Welcome To Camps Bay

Retail therapy is one of Cape Town's favourite pastimes, enjoyed by local residents and visitors alike, mesmerised by the sheer variety of goodies to be purchased. One of the best things about shopping here, however, is the enjoyment to be had from browsing itself - the city's intricate streets, enticing markets and cool, glamourous malls offer a splendid way to wile away entire days!
Saturday, Sunday or week-day, plot a course that includes such retail pleasuredomes as the Victoria Wharf at the V&A Waterfront complex and Cavendish Square in the leafy Southern Suburbs. One should not, of course, forget the enormous Tyger Valley Centre and the opulent Somerset Mall - a short drive from the city centre

Cape Town is famous for its beautiful antiques - from art nouveau jewellery to rare books and precious objets - which can be discovered in the stalls along paved Church Street, or behind the shop fronts of the original Victorian buildings lining Long Street and its surrounds. A block or two further, the dazzling colours, textures, smells and sounds of Greenmarket Square, the city's favourite fleamarket, enthrall all who experience it.

The cosmopolitan city centre is alive with informal markets and pavement traders, selling a vast array of bargain items, original curios and collectables, clothes and food. The sound of djembe drumming or children singing often fills the air, giving one the sense that this is, indeed, the heart and soul of Cape Town.

The centre of town is where you’ll find the best night clubs. With names like Rhythm Divine, The Fez, Studio 47, and Rhodes House , and music equally interesting and varied, you’re sure to find a party-till-you-drop zone that suits your needs. Cover charges range from R10 to R40, and each place is well worth its price. The Drum Café is the place to go for a real ethnic experience. Observatory’s Lower Main Road, and Claremont’s Main Road are good areas to head for. There’s Drum & Base at Ruby in the Dust, good dancing at Taboo, and Obs Café for the trendy among you.

For a more mellow evening, try out Kennedy’s Cigar Bar, or East City Café, reminiscent of an exclusive 1920’s cigar lounge, with the cigars and bourbons to prove it. In Kloof Road, there’s Cafe Dharma, the oh-so-chic Bardelli and the Blue Plate for fine cuisine. Head for the Bronx, Angels or Detour on Main Road, Cape Town’s three best gay clubs. Long and Bree streets are jam-packed with pubs and café’s. If you’re closer to the Southern Suburbs, check out Galaxy or Images in Athlone, or Peddlers on the Bend in Constantia.Cape Town has lots of movie houses, based in major malls and shopping centres. These now often include ‘art films’, as does the Labia Theatre near the Mount Nelson Hotel. For live entertainment of the arty sort, treat yourself to a night at the Nico Theatre, the Baxter, Maynardville, Spier or Theatre on the Bay. These venues combine food or drink with jazz, cabaret, Shakespeare, musicals… Whatever your taste, you’ll find the perfect rendezvous spot.