Greenmarket Square is the location of the best flea market in Cape Town and is easily accessible via Long Street and Shortmarket Street. It was once an outdoor vegetable market, and for many years the site was occupied by a parking lot. Now Greenmarket Square is an attractive area of cobbled streets lined with coffee shops and impressive buildings. In the terrific flea market, visitors will find vendors selling all sorts of crafts and jewellery at bargain prices. Collectors of Africana will also find that Greenmarket Square is one of the few places in Cape Town where Congolese and Zimbabwean traders sell such exotic items as genuine ceremonial masks and malachite carvings. This is an excellent place to spend a few hours browsing, and perhaps pick up some special souvenirs and gifts.

Historic Old Town House

Not far from Greenmarket Square is one of the most beautiful and historic buildings in the city. With its limewashed walls and shuttered windows, the Old Town House is a classic example of Cape Dutch architecture and the splendid interior adds to the appeal. This house was built in the mid-18th century and over the years it has served as a guardhouse, a police station, and as Cape Town’s city hall. Today it is the home of the Michaelis Collection of 17th century Dutch and Flemish landscape paintings. In addition to the landscape art, visitors can see some of the works created by 17th century artists of the Dutch “Golden Age”. Among the great works on display in the Old Town House are Portrait of a Woman by Frans Hala, and Couple with Two Children in a Park by Dirck Dirckz Santvoort. Other paintings depict still lifes, mythological scenes, church interiors, landscapes and seascapes, and dramatic scenes of ships in rough seas. A small print room on the ground floor displays a minor collection of works by Daumier, Gillray and Cruikshank. One of the gallery’s prize possessions is Goya’s El Sueno de la Razon Produce Monstruos (The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters). The Old Town House also hosts visiting exhibitions, and holds regular evening classical concerts. You can check the quarterly newsletter for upcoming events.

St. George’s Mall and Church Street

Head southeast from Greenmarket Square and you come to St. George’s Mall. Many visitors to Cape Town prefer this pedestrianised street to the more publicised Adderley Street. St. George’s Mall runs northeast from Wale Street to Thibault Square, near the train station and is full of coffee shops, snack bars, street merchants and buskers. While you browse and shop, you can listen to singers and drummers, watch dancers, and observe painters at work. At the southern end of the mall on Church St. is the Victorian era gothic St. George’s Cathedral, which was the scene of an important historic event. On September 7, 1986, Desmond Tutu banged on its doors demanding to be accepted as South Africa’s first black archbishop. Three years later he led a procession of 30,000 people from the cathedral to the city hall, where he coined his famous slogan, “We are the rainbow people!” Pay a visit to this part of Cape Town, and stand in the places where history was made.

Rachel Hill is a Southern Africa Travel specialist, a company specialising in luxury, tailor-made Cape Town holidays, as well as holidays to other destinations in Southern Africa. Our experienced consultants will help you design your very own luxury holiday, and will be happy to provide you with a free quote.

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