Cape Town
Table Mountain, the sea and South Africa's most beautiful city in between: Cape Town. Its appeal is fascinating. Not only is it considered by insiders to be one of the most beautiful cities in the world, it has also established itself as one of the world's top travel destinations in recent years - and not just since the 2010 World Cup. Cape Town is booming, is a hotspot and inspires with its energetic, multicultural flair. Globetrotters, artists, creatives, models and photographers from all over the world meet here.
Just a relaxed overnight flight away from Europe and with no time difference, you can enjoy cosmopolitan urbanity and beach life at the same time in Africa's southernmost city with its mild, almost Mediterranean climate and lush flora. The beach promenades - catwalks for seeing and being seen - impress with their stylish bars and chic restaurants, while the magnificent beaches of Clifton and Camps Bay easily compete with Venice Beach or Malibu. But the clocks tick differently in Cape Town. Capetonians are very relaxed - or "very laid-back", as they say here. They have time, are fun-loving and enjoy life. Stress and hectic are words that do not exist in their vocabulary. Some call this, not without envy or malice, the "Cape Coma". The laid-back way of life makes this city the most visited on the African continent. No visit to Cape Town is complete without a trip to the famous Table Mountain, which has been one of the new "Seven Natural Wonders of the World" since 11/11/2011. If you have time, hike up, you should plan three hours for this. It's quicker to take the gondola, which rotates 360 degrees during the ride to reveal the entire panorama at your feet. The lively Victoria & Alfred Waterfront, the former harbor area, lies in front of the impressive backdrop of the landmark, which is often shrouded in clouds. Today, this tourist magnet is a promenade, trendy meeting place, museum district and colorful open-air stage for musicians and street artists. The opportunities for shopping, dining and entertainment are almost unlimited. The place is buzzing around the clock. Right next door is the new "Green Point Stadium". And if you are interested in history, you can take a ferry from here - ferries leave every hour - to Robben Island, the prison island where Nelson Mandela spent most of his 27-year sentence. Another shopping paradise, classy and individual, is the Cape Quarter with typical South African designers, cafés and the best lemon tart in town. Bo-Kaap, the trendy Malay quarter on the slopes of Signal Hill, is one of the oldest in Cape Town - with brightly colored houses, narrow, winding streets, pubs and restaurants. The latter are famous for their curries. Just a few blocks further down is Cape Town's oldest and most beautiful street, the lively Long Street, a dazzling testimony to an eventful past and a creative present. The mix of Dutch and English colonial architecture, art deco and modernism is impressive. A popular location for filming. Street cafés, bistros, fine restaurants, hip bars and clubs alternate with antique stores, junk stores and florists. The art scene is impressive and exciting. People like to go to galleries and then to the bar. The nightlife is buzzing. Music is omnipresent: Cape Town's jazz, which has been world-famous since Abdullah Ibrahim at the latest, can be heard from the streets to the clubs. At OKHA in Hatfield Street, you will find the largest selection of local interior designers who combine African tradition and modernity in an ingenious way and bring the new spirit of the rainbow nation to the world - such as the "Zulu Mama Chair" by designer Haldane Martin. Stores, high-class galleries and boutiques showcasing the latest creations of young fashion designers show that Cape Town is becoming a cultural and design metropolis faster than any other city on the continent. No wonder Cape Town was nominated as "World Design Capital 2014", ahead of Bilbao and Dublin. And the gastronomic scene is also hard to beat. The cuisine is as multicultural as the population. Countless restaurants serve freshly caught seafood and exotic game such as ostrich, kudu and springbok. Refined dishes, whose spices make the culinary melting pot so irresistible, make every gourmet's heart beat faster. In any case, it is essential to book in advance. The accommodation on offer ranges from elegant upmarket hotels to tiny guest houses and includes the spectacularly located beach lodge Tintswalo Atlantic, the elegant private residence Ellerman House, the classic Mount Nelson and South Africa's first city resort, the One & Only. Not forgetting Cape Town's attractive surrounding countryside, ideal for interesting day trips. The wine-growing regions in Stellenbosch, Paarl or Franschhoek, the famous Cape of Good Hope, the mystical intersection of two oceans, Chapman's Peak, one of the most beautiful coastal roads in the world, or Boulders Beach with its penguin colony - everything is right on the doorstep. Cape Town, the fascinating, vibrant metropolis, the "Mother City", as South Africans like to call it, is a city of contrasts, a city in transition. It knows its strengths and beauties, exudes optimism and self-confidence.
