The tastefully restored Victoria & Alfred Waterfront is one of Cape Town's main tourist attractions, and not just for the opportunity of having Table Mountain as the stunning backdrop to your holiday photographs. 

The original Victorian harbour was restored in the early 1900s, and today the Waterfront is a lively and buzzy place, as well as still being a working harbour. 

The many restaurants and bars dotted around the working harbour sides not only offer unbeatable views and fine dining, but are also wonderful places to sit and listen to the buskers entertaining the crowds with traditional African harmonies, watch the street entertainers and musicians playing to the crowds, or to simply enjoy the warm summer evenings and soak up the atmosphere. 

If you want to stay in the Waterfront, there is a wide selection of world-class hotels to choose from, including the prestigious Cape Grace and the Table Bay Hotel, or the ultra-modern Protea Hotel Victoria Junction. To book a hotel in the Waterfront area, please click here.

Trips and Tours

Several operators offer daytime and sunset cruises around Table Bay, or scenic helicopter 'flips' across the city and Table Mountain, and can be booked on the quayside if the whim takes you when you are there. 

Trips to Robben Island are booked from the Nelson Mandela Gateway to Robben Island Ticket Office near the Clock Tower.

The extremely helpful Tourist Information Office, located in the Clock Tower Centre, is the place to go if you want to  book an open-topped bus tour or walking tour of the City, a township tour, a shark diving trip or a guided hike up Table Mountain. 

A Shoppers Paradise

The Waterfront caters for all your shopping needs - everything from designer clothing to hand-painted ostrich eggs.

The Clock Tower Centre comprises of an array of crafts and arts outlets and traditional African restaurants, and the Alfred Mall & Pierhead has a small number of boutiques and is ideal for those looking for quality specialist artefacts, jewellery, curios and art with a nautical or African flavour.

The Red Shed Craft Workshop, one of the largest craft markets in South Africa, is filled with an eclectic mix of handmade merchandise and art, and the vibrant indoor Waterfront Craft Market features a diverse assortment of innovative designs and traditional handcrafts, antiquities and holistic lifestyle accessories.

But for the serious shoppers, there is only one place to go.  The Victoria Wharf Shopping Centre is a haven of over 400 speciality shops, major retail outlets, curio stores and craft barrows.  There are also over 70 restaurants, coffee shops and fast food outlets. 

A shopaholic will be pleased to know that, as well as being able to shop here 7 days a week until 9pm in the evening, as a tourist it is possible to claim back any VAT on non-consumable goods that are purchased, as long as a valid receipt can be produced. 

More about claiming back VAT can be found in the South Africa - Visitor Information - Tipping and VAT page on this website.

What else apart from Shopping?

The Two Oceans Aquarium features the marine life found in and around the Cape Peninsula, including tropical and commercial fish, penguins, seals and sharks. 

Highlights include the kelp forest, diving in the shark tanks, and the 'touch' pool.

Other attractions at the Waterfront include the South African Maritime Museum, and the 5-storey screen IMAX cinema.