It has to be said that that Cape Town has many interesting cultural attractions. The Victoria & Alfred Waterfront, built on top of part of the docks of the Port of Cape Town, is the city’s most visited tourist attraction.
In addition it is one of the city’s most popular shopping locations, with several hundred retailers and the Two Oceans Aquarium.
Part of the charm of the V&A, as it is locally known, is that the Port continues to operate and visitors can watch ships enter and leave. The V&A has some of the finest waterfront accommodation Cape Town V&A also hosts the Nelson Mandela Gateway, through which ferries depart for Robben Island. It is possible to take a ferry from the V&A to Hout Bay, Simon’s Town and the Cape Fur Seal colonies on Seal and Duiker Islands. Several companies offer tours of the Cape Flats, a mostly Coloured township, and Khayelitsha, a mostly black township.
Luxury accommodation in Cape Town is noted for its architectural heritage, with the highest density of Cape Dutch style buildings in the world some of which have been turned into self catering accommodation Cape Town. Every year, Cape Town hosts the annual Minstrel Carnival, also known by its Afrikaans name of Kaapse Klopse; it is a large minstrel festival held annually on January 2 or “Tweede Nuwe Jaar”
Competing teams of minstrels parade in brightly coloured costumes, either carrying colourful umbrellas or playing an array of musical instruments, on their way to the Arts Cape Theatre Centre which is the main performing arts venue in Cape Town.
Cape Town’s transport system links it to the rest of South Africa; it serves as the gateway to other destinations within the province. The Cape Winelands and in particular the towns of Stellenbosch, Paarl and Franschhoek are popular day trips from the city for sightseeing and wine tasting. Whale watching is popular amongst tourists: Southern Right Whales and Humpback Whales are seen off the coast during the breeding season (August to November) and Bryde’s Whales and Killer Whale can be seen any time of the year. The nearby town of Hermanus is known for its Whale Festival.