Hello City Center

Cape Town’s city center is South Africa’s oldest urban area, south of the V&A Waterfront. It’s home to the Houses of Parliament, a reminder of the country’s path to democracy, Castle of Good Hope, the country’s oldest building, and District Six, where an award-winning museum commemorates its former residents who were forcibly removed to the townships. The National Gallery, Jewish Museum, and many others add to the area’s historic sights. Cutting through the city center are Long Street and Adderley Street, which morph into leafy Company Gardens. In between is Greenmarket Square where markets, cafes, and shops cluster in the surrounding grid of streets. Long Street’s backpacker hostels and bars make it both loved and loathed, but either way, head to the Pan African Market for local crafts, and nearby Bree, Loop and Wale Streets are lined with bars, cafes, and restaurants. To the west is Bo-Kaap, Cape Town’s Muslim quarter with its colorful houses, worth a wander for its spice shops and curry houses. For all the city center's attractions, Table Mountain looms over it all, a constant reminder of Cape Town’s almost ridiculously striking setting.