The BIG 6 - The top six tourist attractions in Cape Town: Table Mountain, Kirstenbosch Gardens, the Constantia Wine Route, Robben Island, The V&A Waterfront and Cape Point....

Table Mountain - Offers spectacular views over Table Bay and the Southern Peninsular. There’s a restaurant on top open until late, though the food’s not brilliant. The summit can be reached by cable car or by foot. In high season to avoid long queues it’s best to get your timed tickets for the cable car in advance.
 

Constantia wine route - For those looking to stock up on some great South African wine, and only ten minutes away from Highpoint, is home to numerous vineyards that produce and sell some of the finest wine that South Africa produces. Estates include Klein Constantia, Constantia Uitsig, Steenberg and Groot Constantia Estates. Needless to say, wine tasting is available at all of these estates as well as some of the finest restaurants in South Africa.

Cape Point - Within a short and picturesque drive from the house is Cape Point where the Indian and Atlantic oceans are said to meet. This mistaken belief gave the name to the coastline of False Bay . Cape Point is at the end of a large national park where tortoises quite often chug across the road in front of you, oblivious to danger. But beware of the baboons. They live all along the drive from Simons Town onwards, and they can be quite insistent if they think there’s food in the car. On the way down it’s worth stopping off to some of the little bays where you will find seals and Emperor penguins taking a short break.

 
Robben Island - A national monument, Robben Island is one of the most significant historical sites in South Africa. First used by the Dutch East India Company (VOC) as a refreshment station, it later became an asylum and leper colony. The island was then controlled by the Army and Navy, after which it fell into the hands of the Department of Correctional Services in 1960. It gained notoriety as a gaol for those considered dangerous to the previous government, including its most famous prisoner, Nelson Mandela, for whom the island was 'home' for over two decades. The Robben Island ferry departs from the Waterfront. 30 minutes drive from Highpoint.

Kirstenbosch - Twenty minutes’ drive from Highpoint is this world renowned botanical garden famous for its indigenous plants (over 5000 species) and for its magnificent setting on the eastern slopes of Table Mountain. Visitors can stroll the vast grounds or admire the view whilst picnicking on the rolling lawns. There is a delightful restaurant renowned for its Sunday breakfasts and teas, as well as a shop where one can buy postcards and plants. In the summer season there are Sunday evening concerts offering music from African township to European classical while you picnic on the lawns.

The Waterfront - Africa's most expensive real estate and a destination that every visitor to Cape Town ends up at, at some point. Hundreds of shops, restaurants, bars, live music venues, galleries, markets and of course the starting point for your Robben Island boat ride. Ample parking available.

Other activities in Cape Town include...

Castle of Good Hope - Built between 1666 - 1679, the Castle - situated in Buitenkant Street in the heart of Cape Town - is the oldest building in South Africa. It is a pentagonal fort with a moat and bastions at each corner, each named after the titles of the Prince of Orange. The Castle houses a military museum with three linked themes: the military history of the Cape, the military history of the Castle and the history of the Cape regiments past and present. It also houses the William Fehr Collection of paintings and antiques, and visitors can dine or relax with a refreshing drink at a restaurant on the premises. 30 minutes drive from Highpoint.
  

Museums and Galleries - Cape Town has an unbelievebly rich array of world class museums and art galleries. Dotted all around the penisular, from the historic National Gallery, home to some of South Africa's most famous artists, to the MTN Science Centre, an activities based museums aimed at educating children about physics through fun. Two highly recommended museums though is the District Six museum and the Jewish Museum. From 5 to 30 minutes drive from Highpoint.

Aquarium - One of the finest aquariums in the Southern Hemisphere, and certainly in South Africa. As one would expect from a city on two oceans there are specimens from both the Indian and Atlantic ocean on display. The most famous exhibit is the 2.2 million litre Predator Tank, with Ragged Tooth sharks, turtles, rays and the largest game fish you will ever see. A must for visitors to Cape Town. 30 minutes drive from Highpoint.

The District Six Museum - The District Six Museum Foundation was established in 1989 and launched as a museum in 1994 to keep alive the memories of District Six and displaced people everywhere. It came into being as a vehicle for advocating social justice, as a space for reflection and contemplation and as an institution for challenging the distortions and half-truths which propped up the history of Cape Town and South Africa. As an independent space where the forgotten understandings of the past are resuscitated, where different interpretations of that past are facilitated through its collections, exhibitions and education programmes, the Museum is committed to telling the stories of forced removals and assisting in the reconstitution of the community of District Six and Cape Town by drawing on a heritage of non-racialism, non-sexism, anti-class discrimination and the encouragement of debate.

The Company Gardens - Situated right in the heart of cape Town, one of Jan van Riebeeck's first projects after landing at Table Bay in April 1652, he set about creating a vegetable garden which would feed the Cape's first European settlement. This garden still flourishes today and is on of this humble patch of ground that today is home to South Africa's most attractive and botanically interesting city parks. Spend an afternoon lying on the grass, feeding the squirrels or marvelling at the Cape's endemic flora and fauna. Highpoint has a library of guided walks all around the peninsular, including the Company Gardens.

Signal Hill - The rump of Lions Head mountain. Accessed via a road the runs along the side of the hill, opens up on the the most exquisite views accross Cape Town and Table Bay. The most popular place in Cape Town to go for Sundowners and together with a good bottle of wine, guarenteed to be one of the most memorable evenings in Cape Town. Highly recomended on warm summer evenings. Parking available next to the picnic area.

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