Museums
In Cape Town
Cape Town has a number of world class museums that offer up a treasure trove to the past.
A number of these museums are located in the city centre – all within walking distance of each other – and together offer a view as diverse and entertaining as the city itself.
Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa (MOCAA)
The state-of-the-art Zeitz MOCAA is the latest addition to the Cape Town landscape and the first major museum in Africa dedicated to contemporary art.
The museum, housed in the historic Grain Silo at the V&A Waterfront, comprises over 9,500 square meters (102,000 square feet) placing it among leading contemporary art museums worldwide. Zeitz MOCAA is spread over nine floors, of which 6,000 square meters (65,000 square feet) is dedicated to exhibition space. Through an entire floor dedicated to education, the museum aims to develop a new artloving, museum-going audience.
Iziko South African Museum
Situated in the Company’s Garden and part of the popular Museum Mile, the South African Museum is home to more than 1.5-million items of cultural and scientific significance.
Ranging from fossils and Stone Age tools to a dinosaur exhibit. Make sure you visit the Whale Well, where among the giant whale bones and lifesize casts of marine creatures, musical recitals are often held. A must for families – the kids will love it.
Slave Lodge
The history of Cape Town is a torrid one and the Slave Lodge – part of the Iziko Museums – offers a haunting reminder of a darker time.
It is not easy to stomach, but it is an important reminder of how the country was built on the backs of slaves and speaks to a global audience with many other countries sharing in the global slave trade. The museum was once where the slaves stayed and as such is very much part of the exhibit, while a visit to the re-created slave ship is an emotional experience and very much worth seeing.
District Six Museum
Few areas are as vivid an example of the Apartheid regime as District Six. A once racially diverse and vibrant community, the original residents were forcibly removed from the area when the National Party government declared it a “white group area”.
The District Six Museum – formerly a Methodist Mission Church – serves as a reminder of what the community once was. It contains a permanent multimedia exhibition called Digging Deeper, which includes narrated life histories of District Six residents.
Cape Town Holocaust Centre
Few episodes in human history are as dark, or tragic, as the Holocaust. The Cape Town Holocaust Centre stands alongside the South African Jewish Museum – also well worth a visit – and is home to a wealth of information on the period it covers.
While undeniably wrought with emotion, the exhibition is beautifully laid out, offering written and verbal – both audio and visual – accounts of the Holocaust. The permanent exhibit is both heartbreaking and inspiring. Be warned, like the Slave Lodge, the Centre will leave its mark.
Chavonnes Battery Museum
The Chavonnes Battery Museum showcases the Archaeological Ruins of a Dutch East India Company Fort.
Built in 1724, using rock from Table Mountain and cement made of sea shells, guests can step below sea-level among the ribs of this old VOC Fort and touch the sand of the original shoreline at Cape of Good Hope. The museum is also host to a robust schedule of international photographic exhibitions, rich in content, and relevant in terms of contemporary thinking and topics. The venue is wheelchair accessible and offers free WIFI.
Castle of Good Hope
The oldest building in the country and a structure that has played an integral part in its history. Completed in 1679, the Castle of Good Hope, once a fort, has been restored and now functions as a museum.
Guided tours are offered Monday to Saturday with The Key Ceremony performed Monday to Friday, followed by the firing of the Signal Cannon at 12pm. The William Fehr Collection, comprising paintings and decorative arts, is partly housed here, while the building itself has many a story to tell – including ghostly ones!
Bo-Kaap Museum
The BoKaap – also known as the Cape Malay Quarter – is one of the city’s most popular destinations with its colourful houses a standout feature of the neighbourhood.
Beyond the houses, the area has an incredibly fascinating history with many of the residents being descendants from slaves from Malaysia, Indonesia and various African countries who were forcibly brought to the city in the 16th and 17th centuries. The BoKaap Museum is the perfect place to discover the history of the area with the building dating back to the 1760s and the oldest in the neighbourhood. Amongst other things, the museum recreates the life of a typical Malay family.
Robben Island
This wellknown Cape Town attraction has a very chequered past. It was first used as a prison when the Dutch Settlers were in the Cape and was briefly used as a leper colony and animal quarantine station.
But what the Island is most famous for, is being a political prison during the Apartheid regime with its most notable prisoner being Nelson Mandela who served 18 years in the island’s prison. Current visitors to the island can get a tour of the prison and see Mandela’s cell first hand. All tours are carried out by former political prisoners. It’s very interesting and everyone who leaves, does so feeling a little more enlightened about the prison and its former prisoners.
South African Naval Museum
The SA Naval Museum is a part of the South African Navy and is staffed by Naval Personnel and civilian volunteers.
The museum collection, which is continuously being expanded, includes amongst others ship and submarine models; a life-size ship’s bridge; naval guns; torpedoes; minesweeping equipment; diving equipment; naval uniforms; centuriesold portraits of naval personnel and much more.
The Heart of Cape Town Museum
The drama of the world’s first human heart transplant, led by Professor Christiaan Barnard, played out within the walls of the Charles Saint Theatre, at Groote Schuur Hospital, in Cape Town, on 3 December 1967.
The human heart transplant, one of the greatest moments in medical history, was made possible by an extraordinary interplay of scientific dedication; human courage and generosity and a timely chain of events. Today, The Heart of Cape Town Museum honours all those who played a major role in the surgical feat that pushed the boundaries of science, into the dawn of a new medical era, an era in which it became possible to transplant the symbol of the essence of life, our human heart.
Groot Constantia Museum
Experience the historical and cultural importance of this landmark.
Groot Constantia sets a benchmark by which the heritage of the Cape is measured in terms of its history, architecture, collection, estate wines, food quality, hospitality, physical appearance, conduct and service excellence. The following historical buildings located at Groot Constantia, form part of the Iziko Museums of South Africa:
- Orientation Centre houses an exhibition of several artifacts and photographs depicting the history of the estate.
- Homestead – Simon van der Stel chose these lovely surroundings to build his impressive home more than 330 years ago.
Study
Cape Town is Africa’s most desirable city for students. Now that you can study virtually from anywhere, why not do it from Cape Town with some of the most picturesque college campuses in South Africa.
Play
Cape Town is an adventure seeker’s paradise. You could stay for weeks and still not tick off all the activities on offer. From paragliding to kayaking, kitesurfing and sand boarding, Cape town offers all the high speed thrills.