South Africa's Route No. 1 - The legendary Garden Route
It belongs to South Africa like the "Big Five" belong to the Kruger National Park. And even those who have traveled it several times will still discover amazing things. It is not clearly defined where exactly it begins and ends. The entire coastal section between Cape Town and Port Elizabeth is often referred to as the Garden Route, and sometimes the northern region around Oudtshoorn with the famous Cango Caves is also included. In any case, the entire road network along the route is so well developed that a trip in a convertible - there are also beautiful vintage cars for hire in Cape Town - is well worthwhile. Unforgettable images of steep, shimmering purple mountain ranges, coasts with rugged cliffs and white sandy beaches, estuaries forming lagoons and idyllic little towns are lined up one after the other. Add to this an overwhelming, colorful vegetation with the majority of the approximately 24,000 South African plant species. No wonder the Dutch settlers of the time regarded this area as "Garden of Eden" and gave it this name.
-Spectacular little towns with Cape Dutch flair--
Although these places lack cultural offerings such as theaters, cinemas or concerts, there is still a wealth of attractions such as the Wilderness National Park, the Knysna Lake Area and the Tsitsikamma National Park, which were merged to form the Garden Route National Park in 2009. George is the largest town on the Garden Route, followed by Mossel Bay, a seafaring town with a long tradition and today also a popular seaside resort. This is also where the best oysters are grown, and their breeding area stretches from Mossel Bay to Knysna. This small town is the tourist center of the Garden Route, particularly because of its location between two cliffs, the Knysna Heads, the lagoon and the almost unmissable range of leisure activities. From the lookout tower on the eastern "Head" you can enjoy a magnificent view over the "Leisure Isle" lagoon, and gourmets particularly appreciate the oysters that are farmed in this lagoon. Golfers enjoy the world-class golf courses, above all Fancourt, George Golf Club, Kingswood Golf Estate, Mossel Bay Golf Club, Pezula Golf Estate, Plettenberg Bay Country Club, Goose Valley Golf Club, Simola Golf Estate, Pinnacle Point Golf Resort and Oubaai Golf Estate, for which there is a joint golf pass with a reduced green fee. The area around Knysna is full of adventure. Animal lovers will find tame pachyderms in the private "Knysna Elephant Park", while those interested in culture can visit the Millwood Gold Mines, where gold was discovered in 1876 and within a few years a town with over 1,000 inhabitants was established. It disappeared from the map as early as 1890, and today only a circular trail with a small museum and adjoining café reminds us of the golden age. The world's highest commercial bungee jump on the Bloukrans River Bridge provides an adrenaline rush. From a height of 216 meters, daredevils plunge into the depths for seven seconds in free fall. On the other hand, one of the safest beaches and the most popular destination for tourists is much more peaceful - Buffalo Bay.
Plettenberg Bay is often referred to as the "Jewel of the Garden Route". The place was originally christened "Bahia Formosa" (grandiose bay) by the early Portuguese sailors. A warm climate all year round, golden beaches, a rocky peninsula, beautiful lagoons and nearby nature reserves attract an international clientele. Port Elizabeth at the end of the extended Garden Route has around 800,000 inhabitants, a city center with Market Square and the 50-meter-high Campile observation tower at the harbour, which has a beautiful carillon. The Boardwalk is a large entertainment and shopping center that is a magnet for tourists and locals, especially in the evening.
Then there is the Little Karoo, which offers the best conditions for ostrich farming, and Hermanus, famous for its whale watching.
