Tour Details
About the Tour
- Category
- History, Orientation
- Duration
- 3 hours
- Location
- Cape Town
Photos & Highlights
- Understand the layout of the city, its major transportation options and some complete with local suggestions of must-see destinations
- Led by a historian or local expert
Tour Description
On this 3-hour Cape Town City tour we'll join a local historian or expert to trace the history of Cape Town from its opening moments to its current standing as a major African destination. We’ll discuss the city’s indigenous history by talking about the Khoisan, we’ll delve into the impact of the Dutch arriving in 1652 and the more turbulent years of slavery in the Cape. We’ll touch on notable characters linked to Cape Town’s history, from Jan van Riebeeck to Cecil Rhodes to Desmond Tutu and, of course, Nelson Mandela. Our route will take us through the succinct centre of Cape Town as we soak up various sites important to the city’s colorful past, all with their own stories behind the growth of this captivating city. This is a great tour for first-time visitors who want to get their bearings in the city and learn more about its alluring history.
Cape Town City Tour
Our Cape Town City Tour starts at the Castle of Good Hope, built in the mid 1600’s by the Dutch East India Company, which established a refreshment station at the Cape to supply their fleet of merchant ships with fresh fruit and vegetables. We will consider relevant events of the 17th and 18th centuries and discuss colonial life at the Cape all from the fantastic setting of the Castle. From here, our route may take a number of different directions. We may walk in the direction of the Grand Parade and City Hall, where our docent will discuss notable events that occurred in both locations, such as Nelson Mandela’s address after his release in 1990. Our route on this Cape Town City Tour passes the Houses of Parliament, where we will examine the South African Constitution and how the various arms of our government function. We will discuss the influence of individuals such as Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu, as we pass spaces which tie into significant moments in their lives.
Slavery and Democracy
Another important, yet often overlooked aspect of Cape Town’s past is that of slavery. The establishment of the refreshment station at the Cape by the VOC (Dutch East India Company) went hand-in-hand with forced labor. We will discuss this as we explain the slave precinct, Iziko Slave Lodge (from outside) and what was once the auction site to sell slaves, which we can stand on today. Our docent might unpack the influence of this tormented history and the significant contribution to South Africa’s cultural diversity that it has brought. As we continue we might peep into the former Dutch reformed church, Groote Kerk and open the discussion on religion in the past and today in South Africa.
[For more on the discussion of slavery, venture out to Simon’s Town to delve into the subject on our Simon’s Town Tour].
From Berlin to Cathedrals
The latter part of our walk will continue to take us through the town center as we discuss why there is a piece of the Berlin Wall in Cape Town which was gifted to the city in 1996. We might get a feel for the eclectic, history drenched atmosphere of this cosmopolitan city from Greenmarket Square as we talk about its roots from everyday market to today’s African arts hub. We’ll move to St. George’s Cathedral and admire the stained glass within as we spend some time discussing the role of the celebrated bishop Desmond Tutu. We’ll take in the newly designed wooden ‘Arch for Arch’ tribute to the legacy and work of Tutu as we discuss the fourteen chapters of the Constitution. From here, we may well walk through Company Gardens, passing statues of figures prevalent to the history of Cape Town and South Africa, such as the contentious character, Cecil Rhodes. We’ll take a moment to reflect on the various war memorials and the history of Cape Town from its indigenous days to today from stunning setting of Company Gardens.
Take Aways
By the end of our Cape Town City Tour, we'll come away with an enhanced understanding of Cape Town’s history from life as a Khoisan to the early settlers or slaves to finding its feet as the modern democracy we see today. We will also have navigated our way around the historical heart and its surroundings and feel better prepared to explore this charming city for our following days wandering alone.
FAQ
Where do we meet? Where does it end?
The tour begins at the Castle of Good Hope and will end in the city. Your confirmation email will have the exact meeting point details along with a map, and 24 hour phone number for any last minute issues.
What if it's raining?
Our tours operate rain or shine. We recommend bringing both an umbrella and sunscreen.
Where You'll Start
Tour Experts
Joline
Joline Young is a historian, researcher, and author who holds a Master's degree in Historical Studies at the University of Cape Town, with Distinction. Joline has spent the past decade researching the history of Simon's Town and is an authority on the subject. Joline's walking history tours of Simon's Town focus particularly, but not only, on the history of slavery in the town. Joline also offers social history and slavery tours throughout the Western Cape.
Garth
Michelle
Michelle Saffer is a former journalist who spent most of her working life in Cape Town, particularly the south peninsula, ferreting out the complex and fascinating stories of her home town. Initially, she wrote for anti-establishment publications in the years prior to the lifting of apartheid, working in areas she was not permitted to be in owing to racist laws, and post-apartheid worked for the mainstream media, primarily as a community journalist. Here she learnt the personal stories which fed in to her interest in the history and environment of Cape Town’s south peninsula. She has a BA in Economic History and a diploma in Agriculture, but the need to earn a living interfered with her desire to continue along the academic path. Besides a love of learning for the sake of learning, she is a lover of history as well as plants, as her studies indicate, and she is a volunteer at the Stellenbosch University Botanical Garden, place she loves not only for its collection, but because of its proximity to fine dining and the winelands.
13 Reviews
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Reviews can only be left by Context customers after they have completed a tour. For more information about our reviews, please see our FAQ.
Joline is wonderful and a wealth of historical and contemporary knowledge, exactly what I was hoping for to introduce me to South Africa and Cape Town's role in shaping the country. She was flexible and answered all my questions as our conversation and tour led to topics outside of the stated tour. I will definitely use Context again!
Debra
Nov. 29, 2019
Joline was delightful! She was very knowledgeable and wanted to gear the tour to the interests of our teenagers.
Elizabeth
Jun. 15, 2019
Hi Context!
My parents and I have been on several different context tours and have always been so impressed. It can be hard to find serious tours and context typically delivers.
I understand that Cape Town is a new location for context. I was disappointed in my experience in Cape Town as I didn't think it was a consistent experience that I have had before with Context. I think our guide is more than qualified and is clearly so knowledgeable. Further, she adds local colour to the tour and happily shares her personal experiences growing up in South Africa. That being said, I found much of her tour to be anecdotal stories and pseudo-scientific rather than deep factual explanations of significant historical events. For instance, we glazed over the Anglo-Boer war and only barely discussed Apartheid and Mandela. For those participants looking to learn about Slavery exclusively and are interested in stories about specific slave experiences and Lesser known Boer figures, then she is your guide! But the title of the tour is Dutch trading to Democracy, which encompasses much more than that. I can also appreciate that of course, it is challenging to cover so much history in three hours, but I don't feel like I walked away with a deeper understanding of the more significant historical events.
Perhaps more coordination between Context and the guides to ensure the consistency is required.
I will continue to go on Context tours. In fact, I'm booked in Vienna next week. I am otherwise, always impressed w the Context experience, but think this one tour could use a little more oversight.
I hope this feedback was helpful!!
Thank you,
Claire
Claire
May. 20, 2019
Context Experts in Cape Town
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