With its majestic Table Mountain backdrop, Cape Town is one of the most beautiful cities in the world. A harmonious blend of architectural styles reflects the taste of the past as well as today's more functional requirements. Between the high-rise office blocks, Edwardian and Victorian buildings have been meticulously preserved, and many outstanding examples of Cape Dutch architecture are found.
Cape Town shopping options invite you to endlessly browse. Elegant malls such as the Victoria Wharf at the V&A Waterfront, antique shops, craft markets, flea markets and art galleries abound. Gourmets and lovers of fine wines have a treat in store, with the Constantia Winelands producing some of the finest wines worldwide.
Since Table Mountain opened 75 years ago, over 16 million people have taken the trip to the top. The Table Mountain cableway has since become something of a landmark, and has carried some of Cape Town's most illustrious visitors including King George VI and Queen Elizabeth II, as well as some stars of today such as Oprah Winfrey, Margaret Thatcher and Michael Schumacher.
Another major attraction in recent years, and a trip not to be missed, is Robben Island, which is reached via boat from the Nelson Mandela Gateway at the V&A Waterfront. For nearly 400 years, Robben Island, which is just 12 kilometres from Cape Town, was a place of banishment, exile, isolation and imprisonment. It was here that rulers sent those they regarded as political troublemakers, social outcasts and the unwanted of society. During the apartheid years it became internationally known for its institutional brutality. Indigenous African leaders, Muslim leaders from the East Indies, Dutch and British settler soldiers and civilians, women, and anti-apartheid activists, including South Africa's first democratic President, Nelson Mandela and the founding leader of the Pan Africanist Congress, Robert Sobukwe, were all imprisoned on the Island. Today, however, it also tells us about victory over Apartheid and other human rights abuses.
Since 1997 it has been a museum which is a dynamic institution, and acts as a focal point of South African heritage. It runs educational programmes for schools, youths and adults, facilitates tourism development, conducts ongoing research related to the Island and fulfils an archiving function.
