The 21 Best Things to Do in Cape Town (2026)

The best things to do in Cape Town combine city life and nature: hike Table Mountain and Lion's Head, go shark cage diving, wander colorful Bo-Kaap, and take day trips to Stellenbosch and Franschhoek wine country or the penguins at Boulders Beach near the Cape of Good Hope.

Cape Town might be the best city we've been to for exactly this mix. It's wedged between two oceans and a mountain range, which sounds like a line from a brochure until you're actually there and realize you can hike, surf, and sit down for coffee in a hip café all before lunch. The whole region actually makes up one of the six global Floral Kingdoms, the smallest one on Earth, packed with plant and animal life you won't see anywhere else on this planet.

My first visit to this city was back in 2010, and it stuck with me for well over a decade before we finally made it back. Most recently, we lived here for over a month as digital nomads, splitting our days between hiking, shark diving, wine country, and getting lost in different neighborhoods.

That's the version of Cape Town this post is built from: everything we actually did ourselves thanks to advice from our local friends, plus the day trips worth carving out real time for.

Looking for the LGBTQ+ side of Cape Town specifically, gay tours, gay-friendly beaches, bars, hotels, and more? Check out our complete gay Cape Town guide. This post covers general things to do and day trips.

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Cape Town's Nature and Outdoor Adventures

Cape Town's top outdoor adventures, Table Mountain, Lion's Head, Signal Hill, shark cage diving, and paragliding, are all just minutes from downtown. If you're nature freaks like us, you'll have everything you need right outside your doorstep.

1. Go up Table Mountain (via gondola or hiking)

Table Mountain is Cape Town's centerpiece and most recognizable landmark: a round trip cable way ride whisks you to the top in minutes, or you can pick from several hiking routes up its slopes.

If you have time for nothing else, make sure Table Mountain is high up on your list. We did what most people do and took the cable way up rather than hiking, and it was still very much worth it.

One logistical note: the cableway shuts down whenever it's too windy, foggy, or the mountain's "tablecloth" of cloud rolls in, which happens more often in Cape Town than you'd think. Check the live status on tablemountain.net the morning of, and if you can, build in a backup day rather than only planning this for your last afternoon in the city.

Cable car ascending Table Mountain with Cape Town and ocean in the background

Person posing at the summit of Table Mountain overlooking the city

View from Table Mountain down to the ocean and coastline

If you want to hike but don't feel like planning or are going solo and would like to meet others, join a tour!

2. Hike Lion's Head

Lion's Head is roughly a 1.5-hour hike round trip from the base, winding around the peak with the help of a few ropes and chains near the summit.

Hiker on a trail with Lion's Head in the background

Person posing near the summit of Lion's Head

Person standing at the top of Lion's Head with city views

This was an absolutely epic hike that also scared the sh** out of us at times, especially watching runners scale up the side! From the bottom, it looks impossible to get all the way up, but thanks to the gradient and a bit of assistance from those ropes and chains, somehow it is.

It is totally worth it, and you will be proud of yourself.

If you feel more comfortable hiking with guides, you can do a tour.

Our friend did it this way, and as it was a sunset hike, the tour made the hike much safer, particularly when descending in the dark.

3. Catch the Sunset at Signal Hill

Signal Hill is Cape Town's easiest sunset spot: you can drive straight to the top, or walk a short trail instead, for one of the best panoramas in the city.

Cloudy sky over Signal Hill with panoramic city views

If Table Mountain and Lion's Head sound like too much effort, Signal Hill is the lazy version, and it might have the better view. From the top, you get a wide-open panorama:

Lion's Head on one side
The Atlantic Ocean on the other
Robben Island floating in the water

Grab a bottle of wine and something to sit on and go for sunset. It's one of the cheapest, best evenings you'll have in the city.

4. Shark Cage Diving

Shark cage diving is booked exclusively through tour operators, and almost all of them now run out of Gansbaai, about a 2-hour drive from Cape Town, rather than the closer False Bay spots that used to be the norm. You take turns inside a cage attached to the side of the boat and dip underwater to watch sharks hovering around.

One thing worth knowing before you book: since around 2017, a small pod of orcas has been picking off great whites along this stretch of coast, and great white sightings here have dropped off hard as a result. These days you're far more likely to see bronze whaler sharks (still massive, still very much a shark) than an actual great white, so go in with realistic expectations.

