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Capetown
City Guide
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Capetown City Guide
PRACTICAL INFORMATION
- Official name: Cape Town (Afrikaans: Kaapstad; Xhosa: iKapa)
- Language: Afrikaans, English, Zulu, Xhosa, Swati, Ndebele, Southern Sotho, Northern Sotho, Tsonga, Tswana, Venda
- Currency : South African Rand (ZAR)
Capetown Sights and Museums
WHAT TO SEE :
- Table Mountain, which forms the majority of Table Mountain National Park and is the back end of the City Bowl. Reaching the top of the mountain can be achieved either by hiking up, or by taking the Table Mountain Cableway. Cape Point is recognised as the dramatic headland at the end of the Cape Peninsula. Many tourists also drive along Chapman's Peak Drive, a narrow road that links Noordhoek with Hout Bay, for the views of the Atlantic Ocean and nearby mountains. It is possible to either drive or hike up Signal Hill for closer views of the City Bowl and Table Mountain.
- Many tourists also visit Cape Town's beaches, which are popular with local residents. Due to the city's unique geography, it is possible to visit several different beaches in the same day, each with a different setting and atmosphere. Beaches located on the Atlantic Coast tend to have very cold water as the water is mostly glacial melt from Antarctica. The water at False Bay beaches is often warmer by up to 10 °C (18 °F). Both coasts are equally popular, although the beaches in affluent Clifton and elsewhere on the Atlantic Coast are better developed with restaurants and cafés. The most famous beach in Cape Town, Boulders Beach, is known for its colony of African penguins. Surfing is also popular and the city hosts the Red Bull Big Wave Africa surfing competition every year.
- The city also has several notable cultural attractions. The Victoria & Alfred Waterfront, built on top of part of the docks of the Port of Cape Town, is now one of the city's most popular shopping venues, with several hundred shops and the Two Oceans Aquarium. Part of the V&A's charm, as it is locally known, is that the Port continues to operate and visitors can watch ships enter and leave. The V&A also hosts the Nelson Mandela Gateway, through which ferries depart for Robben Island. It is possible to take a ferry from the V&A to Hout Bay, Simon's Town and the Cape Fur Seal colonies on Seal and Duiker Islands. Several companies offer tours of the Cape Flats, a mostly Coloured township, and Khayelitsha, a mostly black township.
Capetown Entertainment
EVENTS :
During these years had happened a lot of politic changes. Public holidays also changed after the 1994 elections.The Day of the Vow, which marked the massacre of Zulus, has become the Day of Reconciliation. The officially ignored but widely observed Soweto Day, marking the student uprisings which eventually led to liberation, is now celebrated as Youth Day.
In march there are the Music Festival with music from classical to jazz. Perhaps the biggest party in town is put on by the Cape Town Queer Project in mid-December, usually at the River Club.
Capetown Transports
TRANSPORTS:
Air
Cape Town International Airport serves both domestic and international flights. It is the second-largest airport in South Africa and serves as a major gateway for travellers to the Cape region. Cape Town has direct flights to most cities in South Africa as well as a number of international destinations.[30]
As of June 2006, Cape Town International Airport is being upgraded to handle an expected increase in air traffic as tourism numbers will increase in the lead-up to the 2010 FIFA World Cup.[31] The renovations include several large new parking garages, a revamped domestic departure terminal and a new international terminal. The airport's cargo facilities are also being expanded and several large empty lots are being developed into office space and hotels.
Sea
Cape Town has a long tradition as a port city. The city's main port is located in Table Bay directly to the north of the central business district. The port is a hub for ships in the southern Atlantic: it is located along one of the busiest shipping corridors in the world. The Port of Cape Town is also a busy container port, second in South Africa only to Durban. In 2004, it handled 3,161 ships and 9.2 million tonnes of cargo.[32]
Simon's Town Harbour on the False Bay coast of the Cape Peninsula is the main base of the South African Navy.
The Shosholoza Meyl is the passenger rail operations of Spoornet and operates two long-distance passenger rail services from Cape Town: a daily service to and from Johannesburg via Kimberley and a weekly service to and from Durban via Kimberley, Bloemfontein and Pietermaritzburg. These trains terminate at Cape Town Railway Station and make a brief stop at Bellville. Cape Town is also one terminus of the luxury tourist-oriented Blue Train.
Metrorail operates a commuter rail service in Cape Town and the surrounding area. The Metrorail network consists of 96 stations throughout the suburbs and outskirts of Cape Town.
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