museum
Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa
Africa's largest contemporary art museum, carved from a historic grain silo on Cape Town's waterfront.
2 km · about 5 min drive
AfricaSouth AfricaWestern Cape
Cape Town
Western Cape, South Africa · Africa
About Cape Town
Cape Town works well as a base: 10 minutes from Rosebank, 5km from Camps Bay Beach.
Cape Town is in Western Cape, South Africa, with about 4.8 million people. You drive on the left here. The nearest town is Rosebank, about 6 km away.
Cape Town is the legislative capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's second-largest city by population, after Johannesburg, and the largest city in the Western Cape. The city is part of the City of Cape Town metropolitanRead more
municipality.
The city is known for its harbour, its natural setting in the Cape Floristic Region, and for landmarks such as Table Mountain and Cape Point. Located on the shore of Table Bay, the City Bowl area of Cape Town, which contains its central business district (CBD), is the oldest urban area in the Western Cape, with a significant cultural heritage. The metropolitan area has a long coastline on the Atlantic Ocean, which includes a northern section in the West Beach region, as well as the False Bay area in the south.
The Table Mountain National Park is within the city boundaries and there are several other nature reserves and marine-protected areas within and adjacent to the city. These include Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden, which contains 5 of South Africa's 6 biomes, and displays many plants native to the Cape region.
A popular global tourist destination, Cape Town has been named the best city in the world, and the world's best city for travellers numerous times, including by The New York Times in 2014, Time Out in 2025, the World Travel Awards in 2026, and The Telegraph for the past 8 years (2017 through 2025). Cape Town has South Africa's highest household incomes, lowest rate of unemployment, highest level of infrastructure investment, strongest service delivery performance, largest tourism appeal, and most robust real estate market.
Where to Stay in Cape Town
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Explore the Area
Discover famous landmarks, scenic roads, and more near Cape Town.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is there to see near Cape Town?
Within an hour or so of Cape Town: Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa (2 km), Two Oceans Aquarium (2 km), Table Mountain (4 km), Camps Bay Beach (5 km).
Are there any good drives near Cape Town?
The nearest famous roads are Chapman's Peak Drive, Cape Peninsula Circuit and Clarence Drive (R44).
Where is Cape Town?
Cape Town is in Western Cape, South Africa, about 6 km from Rosebank.
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Quick Information
- Population
- 4,772,846
- Continent
- Africa
- Country
- South Africa
- Region
- Western Cape
- Timezone
- Africa/Johannesburg
- Coordinates
- -33.9258, 18.4232
Emergency & Services
Essential numbers in South Africa
112 works from mobiles. Avoid driving at night in rural areas; keep doors locked in cities.
Full driving guide for South AfricaTags
Worth the detour from Cape Town
8 notable places within an hour's drive.
landmark
Two Oceans Aquarium
Cape Town aquarium at the V&A Waterfront showcasing marine life from both the Atlantic and Indian Oceans.
2 km · about 5 min drive
landmark
Table Mountain
Flat-topped mountain and iconic natural landmark overlooking Cape Town and the surrounding coastline.
4 km · about 10 min drive
beach
Camps Bay Beach
A glamorous Cape Town beach backed by the Twelve Apostles mountain range with palm-lined promenades and Atlantic waves.
5 km · about 10 min drive
beach
Clifton Beach
A series of four sheltered, boulder-divided coves in Cape Town renowned for their beauty and calm, clear waters.
5 km · about 10 min drive
landmark
Robben Island
Former political prison island off Cape Town where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for 18 years, now a UNESCO museum.
14 km · about 25 min drive
cafe
Chapman's Peak Beach Restaurant
A seaside restaurant at the base of Chapman's Peak Drive near Cape Town, one of the world's most spectacular coastal driving roads carved into cliff faces.
15 km · about 25 min drive
scenic viewpoint
Chapman's Peak Viewpoint
A series of pull-offs on one of the world's most scenic coastal drives, hugging the cliffs between Hout Bay and Noordhoek near Cape Town.
19 km · about 20 min drive
Driving roads near Cape Town
- 19 kmChapman's Peak ViewpointA series of pull-offs on one of the world's most scenic coastal drives, hugging the cliffs between Hout Bay and Noordhoek near Cape Town.
- 19 kmChapman's Peak DriveA breathtaking 9-kilometer toll road carved into the near-vertical face of Chapman's Peak between Hout Bay and Noordhoek.
- 48 kmCape Point ViewpointThe dramatic headland at the southwestern tip of Africa where the Atlantic and Indian Oceans meet, with a historic lighthouse perched on the cliff.
- 48 kmCape Peninsula CircuitA loop around the tip of Africa from Cape Town past Chapmans Peak, Cape Point, and Simons Town penguin colony.
- 50 kmClarence Drive (R44)A cliff-hugging coastal road between Gordon's Bay and Rooi-Els along False Bay, rated among the world's great ocean drives, with whale sightings in season.
- 65 kmHuguenot TunnelSouth Africa's longest road tunnel, boring 3.9 km through the Du Toitskloof mountains on the N1 near Paarl and bypassing the old scenic pass above it.
Nearby Destinations
Other places to explore near Cape Town.
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