Cape Town city break guide

You really can’t overstate the case for visiting Cape Town. First, there’s the in-your-face beauty of a craggy mountain range that drops precipitously into a glittering sea, its flanks carpeted in greens and delicate florals – more plant species than you will find in the entire British Isles. Then there’s the pristinewhite beaches lapped by – it must be said – a chilly Atlantic, their half-moon curves defined by giant boulders. The proximity of nature is a constant source of amazement here, whether it is spotting zebra and wildebeest grazing on the slopes of Table Mountain, watching whales breach from a restaurant deck overlooking False Bay, or being halted by cavorting baboons near Cape Point. Yet Cape Town has a cool urban edge, too: art galleries, hip bars, world-rated opera and design-savvy shops make it a contender for 2014 Design Capital of the World – and it is without doubt the most cosmopolitan city in Southern Africa. The Dutch planted the first gardens and built the sombre Castle of Good Hope in 1666; the French brought winemaking skills to the graciously gabled homesteads of the original colonists; Malay slaves brought spices and minarets; and the English left Georgian mansions and Victorian terraced homes. Cape Town is also a city of contrasts: of sybaritic pleasure and depressing poverty; of pounding seas and vine-carpeted valleys, their rich terroir spawning not only award-winning wines but superb produce, accounting for some of the best (and most affordable) fine dining in the world.