Because of the distance, trips typically run as a full day with hotel pickup included, and they get rescheduled fairly often due to wind and visibility, so it's smart to book this earlier in your trip rather than on your last day in case you need a backup date.

Also it's not for the faint-hearted, this is a terrifying experience. When I did it back in 2010, before the orcas showed up and great whites were still the main event, I was actually struggling far more with the freezing cold water than the fear of the sharks 😅. It can definitely be a jarring experience, but it is a memory you will have for a lifetime and something you can brag about with your friends.

You have to book this through a tour in advance. We recommend this one from GetYourGuide, as it is reputable and safe, but you should also be able to shop around when you get there.

5. Paragliding

Paragliding over Cape Town launches from Signal Hill, which is also the takeoff point for the countless paragliders you'll see gliding through the skies daily. The city is best seen from above, so give it a try if you're a thrill-seeker! You'll get ridiculously breathtaking views of the city, Table Mountain, and Lion's Head.

This tour is especially praised for its pilots and smooth takeoffs and landings, so you know you're in good hands.

Cape Town's Best Beaches and Coastal Drives

Cape Town's coastline is what sells the whole city for us: the Atlantic side is colder and more dramatic, while the Indian Ocean side is warmer and more laid-back.

6. Camps Bay and Clifton Beaches

Camps Bay and Clifton are Cape Town's two postcard beach areas, just around the corner from each other on the Atlantic side.

Beach	Vibe	Getting There
Camps Bay	White sand, palm trees, the Twelve Apostles mountain range as a backdrop, restaurants and rooftop bars across the road	Flat, easy access
Clifton (4 beaches)	Arguably even prettier, more secluded	Down a set of stairs

As we were working remotely while in Cape Town and couldn't often fit in excursions during the day, we'd often take an Uber from downtown to Camps Bay to watch the sunset and drink wine at one of the many restaurants.

Sunset view over Camps Bay beach with the Twelve Apostles mountains — *Camps Bay could be one of the best sunset spots in Cape Town.*

Palm trees and cars along the Camps Bay sunset promenade — *Camps Bay could be one of the best sunset spots in Cape Town.*

Being the gay travelers that we are, Clifton 3rd Beach is the one we tend to frequent. It's small, but there's a lot of eye candy.

Two men relaxing on Clifton 3rd Beach — *Looking for boys on Clifton Beach 3?*

We prefer the Clifton beaches when we want something a bit more remote and removed from the commercial side, and Camps Bay when we're craving more activity and wine and cuisine.

7. Surf (or Just Watch) at Muizenberg Beach

Muizenberg is Cape Town's surf town on the Indian Ocean side, with waves gentle enough for beginners and a row of colorful beach huts that shows up in basically every Cape Town photo dump you've seen.

If you've never surfed before, this is the spot to finally try it. For specifics about where to go as a beginner or more advanced surfer, this surfing guide will tell you exactly where to go.

If you are a bit like us, and you'd rather stay dry, you can also just grab a coffee and just watch from the boardwalk.

For those looking for a beginner surf lesson to try while in Cape Town, this one is highly-rated, although it only provides about 1 hour of instruction. There are also multi-day surf camps you can try.

8. Drive Chapman's Peak

Chapman's Peak Drive is a tolled, 9km coastal road with 114 curves winding between Hout Bay and Noordhoek. This one isn't a single stop, it's the drive itself, so give yourself extra time and enjoy the ride. Both cash and card work at the toll plaza, and if you're just after a quick look rather than the full drive, you can get a Day Pass on the Hout Bay side that covers the first 3km for free. There are also several picnic areas and pull-offs along the route if you want to stop for photos.

A winding road hugs steep, rocky cliffs along a coastline near Cape Town, with deep blue ocean waves below and the iconic silhouette of Table Mountain rising in the distance beneath a clear, bright blue sky.

Neighborhoods, Culture, and History Worth Your Time

Cape Town isn't just nature and beaches: Bo-Kaap, Company's Garden, Kirstenbosch, and Robben Island each carry a piece of the city's heavy, important history and are worth slowing down for.

