Blog: Cape Town

Did you know that Greenmarket Sq is Cape Town’s “Kilometre Zero”? Every city has one and it’s the exact point from which distances are measured.

We are often asked to recommend a hotel in Cape Town for a night or two before or after a trip. Brand new for December 2018 is “40 on Burg”. A classic art deco building that has been beautifully renovated to offer just 20 rooms. Location is everything, and this is perfect, just steps away from Greenmarket Square, the historical centre of old Cape Town: cobbled streets, thriving café culture and loads of individual owner-managed shops.

The perfect base from where to explore Cape Town

Venture Co doesn’t do anodyne, brand-conforming hotels: we prefer to recommend properties with individual character and flexible service to accommodate the evolving preferences of travellers.

Penguines, Cape Town

To get a sense of what Cape Town offers, check out some of these ideas:
• Interact with lively local communities on a township tour and try some Umqombothi (home brewed ale)
• Take a sightseeing tour on a red hop-on-hop-off bus to get your bearings
• Try an architectural walking tour by day or a ghost tour at night
• Take in some penguin action at the Boulders penguin colony
• Book a ferry to Robben Island to see where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned
• Summit Table Mountain in a cable car to see the most spectacular views
• Visit the Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve, also known as the Cape of Storms because of the fierce seas which are responsible for more than 60 shipwrecks
• Head to Groot Constantia, the oldest wine producing farm in South Africa for wine-tasting, lunch and a stroll through an original Cape Dutch Manor House
• Take your time at District Six Museum, which commemorates and celebrates the vibrant mixed community forcibly removed in the 1960’s
• Stroll through Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens set at the foot of Table Mountain; be sure to try the aerial boardwalk
• Browse one of the many contemporary African art galleries such as Michaelis, Iziko, Worldart, G2 and Everard Read
• Head to the V&A Waterfront to see street performers or take a shark dive in the predator exhibit at the Two Oceans Aquarium. Visit Cape Town’s oldest cannon battery, watch seals languishing on a quayside, shop, or take a sunset cruise while sipping bubbly
• Go paragliding or abseiling off Table Mountain; take a beach horse ride, do some whale watching or go deep sea fishing. Cycle or walk along the Sea Point Promenade, go mountain biking, hiking, surfing, snorkel with seals, kayak with penguins, or just stretch out on a deck chair on the beach