Norval Foundation

Norval opened in 2018 on the edge of Steenberg in the southern suburbs, a low building set against a rehabilitated wetland with the Constantiaberg behind it. It was founded by the Norval family and holds a collection of twentieth-century and contemporary South African art, with a research centre and rotating exhibitions - Edoardo Villa's sculpture, work by Sydney Kumalo, Gerard Sekoto and Alexis Preller, and contemporary shows that have included major international names. The sculpture garden is the part people remember: about four hectares of indigenous planting and boardwalk over the wetland with large works placed through it, free-flowing rather than laid out in rows. There is a restaurant with a good reputation and a terrace over the water. It opened within a year of Zeitz MOCAA, and the two are usually compared - Norval is quieter, further from town and less architecturally showy.

What you actually see

• The sculpture garden - four hectares of wetland and indigenous planting with large works.
• The modern collection - twentieth-century South African art including Villa, Kumalo and Sekoto.
• The wetland setting - rehabilitated marsh with the Constantiaberg behind.
• The comparison - a quieter alternative to Zeitz MOCAA, opened the same period.

When to go

All year. Two to three hours. Weekday mornings are calmest.

Honest expectations

It is out in the southern suburbs and needs a car. Entry is priced at the high end. Exhibitions rotate, so the permanent collection on show varies. The restaurant books out at weekends.

Nearby

Tokai forest is behind it; Constantia's wine estates are close.