V&A Waterfront

The Victoria and Alfred basins were built from 1860 and are still a working harbour - tugs, fishing boats and dry docks operate in the middle of the shops, which is what separates this from a pure retail development. Around them sits Cape Town's most-visited quarter: two shopping centres, restaurants along the quays, a food market in an old power station, the Two Oceans Aquarium, and the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa in a converted grain silo, whose interior was cut out of the concrete tubes and is worth seeing regardless of the exhibitions. Boats for Robben Island leave from the Nelson Mandela Gateway here, and the ferry is often cancelled in wind, so book early in a trip and leave a spare day. Table Mountain stands directly behind, which makes the harbour basins the standard photograph of the city.

History

In 1654 Jan van Riebeeck built a small jetty here for the refreshment station. Storms in June 1858 wrecked over 30 ships in Table Bay, and on 17 September 1860 Prince Alfred, Queen Victoria's second son, tipped the first load of stone for the breakwater of Cape Town's first harbour; in 1984 a steering committee began the scheme that became the Waterfront (Wikipedia, V&A Waterfront).

Highlights

• A working harbour - tugs, trawlers and dry docks operating among the shops.
• The Zeitz MOCAA - a grain silo carved out into a contemporary art museum.
• The Robben Island gateway - the departure point for the island ferries.
• The Table Mountain backdrop - the mountain directly behind the basins.

When to go

All year; early morning or evening in summer to avoid the crowds. Half a day.

Good to know

It is expensive and very busy, particularly in December and January. Parking fills by mid-morning. Robben Island ferries cancel frequently in wind - book ahead and keep a fallback day. The wind funnels hard through the open quays.

Nearby

The city centre is south; Sea Point promenade runs west.

Key facts