The climatic conditions should not be completely ignored, because where there is a lot of green, there is also a lot of rain - although it usually rains at night. Spring usually sets in around August/September, although the weather is usually still quite changeable until October. From November to March, you can set off in a convertible, as the days are comparatively sunny and warm and daytime highs of 30 °C are not uncommon. From April onwards, it gets increasingly cooler again, but you can still expect nice, warm days right through to June.
Photo: © Katharina Wieland Müller / pixelio.de
Lage
an der Südspitze von Südafrika
Fläche
2.455 km²
Bevölkerung
3,74 Millionen Einwohner
Sprache
Afrikaans, Englisch, isiXhosa
Religion
25% Independent African Churches, such as Zion Christian Church, 18% other Christian churches, 12% other religions
Weather
Das Klima von Kapstadt ist durch dessen Lage am Atlantik geprägt, daher gibt es nur mäßige Temperaturschwankungen. In den Sommermonaten Dezember bis Februar liegen die monatlichen Höchstwerte zwischen 24 bis 25 °C, die Tiefstwerte sinken im Mittel kaum unter 16 °C. In den Wintermonaten Juli und August steigen die Höchstwerte auf etwa 17 °C an, die Tiefstwerte liegen bei etwa 10 °C. Im Winter fallen durchschnittlich mehr Niederschläge als im Sommer.
Beste Reisezeit
Kapstadt ist ganzjährig bereisbar; die Jahreszeiten mit denen in Europa vertauscht
Klima
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
| Max. Temperaturen | 26 | 26 | 25 | 23 | 20 | 18 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 21 | 23 | 25 |
| Min. Temperaturen | 15 | 15 | 14 | 12 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 10 | 13 | 15 |
| Sonnenstunden | 11 | 11 | 9 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 10 | 11 |
| Regentage | 15 | 17 | 20 | 41 | 69 | 93 | 82 | 77 | 40 | 30 | 14 | 17 |
Zeitverschiebung
UTC/GMT +2 Stunde
Währung
Rand
Visa
Deutsche, Österreicher und Schweizer Staatsbürger brauchen für einen Aufenthalt bis zu drei Monaten einen Reisepass, der eine Gültigkeit von mindestens dreißig (30) Tagen über die Ausreise aus der Republik Südafrika hinaus haben muss. Ein Visum braucht von Deutschland aus nicht im voraus beantragt werden. Der Pass muss mindestens eine freie Seite für Sichtvermerke haben.
Food in Cape Town - a culinary delight in a class of its own
In the beginning was the ostrich. The fact that the strange bird with the long neck and strong legs is suitable for the pan was a realization that the first South African holidaymakers brought home with them in the mid-1990s. A perfectly pink roasted ostrich steak, tender and soft and tasting more like beef than poultry. Although ostrich fillet is still a standard dish on South African plates, it has often been transformed into a wafer-thin carpaccio. This is because the gastronomy between Johannesburg and Cape Town is now at a refined level that has sometimes been awarded Michelin stars in Europe.
A culture of high-class dining has developed along the Garden Route in particular. But not only in the top restaurants, but also in many simpler restaurants, the quality, ambience and service are now excellent.
With influences primarily from classic French, but also Italian cuisine, chefs in the Cape have acquired skills that allow them to dazzle on an international level. They concentrate on local products such as kudu, antelope, lamb and beef from the Karoo plateaus. Foie gras and South African-style bouillabaisse are just as much a part of the basic canon as fish and seafood from the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. The fact that good food and good wine go together is particularly true of South Africa. Chardonnays and Chenin Blancs, fruity Pinotages, Merlots and Cabernet Sauvignons come from Constantia and Stellenbosch, Franschhoek, Hermanus and Paarl. Phonebook-thick wine lists are the pride of any restaurant with high standards - as is the four- to eight-course tasting menu with matching wine accompaniment. And you should try this as often as possible on a culinary trip to the Cape.
