Holiday in Cape Town
Cape Town is a diverse and laid-back city, offering great shopping, fantastic sightseeing and a rich mix of cultural influences.
Often regarded as South Africa's second city, behind capital Johannesburg, Cape Town is close to the ocean and allows visitors to get everything they need from a holiday in the southern hemisphere. Overlooked by the instantly-recognisable Table Mountain, influences from all the diverse areas of South African life make a stay in Cape Town a holiday like no other.
Traditions and Culture in Cape Town
This is nowhere more true than in Cape Town, where the Victoria and Albert Waterfront offers tourists a chance to eat and drink by the water while remembering the history of the country with a trip to Nelson Mandela's former prison, Robben Island.
As one of the biggest cities in the country, Cape Town displays better than most areas of the country the rich diversity that comes from a nation formed by numerous backgrounds, creeds and religions. Afrikaans, English and Xhosa are the dominant languages in the Western Cape.
Recommended in Cape Town
Cape Town has many great sights to see, with two of the must-see spots without doubt Table Mountain and Robben Island.
Accessible on foot or by cablecar, a trip to the top of one of the world's most recognisable mountains - Table Mountain - should be one of the first things arranged when staying in Cape Town. Once at the top of the mountain, the view over the Cape is outstanding and should you have a clear day, you can see for miles.
Robben Island is best known as the former prison of Nelson Mandela and many of the activists who struggled against apartheid South Africa. This is the place where Mandela spent many years of his life, along with other political prisoners such as Steve Biko. Tours are available round the island, including a look at the cells that the prisoners stayed in and a tour round the yards where Mandela hid the manuscript of his book A Long Walk to Freedom.
Be sure to indulge in the local specialities, such as bobotie - which is kind of a curried cottage pie, but with an egg mix on top instead of potato - and of course a braai, where all kinds of meat are flame-grilled to perfection.
Weather in Cape Town
The weather in Cape Town varies from season to season with the summers getting to as hot as the high 30s and winter temperatures ranging from ten to 20 degrees C. The winters have plenty of rain but with South Africa being a southern hemisphere country, the height of summer is February and July/August is winter time's worst.
Destination checklist for Cape Town
South Africa's currency is the rand, which exchanges at around 13 or 14 rand to the pound. The time difference is GMT + 2.
Airlines such as British Airways, Qatar and Air Namibia all fly to Cape Town, with Flyglobespan offering a no-frills option. Flights usually go direct from Heathrow, or via Doha (with Qatar) or Windhoek (Air Namibia) from other airports. Flying time from London is about 12 hours.
