Zeitz MOCAA

The grain silo on the Cape Town waterfront was built in 1921 and was the tallest building in sub-Saharan Africa when it opened; it stood disused for decades. Thomas Heatherwick's conversion, completed in 2017, cut a cathedral-like atrium out of the middle of the forty-two concrete tubes by carving the shape of a single enlarged corn kernel through them, leaving the sliced cylinders exposed - the building is the reason many people come, and it deserves that. Inside are around a hundred galleries over nine floors holding contemporary art from Africa and its diaspora, founded on the collection of Jochen Zeitz. The museum has had its controversies, including the departure of its first director in 2018 and debates about a European collector's name on an African institution, which it has addressed with varying directness. African citizens enter free on Wednesday mornings.

What you actually see

• The carved atrium - a corn-kernel shape cut through forty-two concrete silo tubes.
• The 1921 silo - once the tallest building in sub-Saharan Africa, disused for decades.
• The collection - contemporary art from Africa and its diaspora over nine floors.
• The Wednesday access - free entry for African citizens on Wednesday mornings.

When to go

All year. Two to three hours. Wednesday mornings are busy for the free session.

Honest expectations

The building outshines some of the exhibitions, which visitors say openly. Ticket prices are high by local museum standards. Exhibitions rotate, so what is on varies considerably. The Waterfront around it is a shopping district.

Nearby

The V&A Waterfront is adjacent; Table Mountain is behind the city.