Cape Town's nightlife - an extraordinary experience
Cape Town's nightlife is unique with a variety of relaxed pubs
pubs, chic trendy meeting places and modern clubs with international
top DJs. The music in the clubs is very house-heavy. Almost every week
a special party takes place somewhere in Cape Town. Because, for example
cigarette advertising is banned, for example, the brands try to outdo
brands try to outdo each other with the best theme party;
Golfing in Cape Town - golfing gems on the Garden Route
One of the most famous golf regions in the world is the Garden Route between Hermanus in the South African province of the Western Cape and Port Elizabeth in the Eastern Cape. Outstanding golf courses in breathtaking locations are strung together like pearls - many with views of the Indian Ocean.
This is also the case with the Pezula Championship Golf Course (par 72) near the village of Knysna. The 18 holes of this unique resort, designed by David Dale and Ronald Fream, are spread over an impressive 254 hectares in a spectacular scenic location high above the Atlantic Ocean and the Knysna lagoon. Opened in 2001, the course was immediately named "best new golf course" by the renowned American trade magazine "Golf Digest" - above all due to its two "signature holes" 13 and 14. With a length of 5,930 meters, the course itself is not excessively long, but the 18 holes run through enormously hilly terrain and are therefore a sporting challenge for the physical condition. We strongly recommend hiring a cart and having a drink in the beautiful clubhouse with its great views. Still relatively new, the Pinnacle Point Beach and Golf Resort in Mossel Bay is already one of the most spectacular golf resorts on the Garden Route. The 18-hole championship course (par 72) was designed on 400 hectares of land by master architect Peter Matkovich and is one of his most dramatic courses, with several holes directly overlooking the ocean.
The Fancourt Hotel and Country Club Estate in the heart of the Garden Route is the only South African golf resort to be a member of the "Great Golf Resorts of the World". Three 18-hole championship courses, all designed by golf icon Gary Player, vie for the golfing guest here: Mantagu's Course (par 72), framed by the Outeniqua Mountains, is famous for its hole 17, which was modeled on the 12th hole at Augusta and scores particularly well with its many water hazards and bunkered greens.
The 18-hole Outiniqua course, number two, is not quite as spectacular with short holes, but also with water, small valleys and undulating fairways. Last but not least, The Links (par 73), the venue for important tournaments and the most difficult course, scores points with its 2nd hole, a par 3 with a bunker in the middle of the green and a layout reminiscent of the most beautiful Scottish courses. The Arabella Golf Club Western Cape Championship Course (par 72), which is over six kilometers long and has 18 holes between the foothills of the Kogelberg Nature Reserve and the Botriver Lagoon, is one of the most famous golf courses in South Africa. Designer Peter Matkovich created a mix of spectacular scenery and perfect golf course sophistication.
The newest course here is the 18-hole Oubaai Golf Club (par 72) with a five-star hotel of the same name in the Hyatt Regency chain. As Ernie El's only South African golf course, it is located in Herolds Bay, around ten minutes from George Airport. The signature hole on hole 17 with a view of the ocean is particularly reminiscent of the traditional links course, where, with a bit of luck, whales can sometimes be spotted.
Cape Town culture - The city's most beautiful museums
- District Six Museum
Historically significant museum because of its historical presentation and impressive photo collection about the multicultural District Six neighborhood and the violent expulsion of its inhabitants by the apartheid government. 25 A, Buitenkant Street, www.districtsix.co.za
- South African National Gallery
The art museum contains a comprehensive collection of contemporary South African art in addition to European art. Government Avenue, Gardens, www.museums.org.za
Shopping in Cape Town - shopping at the highest level at low prices
The prices in South Africa quickly tempt you to go on a shopping spree. Thanks to the
weak currency in South Africa (Rand), many things are only half as expensive as here. Take a look
first, compare prices and also pay attention to the quality standard.
quality standard. Although South African products are generally of good quality
quality, but do not always reach the European standard.
In the
Adderley Street you will find shopping centers and interesting souvenir stores.
The area is also known for its fashion stores and jewelry stores. In St
George's Mall is home to interesting boutiques and nearby at
Greenmarket Square there is a flea market and various fashion boutiques. Long
Street is full of charming little stores that truly reflect the character of Cape Town.
truly reflect the character of Cape Town. The largest shopping center in the area is the Tyger
Valley Shopping Centre, which is conveniently located between the city and the
wine growing areas.
Hotels
