous boulders at Africa’s most southwesterly point; and the Flying Dutchman Funicular runs up to the old lighthouse for fantastic views. Afterwards you can relax on lovely beaches such as the one at Buffels Bay, which is lapped by the slightly warmer waters of False Bay.

ROLAND W. KUNZ/500PX/GETTY IMAGES ©

Top Experiences
District Six Museum
More than 40 years on from when most of the homes in the inner-city suburb of District Six were demolished, and their multiethnic owners and tenants relocated to the blighted communities in the Cape Flats, the area remains largely barren. A visit to this illuminating, moving museum provides an understanding of District Six’s tragic history and the impact it has had on the lives of all Capetonians. You can also arrange a walking tour of the area, led by a former resident.

EQROY/GETTY IMAGES ©


Top Experiences
Franschhoek
Franschhoek is the smallest – but for many the prettiest – Cape Winelands town. Nestled in a spectacular valley, Franschhoek is also the country’s undisputed gastronomic capital. You may have a tough time deciding where to eat – the main road is lined with top-notch restaurants, some of them among the best in the country. The surrounding wineries likewise offer excellent food and no shortage of superb wine. Add a clutch of art galleries and some stylish guesthouses and it really is one of the loveliest towns in the Cape.

Boschendal winery | LATITUDESTOCK/GETTY IMAGES ©

Top Experiences
Kalk Bay
This delightful False Bay fishing village – named after the kilns that produced lime from seashells, used for painting buildings in the 17th century – offers an abundance of antique, arts and craft shops and great cafes and restaurants, as well as a daily fish market at its harbour. A drink or meal at institutions such as the Brass Bell pub or Live Bait restaurant – nearly as close to the splashing waters of False Bay as you can get without swimming – are fine ways to pass the time.

Harbour House | GARY LATHAM/LONELY PLANET ©


Top Experiences
Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden
There’s been European horticulture on the picturesque eastern slopes of Table Mountain since Jan van Riebeeck’s time in the 17th century, but it was British imperialist Cecil Rhodes, owner of Kirstenbosch Farm and surrounding properties, who really put the gardens on the map when he bequeathed the land to all Capetonians. Today it’s a spectacular showcase for the Cape Floral Kingdom, which was declared a Unesco World Heritage Site for its incredibl