Nov 30

Cape Town

Cape Town is the provincial capital of the Western Cape and is famous for its harbour and well-known landmarks such as Table Mountain and Cape Point. Cape Town is the most popular tourist destination in Africa. Tourists are also attracted to Cape Town by its good climate, the natural setting and the city’s well-developed infrastructure.

Cape Town’s Climate
The city is known for its Mediterranean Climate and well-defined seasons. Rainfall in mountain areas average around 1500 mm per annum, while valleys and coastal plains average 515 mm per annum.

Winters
Winters in Cape Town lasts from May to September. Cape Town winters are known for large fronts, heavy precipitation and strong north-westerly winds. It is a cool season with average minimum temperatures of 7 °C. It is also the time of the year for most of the city’s annual rainfall.

Summers
Summers in Cape Town are warm and dry and lasts from November to March. Cape Town becomes uncomfortably hot in February and March when the Berg Wind (mountain wind) blows from the Karoo interior.

Flights
Visitors from South Africa can get cheap flights to Cape Town by visiting bestflights.co.za

Attractions

Beaches
The beaches of Cape Town are not only popular with tourists, but local residents as well. Several different beaches can be visited in the same day due to the city’s unique geography. Beaches located on the Atlantic Coast tend to have colder water and water at False Bay beaches tend to be warmer by up to 10 °C.

Table Mountain
Table Mountain forms a large part of the Table Mountain National Park and is the back end of the City Bowl. A thin strip of cloud sometimes forms over the mountain and is called the “tablecloth”. Table Mountain Cableway or the hiking trail can be used to reach the top of the mountain.

Victoria & Alfred Waterfront
The Victoria & Alfred Waterfront is built on the docks of the Port of Cape Town. The V&A Waterfront features hundreds of shops and the Two Oceans Aquarium, making it one of the city’s most popular shopping venues. Ferries depart for Robben Island through the Nelson Mandela Gateway at the waterfront.

Cape Malay Bo-Kaap
The Cape Malay Bo-Kaap is one of the most visited areas in Cape Town. Cape Town Minstrel Carnival, also known as the Kaapse Klopse, is held annually on January 2 or “Tweede Nuwe Jaar”. Teams of minstrels compete in bright coloured costumes with lively music and lots of entertainment.

Streets and Buildings
The city’s historical streets and buildings are a major draw for tourists. Cape Town is noted for its architectural heritage, with the highest density of Cape Dutch style buildings in the world. These buildings are most visible in Constantia, the old government buildings and along Long Street.

Wine Tasting
Wine tasting and sightseeing are popular day trips in the Cape Winelands, especially the towns of Franschhoek, Stellenbosch, Worcester and Paarl.

Whale Watching
Whale watching attracts many tourist to the city. The nearby town of Hermanus is known for its Whale Festival, but whales can also be seen in False Bay. In August to November, the breeding season, the Southern Right Whales and Humpback Whales are seen off the coast. Throughout the year the Bryde’s Whales and Killer whales can be seen.

Places to Stay
Visitors of Cape Town usually stay in the following popular areas: Camps Bay, Sea Point, the V&A Waterfront, the City Bowl, Hout Bay, Constantia, Rondebosch, Newlands, Somerset West, Hermanus or Stellenbosch.

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Oct 22

The West coast attraction of South Africa, Cape Town is close to L’agullas, which is located on the most south point of the African continent. This most wonderful scenic and spectacular part of the world is famous for its most miraculous Table Mountain. Cape Town’s climate is moderate, being a coastal city. It also experiences very strong seasonal winds and rainfall during the winter. The attitude of the residents of this place is of late back nature, which can controvertibly be called as the Cape cultural heritage.

The History Of Cape Town
Bartolomeus Dias arrived at the Cape in 1488 and named it “The Cape of Storms”, which was then later named as “The Cape of Good Hope’. Ten years after, Vasco de Gama came to the Cape and from this time onwards the Portuguese acquired Eastern trade and the Europeans became well known to the Khoi-Khoi. It can be said that this was the reason for the Cape’s cultural diversity. Jan van Riebeek, in 1652, established a permanent settlement at the Cape, which was like a halfway station for ships to get fresh water and food. It also helped doing trade with the East. The Cape needed slaves because the crops that were planted to give us food were to be taken care of so the imported slaves made an enormous contribution to the Capes diverse cultural heritage.

Tourism
The Cape has a good variety of ethnic music, along with African dancers, which can be witnessed at the St George’s Mall. There one can find good traditional African music performed with instruments such as bongo drums, xylophones and flutes. On the first day of January the streets of Cape Town will be filled with rich cultural activity of the “Kaapse Klopse” or Coon Carnival. This annual parade consists of 20,000 people who will dance and sing, performing traditional tunes to start the New Year on a positive note. This time of the year is famous for the singing of the Cape’s Malay choirs and many church choirs, which forms a distinct part of the music and cultural heritage of Cape Town.

You can also get cheap Cape Town car hire deals online by going to CarRentalsSA.co.za.

Architecture And Robben Island
British, Dutch and contemporary African architecture form Cape Town’s foundation. The city’s Dutch heritage is reflected in traditional Cape-Dutch buildings, while its African residents (who typically cannot afford expensive residences) have managed to create innovative living spaces from unexpected designs and materials. This eclectic African style is often known as “shack chic”. Visitors to Cape Town can enjoy a scenic cruise to Robben Island, where political prisoners were held throughout South Africa’s apartheid years. In fact, Robben Island was home to Nelson Mandela for more than a quarter-century. Mandela later went on to become the nation’s president. Robben Island was also home to many other anti-apartheid activists and visitors today can visit the on-site museum, which honors the courage of those who fought for freedom.

The Castle Of Good Hope And Table Mountain
The most important tourist spot is the castle of good hope and Table mountain. The castle, being the oldest stone building in South Africa is situated in Cape Town city centre, forms the Western Cape’s military headquarters and has a wonderful museum and a good restaurant. Table mountain provides an exciting, popular cable car service for the tourists to reach a restaurant at the top of the mountain and to enjoy the beautiful view while dining on the mountain.

Cape town is a city with lot of tourist attractions. Getting a cheap flight into Cape Town is just as easy getting the attractive rates on their car hire deals.The city is also known for its variety of lodges, hotels, bed and breakfast houses, and back packers. The city will suit any type of tourist as it supports different type of people, food, and music and of course variety architecture.

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