When you travel to Cape Town you will be delighted by the wide variety of museums there are to visit. From museums that highlight the early Dutch settlers to museums that concentrate on the apartheid struggle.
- Take a boat cruise to Robben Island to visit the prison where Nelson Mandela and thousands of political prisoners were imprisoned.
- District six museum highlights this area of Cape Town where many people were evicted from in 1966 during the group areas act
- The Castle of Good Hope was once’s Cape Town’s defence against sea attack. This houses the many pieces of artwork and furniture
- The Iziko South African Museum houses a wide number of collectibles dating back from over 200 years ago
- The Groot Constantia Wine Estate in Constantia was the first vineyard and was established by Simon van der Stel.
Cape Town is a relatively small city and therefore a perfect way of exploring the museums is by foot as they are in close proximity to each other, otherwise hop aboard the Open Top Bus Tour. Many of the museums in Cape Town are grouped together in the Iziko Museums of Cape Town, whose mission and core business is to manage and promote the unique combination of South Africa’s heritage collections, sites and services for the benefit of present and future generations.
The following is a comprehensive summary of the Museums in Cape Town. Speak to your Rhino Africa travel consultant if you require additional information, regarding opening times etc
Bertram House
(+27 21 424 9381)
This early 19th century Georgian House is another house museum with the opulence of a bygone era. Likewise filled with treasures such as Georgian furniture, porcelain and silver, it also boasts a rare Clementi piano and a 200-year-old Grecian harp.
Cape Medical Museum
(+27 21 418 5663)
The Cape Medical Museum reflects medical history with an emphasis on both western and traditional medicine at the Cape
Bo Kaap Museum
(+27 21 424 3846)
Following the abolition of slavery, the historic Bo-Kaap area in Cape Town became home to many Muslims and their history and culture are commemorated at the Bo-Kaap Museum. Displays, temporary exhbitions and special events continue to celebrate different aspects of Muslim culture.
Cape Holocaust Museum
(+27 21 462 5553)
The permanent exhibition comprises text and photo panels, archival documents and film footage, multimedia displays, artefacts and recreated environments. The South African context and aspects are highlighted.
District Six Museum
(+27 21 461 8745)
District Six was named the Sixth Municipal District of Cape Town in 1867. Originally established as a mixed community of freed slaves, merchants, artisans, labourers and immigrants, District Six was a vibrant centre with close links to the city and the port. In 1966 due to the group areas act, these people were forceably removed from the area. The District Six Museum, established in December 1994, works with the memories of these experiences and with the history of forced removals more generally.
Gold of Africa Museum
(+27 21 405 1540)
Unique in the world and located in the historic Martin Melck House in Cape Town, the Gold of Africa museum complex is the world's first museum dedicated to the story of African gold
Groot Constantia
(+27 21 794 5067)
Situated on the beautiful Groot Constantia Estate, one of the country’s oldest wine estates, this was once the residence of Simon van der Stel. The Manor House dates back to 1685 and is one of the best examples of Cape Dutch architecture. It houses many elegant examples of antique furniture, paintings, china and glass. Below the building is the old slave quarter.
Irma Stern
(+27 21 685 5686)
Irma Stern (1894-1966), a major South African artist who achieved national and international recognition in her lifetime. The permanent collection on display shows Irma Stern’s development as an artist whose subject matter included exotic figures, portraits, lush landscapes and still lifes conveyed in a variety of media, ranging from oils and water colours to gouache and charcoal
Iziko South African Museum
(+27 21 481 3800)
For every object on exhibition at the South Museum, there are thousands more carefully stored away. The Museum houses more than one and a half million specimens of scientific importance. For nearly 200 years scientists at the Museum have been adding to these collections and studying them.
SA Planetarium
(+27 21 481 3900)
The Planetarium, which is housed in the South African Museum building in Cape Town, is a celestial theatre in the round, utilizing the complex Minolta star machine and multiple projectors to transport the audience through the wonders of the universe. The ultimate in armchair travel.
SA National Gallery
(+27 21 467 4660)
South Africa's premier art museum houses outstanding collections of South African, African, British, French, Dutch and Flemish art. Selections from the Permanent Collection change regularly to enable the museum to have a full programme of temporary exhibitions of paintings, works on paper, photography, sculpture, beadwork, textiles and architecture. They provide insight into the extraordinary range of aesthetic production in this country, the African continent and further afield. This program is complemented by a range of temporary visiting exhibitions.
Michaelis Collection
(+27 21 481 3933)
Situated in the hub of Cape Town on Greenmarket Square, this collection is housed in the former City Hall (the Old Town House) built in 1755 in Cape Rococo style. Donated by Sir Max Michaelis in 1914, it consists of a world-renowned selection of Nederlandish art from the seventeenth-century Golden Age. There are works by Frans Hals, Jan Steen, Jacob Ruisdal, Anthony van Dyck and numerous others
Rust en Vreugd
(+27 21 464 3280)
At Rust en Vreugd, you will find a selection of the world - renowned William Fehr Collection: Pictorial Africana of the sixteenth to nineteenth centuries.These watercolours, etchings and engravings depict an array of historical events, people and buildings as well as important maritime views of the early Cape.
Koopmans De Wet House
(+27 21 481 3935)
The Koopmans-De Wet House in Cape Town is, as far as is known, the first private townhouse in South Africa to be opened to the public. The house was opened as a museum on 10 March 1914.Dating from the early eighteenth century, this museum is furnished as a lived-in house of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. It has a superb collection of Cape furniture, Chinese and Japanese ceramics, Dutch Delft, paintings, glass and silverware. The facade is attributed to the architect Louis Thibault and sculptor Anton Anreith. The house has interior decorative wall murals.
Slave Lodge
(+27 21 460 8242)
The Slave Lodge is one of the oldest buildings in Cape Town. The many names of the building over three centuries – Slave Lodge, Government Offices Building, Old Supreme Court, and SA Cultural History Museum – reflect the long and rich history of the building.
Iziko South African Maritime Museum
(+27 21 464 1267)
The Iziko South African Maritime Museum closed in mid-August 2006. Iziko has opened a new Maritime Centre in the Union Castle Building at the V&A Waterfront.The Maritime Centre features a collection of ship models and objects associated with shipping in Cape Town, in particular the era of mail-ships.
SAS Somerset
The SAS Somerset, is permanently moored for public viewing in the Victoria and Alfred Waterfront in Table Bay Harbour, Cape Town.The SAS Somerset was taken over from the South African Navy on 24 May 1988. She is the only Boom Defence Vessel left in the world. While the SAS Somerset was in commission in the South African Navy her operational duties were restricted to salvage operations.
Jewish Museum
(+27 21 465 1546)
Situated in the "Museum Mile" in central Cape Town, the South African Jewish Museum offers visitors a truly unique experience with its bold architectural design, interactive multi-media displays and engaging accounts of South African Jewish history.
Robben Island
(+27 21 409 5100)
For nearly 400 years, Robben Island, 12 kilometres from Cape Town, was a place of banishment, exile, isolation and imprisonment. It was here that rulers sent those they regarded as political troublemakers, social outcasts and the unwanted of society.