9. Wander Bo-Kaap

Bo-Kaap is the neighborhood with all the candy-colored houses you've seen all over Instagram, sitting right at the base of Signal Hill right next to the gay-friendly, De Waterkant. It used to be called the Malay Quarter, home to enslaved Muslims brought to the Cape by the Dutch, and the houses were painted after apartheid ended as a mark of freedom and identity, not just for the photos.

Colorful buildings with pink, yellow, green, and orange facades line a street under a clear blue sky in Cape Town, with the iconic Table Mountain and modern structures in the background.

Walk the streets, pop into the Bo-Kaap Museum, and grab some Cape Malay food nearby. It's some of the best food in the city and doesn't get nearly enough credit.

It reminds us slightly of the colorful houses in Burano, Venice, but obviously with a very different story and history.

These are two very cool things to do here if you have the time.

A guided tour of Bo-Kaap complete with a visit to the District Six Museum, Greenmarket Square... just to name a few things.

A Malay cooking class. As mentioned, the Malays have a history in Bo-Kaap and you'll get to try making some of their traditional disches.

10. Company's Garden and Kirstenbosch Botanical Garden

For something slower-paced, Company's Garden is the oldest park in the city, sitting right in the middle of downtown, and a nice place to sit with a coffee between activities.

If you have more time, Kirstenbosch Botanical Garden at the base of Table Mountain is worth the trip out, especially for the elevated canopy walkway through the treetops. Outdoor concerts happen here in the summer, too.

A curving wooden walkway with wire railings rises above green trees, leading toward the lush mountains of Table Mountain under a clear blue sky—an inviting scene that captures the natural beauty of Cape Town.

11. Robben Island

This is where Nelson Mandela spent 18 of his 27 years in prison, and it's now a museum and a pretty damn moving history lesson, not just a box to tick. The ferry leaves from the V&A Waterfront, and tours take you through the old prison itself.

A coastal scene with blue water in the foreground, several buildings with red roofs, palm trees, and a lighthouse with a red top in the background under a clear blue sky, reminiscent of Cape Town’s picturesque shoreline with Table Mountain rising majestically nearby.

I came here at the very end of my trip in 2010 and was very much moved to tears. The entire experience from getting on the boat to wandering the museum is compelling, and it gives you a much deeper perspective of the troubles and tribulations South Africa has been through and still goes through to some extent today.

Book this one ahead of time directly from their site, as tickets sell out, especially in peak season.

The ferry leaves from the Nelson Mandela Gateway at the V&A Waterfront, and the whole outing, including the boat ride there and back, runs about 3.5 hours. As of now, tours run Friday through Sunday, with departures between 9am and 2:30pm, but the schedule shifts throughout the year, so double-check the current days before you plan around it.

Expect to pay in the ballpark of R1,000 per adult if you're a South African resident, or R1,400 if you're not, with cheaper rates for kids.

Food, Wine, and Nightlife in the City

Cape Town's best food, wine, and nightlife stretch across the V&A Waterfront, Bree Street, and Kloof Street, with the Galileo Outdoor Cinema, Zeitz MOCAA, and the city's weekend food markets for something different.

12. V&A Waterfront

The V&A Waterfront is the harbor area at the base of the city, home to shops, restaurants, a Ferris wheel, seals lounging around the docks, and one of the best views of Table Mountain anywhere. Yes, it's touristy, but it earns it.

It's also where the ferry to Robben Island and the sunset wine cruise below both leave from.

It is a good place to chill for a few hours, but far from our favorite experiences on this list. It's a bit too polished, in a way that we accidentally ended up paying €150 a person for a fine-dining experience there 🫣.

A harbor scene with boats docked, including a pirate ship and catamaran, captures the vibrant spirit of Cape Town. Table Mountain rises majestically in the background. A sign for Sea Princess Catamaran and nearby buildings are also seen under a clear blue sky, hinting at adventures like shark cage diving awaiting visitors.

