| | History (Source: WCities) | Top | Cape Town is a unique city—a blend of Asia and Europe in Africa. It is dominated by, and owes its existence to, the steep and coarse grizzled and gnarled slopes of Table Mountain that tower 1,000m above the sea, surrounding it on three sides. A sandstone soil and small mountain streams gave life to prehistoric peoples and animals living on its slopes. The City also attracted sailors and farmers of the trading nations and today has a population city of 3 million people descended from every corner of the world. Long before the Himalayas or the Rockies were formed, Table Mountain began to rise out of the sea (by isostasy) at the southwestern tip of Africa. The emerging relief has been checked and scarred by the erosion of sea, wind, rain, fire and ice. Today Table Mountain is a fantastic array of buttresses and ravines, most famously evident in the "Twelve Apostles." Homo Erectus saw similar sights 750,000 years ago—and left abundant stone tools for our museums. The fossilized footprints of "Eve," 117,000 years old, are one of the finest relics found near Cape Town. Relatives of the Bushmen, the Khoi , were maintaining a hunter/gatherer and herding economy around the mountain when in 1503 the first European saw, and then climbed Table Mountain. He was a Portuguese Admiral, Antonio de Saldanha, and he was navigating the route to India bravely pioneered by his compatriots Bartolomeu Diaz (1488) and Vasco de Gama (1497). As the new route from Europe to the East
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| How To Get There (Source: WCities) | Top | Getting There By Air Cape Town International Airport ( +27 11 453 9116 / http://www.airports.co.za/home ) is the second largest airport in South Africa and offers transportation to destinations throughout the world. The following airlines provide service to Cape Town: Air France ( +27 21 934 8818 / http://www.airfrance.com/ ) Air Mauritius ( +27 21 421 6294 / http://www.airmauritius.com ) Air Namibia ( +27 21 936 2755 / http://www.airnamibia.com.na ) British Airways ( +27 21 936 9000 / http://www.british-airways.com/ ) Egypt Air ( +27 21 461 8056 / http://www.egyptair.com.eg/docs/home.asp ) Lufthansa ( + 27 21 415 3735 / http://www.lufthansa.com/ ) From the Airport Shuttles & Taxis: Shuttle and taxi providers offer service to and from the airport. Major providers include City Hopper ( +27 21 934 4440 ), Dumalisile ( +27 21 934 1660 ), Legend Tours ( +27 21 936 2814 ), Magic Bus ( +27 21 534 9105 ) and Way 2 Go ( +27 21 696 5544 ). Car Rentals: Some of the major car rental companies include: Avis ( +27 21 934 0330 / http://www.avis.fr ) Budget ( +27 21 380 3140 / http://www.budget.fr ) Europcar ( +27 21 934 2265 / http://www.europcar.fr ) Hertz ( +27 21 386 1560 / http://www.hertz.fr ) Cape Town Car Hire ( +27 21 386 7699 / http://www.slashcarhire.com ) Train Numerous train lines service Cape Town. Some of the most popular include the Blue Train, Rovos Rail, Spier Vintage Train,
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| What To Do (Source: WCities) | Top | Cape Town is by its nature a playful city (materialists left for Johannesburg or London long ago). But the diversions of Cape Town tend to be the beaches, sports, mountain walks, day-trips, wine tasting and by evening, sunsets and fine dining. The arts are necessarily constrained by finances and there are few theatres and concert venues. Museums are, equally, strapped for cash, although a few are well worth a visit. However, the love of music (particularly jazz) is very strong and cinema, too, is popular. There are also some venues for nightlife and a theme park. Festivals and special events are frequent, so check when you're in town. Museums The SA Museum in the Company Gardens is excellent. The Whale Gallery steals the limelight but the Planetarium and the other exhibits are well done. The Aquarium (in the Waterfront) is superb and highly recommended. The Castle is the oldest building in South Africa and has the excellent William Fehr art collection. The impressive Groot Constantia estate has a grand Manor House that is well worth a visit. Robben Island is now a museum; it was formerly a prison for political activists including Nelson Mandela. Unfortunately, the organisation and quality of tours on Robben Island is sometimes poor. Art The best place to see art and antiques is at commercial galleries. Try Church Street near Greenmarket Square in the city centre. Small galleries are also found in most shopping malls. In-Fin-Art on Wolfe Str
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