Cape Town

Why is it famous?

Cape Town is famous for its incredible setting — a lively harbor city squeezed between sparkling beaches and the flat, cloud-topped Table Mountain.

Its Bo-Kaap neighborhood is painted in bright purples, pinks, yellows, and blues, making entire streets look like a rainbow.

A city with a long story

Cape Town was founded in 1652 as a small supply station where sailing ships could stop for fresh water and food on long voyages between Europe and Asia.

Because it's the oldest city in South Africa, people still fondly call it the 'Mother City' today.

Amazing facts

Table Mountain, right behind the city, is so flat on top that you could set a giant tablecloth on it — and it's one of the New7Wonders of Nature.

At nearby Boulders Beach, wild African penguins waddle right past sunbathers — it's one of the only places on Earth you can walk among a wild penguin colony.

Quick facts

• Table Mountain, right behind the city, is so flat on top that you could set a giant tablecloth on it — and it's one of the New7Wonders of Nature.
• At nearby Boulders Beach, wild African penguins waddle right past sunbathers — it's one of the only places on Earth you can walk among a wild penguin colony.
• The V&A Waterfront is a real working harbor where fishing boats and cargo ships still dock, right next to shops, restaurants, and a giant Ferris wheel.
• Cape Town sits within the Cape Floral Kingdom, the smallest of the world's six plant kingdoms, home to thousands of flower species — including South Africa's national flower, the king protea — found nowhere else on the planet.