Four people sit around a round table set for dinner at a restaurant in Cape Town. They are smiling, with drinks and desserts on the table. Large windows reveal a nighttime waterfront view with Table Mountain majestically rising in the background. — *Some antics down by the V&A Waterfront. Our fine-dining experience (left) and playing some human-sized chess (right).*

A man takes a selfie while holding a large black chess piece on an outdoor life-sized chessboard at night, with people and string lights in the background. — *Some antics down by the V&A Waterfront. Our fine-dining experience (left) and playing some human-sized chess (right).*

13. Bree Street and Kloof Street

For nightlife and food, these are the two streets locals actually go to:

Bree Street (downtown): cocktail bars and restaurants spilling onto the sidewalk once the sun goes down. On the first Thursday of the month during South African summer, it becomes the epicenter of First Thursdays, a city-wide opening of galleries, bars, and street life.
Kloof Street (closer to Table Mountain): a laid-back café scene by day that turns into its own little bar strip after dark.

Pick whichever mood you're in and go.

14. Galileo Outdoor Cinema

The Galileo Outdoor Cinema hosts nightly film showings during summer in a stunning outdoor setting, with food vendors set up around the screening area. We went and watched 3 Weddings and a Funeral, which was an absolutely awful film, but the ambiance totally made up for it 🤣. Check the schedule here.

People and food vendors at the Galileo outdoor cinema

15. Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa

The Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa (Zeitz MOCAA), located at the V&A Waterfront, is a must-see for contemporary art lovers and one of the best museums of contemporary African art anywhere on the continent. It's open daily from 10am to 6pm, with last entry at 5:30pm.

There are plenty of other museums where that came from. Cape Town reminded us a bit of Mexico City, in just the breadth of art museums it has.

16. Take a Sunset Wine Cruise

2 hours on a yacht with wine for like 50 euro. A sunset wine cruise will make you feel like a badass even if you are on a budget. The tour we took included a glass of bubbles, but once that runs out, you can easily buy a bottle of wine onboard, and it won't cost very much extra.

There was something so unreal about seeing Table Mountain and the crazy colors of the sky a little tipsy from the water.

We did this gorgeous sunset wine cruise and we were definitely tipsy afterwards 🤣.

Two men enjoying a sunset wine cruise with Table Mountain in the distance — *Caption text*

Table Mountain viewed from the ocean during sunset — *Caption text*

17. Cape Town's Best Food Markets

If you need a break from sit-down restaurants, Cape Town's weekend food markets are worth building a morning around. Our favorite is the Neighbourgoods Market at The Old Biscuit Mill in Woodstock, a warehouse and courtyard packed with stalls slinging everything from oysters and bubbly to Zimbabwean and Korean food, with a DJ keeping the energy up the whole time. It runs Saturdays 9am–3pm and Sundays 10am–4pm. If you're driving, don't expect to park on-site on a Saturday, the market takes over the Mill's own parking, so use the College of Cape Town lot across the road instead (R20 for the day).

Fresh oysters served with condiments and a glass of sparkling wine at the Old Biscuit Mill food market in Cape Town — *Oysters and bubbly, obviously, at the Old Biscuit Mill.*

The other one worth knowing about is the Oranjezicht City Farm Market, which recently relocated to a brand-new spot right at the V&A Waterfront (corner of Granger Bay Boulevard and Dock Rd). It's a bit more polished and produce-focused than the Old Biscuit Mill, running Saturdays 8am–2:30pm and Sundays 8:30am–2:30pm, plus a Wednesday night market from 4pm–9:30pm (closed during June and July). It's an easy add-on if you're already down at the Waterfront for Robben Island or the sunset wine cruise.

Day Trips from Cape Town

The best day trips from Cape Town are wine tasting in Stellenbosch and Franschhoek, penguin- and Cape of Good Hope-spotting near Boulders Beach, and a multi-day Garden Route road trip along the southern coast.

If for some mysterious reason you run out of things to do in Cape Town, you have some of the most incredible day and weekend trips just moments away from the heart of the city. We totally encourage you to get out of the city at some point, as it's utterly stunning out there and there's a little something for everyone.

These were our favorites:

Day Trips for Wine Lovers

Cape Town's top wine regions, Stellenbosch and Franschhoek, are both under an hour's drive from the city and easy to visit without a car via guided tours.

18. Wine Tasting in Stellenbosch

Stellenbosch is a wine town less than an hour from Cape Town, and you can book a half-day or full-day tour either at the visitor's center once you arrive, or in advance as a pickup tour from your Cape Town hotel.

