Cape Town

South African National Gallery

Located in the Gardens area of Cape Town off Government Ave (about a 20-minute walk from downtown). Contains extensive displays of South African art, and information on the history of censorship of art during apartheid.

Daily 10:00-17:00 · Adults; children, students and seniors

Zeitz Museum of Contemporary African Art

MOCAA

Established in 2017 as the largest museum of contemporary African art in the world. Built out of an old grain silo that was decommissioned in 2001.

10.00-18.00 daily, last admission 17.30 · Adults; R 190, Children under 18; free

Bo-Kaap

Malay Quarter

This neighbourhood, on a hilly area southwest of the city centre, is where historically Malay Muslim descendants of slaves had lived. It is a popular location to shoot films, since there are bright and colourful buildings, mosques, quaint streets, stunning views of Cape Town, and delicious street food sold along the side. It is worth exploring the quarter for about an hour, and then visiting the Bo-Kaap Museum, showing how a wealthy Malay family lived during the 19th century. Within the quarter is Atlas Trading, an old-fashioned spice shop. Ask the manager to mix the spices you need for making the meal you want. About 1 km from the Bo-Kaap is the Noon Gun which is a cannon used as a time signal. At 12:00 from Monday to Saturday the cannons are fired, never ceasing to amaze the crowd of people watching. Go and see the brief ceremony that occurs before and during the shooting.

District Six Museum

District Six is an area near downtown Cape Town which remained multiracial well into the 1960s against all attempts by the government to declare it a "white only" area. Eventually the residents were all evicted and the buildings were bulldozed. The area remains uninhabited. The museum provides information about the area, the eviction, the Group Areas Act, and the people who used to live there. The director of the museum is a former resident. There is a small bookstore with an excellent selection of books on South Africa's history, District Six and apartheid.

Mon-Sat 09:00-16:00 · , with a guide

Slave Lodge

One of the oldest buildings in Cape Town which houses a social history museum.

Mon-Fri 10:00-17:00 · Adults; children, students and seniors

South African Jewish Museum

The museum about this small community that has made large contributions in South African society and bringing down Apartheid. The museum is about Jews but non-Jews will find it very interesting and informative.

Sun-Thu 10:00-17:00; Fri 10:00-14:00 · adults, students · Wheelchair accessible

Bo-Kaap Museum

Located in a home dating from the 1760s, the museum offers an insight into the cultural life of the Muslim community of the Bo-Kaap area in Cape Town.

Mon-Sat 10:00-17:00 · entrance fee · Built 1763

Cape Town Science Centre

A world of discovery under one roof! Expect a wide variety of interactive displays and exciting activities for your enjoyment. Build a house in the exclusive 'kids only' Building Site, challenge your mind with Puzzling Things, experience weightlessness similar to that of space with a spin on the Human Gyroscope, play Mindball - the game where you control the ball with your brain waves and see and hear science in the Audio Kinetic Sculpture.

Mon-Sat 09:00-16:30, Sun 10:00-16:30 · for adults and children. Students, pensioners and group discounts

National Library of South Africa (Cape Town Campus)

The National Library of South Africa (NLSA) is the agency of the government of South Africa which maintains a national library of all published materials relating to the country.

Mo-Fr 09:00-17:00; We 10:00-17:00 · Wi-Fi

Galleria Gibello

Galleria Gibello is a photo gallery that is filled with visually captivating moments of life on the African continent.

by appointment

Maritime Centre

The museum documents the lives of the early seafarers voyaging around the Cape of Good Hope. Small craft, locally made and various maritime artifacts are also showcased. The huge model ships are the highlight of the museum.

Daily 10:00-17:00 · Adults; children, students and seniors

Victoria and Alfred Waterfront

A huge shopping and entertainment area in the harbour. It is very popular with tourists, because of the high density of shops, restaurants and amusement possibilities, like the Aquarium or the Marine Museum. Harbour tours and trips to Robben Island start from here, as well as helicopter flights to the Cape Peninsula. The V&A Waterfront has more or less full wheelchair access.

