LocalPlaces Understanding Cape Town Walking Tour
- 4 hours
- Free cancellation up to 24h before
- Guided in English
- Mobile ticket
Highlights
Guided personally by author and storyteller, Gerald Garner, this is the most insightful tour you will find about Cape Town. An absolute must-do experience. This is not merely a tour but a mesmerizing storytelling experience. It will provide you with insight and understanding of the history and make-up of this fascinating city. And it will make you understand the entire South African story. With this knowledge, you will enjoy the rest of your visit to the city and country much more! This 4-hour walking tour is easy, covering 3,5km. It is for the curiously minded, but also includes opportunity for sightseeing, photography, experiencing the vibe of the city – and even a stop or two for drinks and sampling a local delicacy. The tour focuses on the background story of Cape Town. We start off with the 1870s Industrial Revolution and the Scramble for Africa before returning to pre-colonial history and moving on all the way to the early 20th Century. Join us for sure!
Inclusions
What's included
- The fee is for guiding/storytelling.
What's not
- Any food or drinks along they way is for the customer's own account on the day.
Itinerary
The tour starts at Ginja Restaurant at the Victoria & Alfred Hotel, V&A Waterfront. Simply the spot with the best view of the city and Table Mountain, as well as the surrounding harbour - originally excavated under the supervision of Prince Alfred, son on Queen Victoria in the era of British expansion into Africa.
We amble along the walkways of the Canal District, stopping along the way for storytelling and take in the views from Battery Park with its skate park, basket ball courts and more. A great green rooftop space in the city.
From the Waterfront we walk into the Foreshore area of the city, built on 194 ha of land reclaimed from the sea and today dominated by modernist buildings, before walking to the more historic part of the city.
We stop for drinks, storytelling and one of the best views in the city. From here you can see Green Point Stadium, the Waterfront, Table Bay, Blouberg, the Foreshore, the old city centre and of course Table Mountain. It is also the best viewspot from which to photograph the colourful and historically-significant Bo-Kaap district.
The tour ends at this historic complex of buildings dating the the 1750s. Today the home of a boutique hotel and a number of eateries, restaurants, bars and retail spaces. The courtyard boasts the oldest grapevine in the city!
We admire the incredible Art Deco buildings surrounding the square and pause for some curio market browsing too
We explore maginficent architecture and history along this pedestrianized street.
We explore the spectacular garden that started out as a vegetable garden for the Dutch East India Company but became a Victorian Park over time. Today it is a stellar city park in the heart of Cape Town.
Cancellation
Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the experience starts, for a full refund.
Reviews
5.0
- 525
- 40
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- 10
Ratings come from 25 reviews collected by our booking partner. They are travellers' own words, in the order they were written — never reordered to flatter the experience.
Know before you go
- Meeting point
- We meet at the Native Roasters Coffee Counter inside Ginja Restaurant at the Victoria & Alfred Hotel, V&A Waterfront. Find the entrance next to Nobel Square with the Nobel Peace Prize sculptures, opposite the Time Out Market
- Pickup
- Everyone meets at the starting point; there is no pickup.
- Ticket type
- Mobile or paper ticket accepted
- Group size
- Up to 20 travellers
- Operated by
- LocalPlaces
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Service animals allowed
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
How it compares in Cape Town
- Its from-price is 58% below the median of the 3091 experiences we list in Cape Town.
- It is shorter than most of them.
- By number of reviews it ranks 354 of 3091.
- The operator lists free cancellation on it.
About Cape Town
Cape Town spreads between Table Mountain and the sea, a striking city of beaches, vineyards, penguins and history near Africa's southwestern tip.
Table Mountain's flat summit looms over everything, reached by cableway or by hiking trails, with Lion's Head and Signal Hill flanking it. Below, the V&A Waterfront bustles around the working harbour, and boats leave from there for Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela was held for eighteen years. The colourful houses of Bo-Kaap climb the slopes above the city centre and the Company's Garden.
Top-ranked sights in Cape Town: Boulders Beach, Cape of Good Hope, Chapman’s Peak Drive.
Special offers in Cape Town
Was/now prices come from the operator, never from us.
10% offFree cancellation