It's also super adorable, albeit a very colonialized town. We drove there ourselves without anything lined up and booked our tour at the visitor's center on the spot; if you're without a car, you can absolutely book Stellenbosch wine tours from Cape Town instead.

We recommend staying the night in the Stellenbosch region, but if you just have time for a half-day tour, this is a nice option.

And this bike tour is also a fabulous looking alternative.

Three friends posing in Stellenbosch wine country

Vineyard and tasting room at a Stellenbosch winery

19. Taking the Wine Tram in Franschhoek

The Franschhoek Wine Tram is a hop-on-hop-off tram, starting at 350 Rand, that circles this wine region near Stellenbosch and drops you at different wineries along old-fashioned tram routes.

The different colored routes are a bit overwhelming, but you cannot go wrong with any of them. Each route covers several wineries, with a recommended number you can fit in based on your start time.

It is ridiculously fun, and you have the opportunity to meet a lot of random people along the way. We actually met quite a few friends that we still meet up with around the world from time to time. It is one of the best places for wine to come if you don't have a car.

You can book the tours directly here, but if you also need to arrange transportation from/back to Cape Town, this tour is your best bet:

Four people on the Franschhoek wine tram

Winery along the Franschhoek wine tram route

Wildlife Day Trips: Penguins and Game Reserves

Cape Town's best wildlife day trips pair the African penguin colony at Boulders Beach with the Cape of Good Hope, or extend into a longer Garden Route trip for game reserves.

20. Cape of Good Hope and Boulders Beach Penguin Tour

Boulders Beach is home to a colony of African penguins, and it's typically combined with a stop at the Cape of Good Hope sign on the same day tour. Just know that Boulders Beach and Cape Point are technically two separate reserves within Table Mountain National Park, each with their own small entry gate, so if you're going independently rather than on a tour, budget a bit of extra cash and time for both.

The Cape Point side is open 6am–6pm October through March and 7am–5pm April through September (exit by sunset), and there's an optional funicular, the Flying Dutchman, that saves you the uphill walk to the old lighthouse if you'd rather not hike it.

We called in sick from work one day to actually do this, and it was WORTH IT despite it being a tourist hotspot. While the tour we took ended up being one of those red city Hop-On-Hop-Off buses that scream "tourist!" (we recommend this tour instead), as soon as we saw the penguins at Boulders Beach, our assumptions about the bus disbanded.

It is hard to turn your eyes away from the cuteness of the penguins as they wander harmoniously amongst the swarms of tourists. Soon after, you are taken down to the Cape of Good Hope. There you can wander around and partake in some hiking, and ultimately take a picture by the famous sign. While the tour gave you a relatively fast-paced, but satisfactory taste of everything, of course you can arrange it yourself and go at your own pace or take a private tour, like this one.

Colony of African penguins among rocks at Boulders Beach

Two people posing by the Cape of Good Hope sign

Two men smiling with Cape of Good Hope views in the background

21. Garden Route and Western Cape Road Trip

The Garden Route is a multi-day road trip along the southern coast, where the Atlantic and Indian Oceans meet, passing beach towns, farms, and game reserves; it's a must if you have a week or so to spare rather than a single day.

We rented a car to make this trip happen, but you can arrange to do it through a guided tour as well.

Check out one of our first YouTube videos for some inspiration:

Cape Town Things to Do FAQ

How many days do you need in Cape Town?

Three to four days covers the essentials (Table Mountain, the penguins, a beach or two), but you could easily spend two weeks and never get bored between the city itself and all the day trips within an hour or two.

Do you need a car to do all of this?

Not necessarily. Tours and pickup services cover almost everything on this list, including the day trips. But if you want the freedom to stop wherever you feel like on drives such as Chapman's Peak, renting a car makes life a lot easier.

Is Cape Town safe for tourists?

Yes, as long as you're reasonably street-smart. There are neighborhoods you'll want to skip after dark, but the areas covered in this post and the day trip routes are well-traveled and generally very safe.

What's the best time of year to visit?

Cape Town's summer (November through March) has the best weather, but it's also peak season, so expect higher prices and bigger crowds. Shoulder season, spring or fall, gets you good weather without the chaos.

Want the LGBTQ+-specific side of the city too, gay bars, gay tours, gay-friendly beaches, and where to stay? Head back to our complete gay Cape Town guide.