09:00-21:00 daily

Iziko South African Museum

The Iziko South African Museum, formerly the South African Museum (Afrikaans: Suid-Afrikaanse Museum), is a South African national museum located in Cape Town. The museum was founded in 1825, the first in the country. It has been on its present site in the Company's Garden since 1897.

Mo-Su 10:00-17:00 · Entry 60 ZAR

First Thursdays

First Thursdays Projects

On the first Thursday of every month, walk between the galleries, restaurants and shops of Cape Town and Johannesburg until late. Discover the best things to see and places to go on First Thursdays. First Thursdays was started in Cape Town in 2012, and in Johannesburg in 2015. Inspired by similar initiatives in other cities around the world, the monthly event, taking place on the first Thursday of every month, is centred around a primary programme of art galleries and cultural attractions that are open to the public until late. The initiative is equally about access to the arts as it is about injecting life into our urban spaces after hours. Walk around the streets of Cape Town and visit galleries and restaurants who all have specials on the night.

6PM - 8PM or late · free

Rust en Vreugd

Rust en Vreugd (meaning Rest and Joy), is a historic house and garden, located on Buitekant Street at the edge of the central business district of Cape Town, South Africa. It is one of the few remaining 18th-century buildings in the city. The Rust en Vreugd is home to the William Fehr Collection of pictorial Africana.

Th-Fr 09:00-16:00

Cape Town Holocaust Centre

The Cape Town Holocaust & Genocide Centre began as Africa's first Holocaust centre founded in 1999. It has sister Centres in Johannesburg (Johannesburg Holocaust and Genocide Centre) and Durban (Durban Holocaust Centre), and together they form part of the association, the South African Holocaust & Genocide Foundation (SAHGF). The SAHGF determines the educational and philosophical direction of the centre.

Heart of Cape Town Museum

The Heart of Cape Town Museum is a museum complex in the Observatory suburb of Cape Town, South Africa. It is in the Groote Schuur Hospital on Main Road. The hospital was founded in 1938 and is famous for being the institution where the first human heart transplant took place, conducted by University of Cape Town-educated surgeon Christiaan Barnard on the patient Louis Washkansky.

Mo-Su 09:00-17:00

South African Sendinggestig Museum

The South African Sendinggestig Museum (also known as the South African Slave Church Museum) was established in 1977 and is currently situated in the centre of Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa, and housed in the oldest indigenous mission church in the country built by local Christians. It is a province-aided museum which receives financial support from the Government of the Western Cape Province.

Chavonnes Battery Museum

History of Cape Town Museum International Photo Exhibitions Guided Walking Tours of Waterfront Venue Hire and Cannon Firing

Mo-Su 09:00-18:00

Koopmans-de Wet House

Koopmans-de Wet House (locally KOORP-munz də VET) is a former residence and current museum in Strand Street, Cape Town, South Africa. The house became part of the South African Museum in 1913 and was opened to the public on 10 March 1914. It was declared a National Monument under National Monuments Council legislation on 1 November 1940.

Built 1790

Cape Medical Museum

The Cape Medical Museum is situated in the Old City Hospital Complex in Green Point, Cape Town, South Africa. Its exhibitions center around the medical history of the Cape and includes exhibitions on dentistry, hospital care, traditional African medicine and pharmaceutical developments. It was founded by a group of volunteers in the 1980s led by Prof J C De Villiers.

Irma Stern Museum

The Irma Stern Museum was a South African museum dedicated to the life and work of Irma Stern and the artists associated with her.

Old Town House Museum

149 Longmarket Street

Cape Town Labour Corps Memorial

Queen Victoria Street

Goodman Gallery

176 Sir Lowry Road

Tu-Fr 09:30-17:30, Sa-Su 10:00-16:00

Museum of Illusions

10 Kloof Street

Su-We 09:00-20:00, Th-Sa 09:00-22:00; easter -2 days 09:00-17:00; easter -1 day 09:00-22:00; easter 09:00-17:00; easter +1 day 09:00-22:00

Museum of Dogs

95 Keerom St

Tu-Su 10:00-17:00

Cape Town Diamond Museum

Level 1 Clock Tower, Clock Tower District

The Cape Gallery

8, Lutomburg, 18 Keerom St

Worldart

Cnr Long &, 68 Long Street, Shortmarket St