Simon's Town

Simon's Town has been a naval harbour since the eighteenth century - Dutch, then British, and since 1957 the main base of the South African Navy - and the main street runs as a line of Victorian and Edwardian frontages above the dockyard with a mountain behind. Two things pull visitors. Boulders Beach at the southern end holds an African penguin colony among granite boulders with boardwalks through it, one of very few places anywhere you can stand metres from breeding penguins. And on the main street stands a bronze of Just Nuisance, a Great Dane adopted by sailors in the Second World War and formally enlisted in the Royal Navy so he could travel on trains with them - the only dog to be enlisted, and buried with military honours. The naval museum, the old dockyard buildings and a martello tower fill the rest of the day.

What you actually see

• Boulders penguins - a breeding colony on boardwalks through granite boulders.
• Just Nuisance - a bronze to the Great Dane formally enlisted in the Royal Navy.
• The naval town - Victorian frontages above a working dockyard since the 1700s.
• The museums - naval and local history in the old dockyard buildings.

When to go

All year; penguins are present year-round with chicks in spring and summer. Half a day.

Honest expectations

Boulders is ticketed and crowded midday - go early. Penguins bite and the boardwalk exists for a reason. Naval areas are restricted and photography near them is not allowed. Parking in the village is tight.

Nearby

Boulders Beach is at the southern edge; Cape Point is further down the peninsula.