Cape Town hotels and accomodation
Cape Town is the most popular destination for tourism in all of Africa, thanks to the city's unique combination of rich history, magnificent nature and vibrant urban life. Consequently, hotels in Cape Town can satisfy any leisure or business travellers.
Atlantic and Indian Oceans are both close, and Cape Town's harbour is busy in a very picturesque way, with many of the Cape Town hotels offering sea views. Table Mountain, at 1,086 metres above sea level, towers over the City Business District's tallest skyscrapers. Lush green gardens fight sandy beaches for the place in the glorious African sun.
Founded by the Dutch in 1652, Cape Town was the first permanent European settlement in South Africa and quickly grew as the economic and cultural hub of the Cape Colony. Castle of Good Hope and Company Gardens date back to that period. Cape Coloured communities and the Afrikaans language have been some of the results of Dutch colonial policy. Several Cape Town hotels are operating from 1890s or even earlier.
Following British conquest, diamond and gold rushes and the Boer Wars, in 1910 Cape Town became the legislative capital of Union of South Africa, and later of the Republic of South Africa. In 1948 the government of South Africa started pursuing the policy of apartheid (racial segregation), as part of which formerly multi-racial suburbs of Cape Town were purged of unlawful residents or demolished.
Many of the leaders of anti-apartheid movement, including Nobel Peace Prize winner Nelson Mandela, were held in the penitentiary on Robben Island some ten kilomentres from the city centre, accessible by ferry. It has been declared a UNESCO world heritage site and serves as a museum now.
A new era for the country started following the end of the apartheid in 1990 which led to unprecedented surge in economy due to tourism and real estate boom. Some of the newest large-scale projects include Cape Town International Convention Centre, which opened in 2003, and the 2010 Green Point Stadium. Some of the most luxurious Cape Town hotels have been built very recently.
Cape Town is the provincial capital of Western Cape and one of the largest economic centres in the Republic of South Africa, host to the National Parliament and many government offices.
The rugged terrain of Cape Town is dominated by Table Mountain, accessible by cable car, and its dramatic cliffs, Devil's Peak and Lion's Head. There are more than 70 peaks over 1,000 feet in height within city limits. Oceans and mountains combine to create some amazing scenery.
Beaches on the Atlantic coast tend to have colder water yet more developed infrastructure of restaurants and such. Surfing, whale watching and visits to penguin colonies, or day trips to Cape Winelands for sightseeing and wine tasting are popular. Some of the more suburban hotels in Cape Town offer these sort of trips to guests.
The climate is Mediterranean, and Cape Town summer, lasting from November to March, is warm and dry. The winds and rain vary greatly from one suburb to another, with Newlands being the wettest.
Some of the popular attractions in or around Cape Town include:
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Victoria and Alfred Waterfront (or simply V&A) is Cape Town's most popular shopping destination boasting hundreds of shops and views of the ships entering and leaving the harbour, some from hotel rooms.
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Cape Town, especially Long Street and some areas in the City Business District, has the highest density of Cape Dutch style buildings in the world, combining architectural traditions of the Netherlands, Germany and France
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Kaapse Klopse (or Cape Town Minstrel Carnival) takes place annually on January 2 when thousands of minstrels, many in blackface, take to the streets garbed in shockingly bright colours.
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Camps Bay Beach is a broad stretch of palm tree-lined white sand bordering the bracing waters of the Atlantic ocean.
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Drakenstein Lion Park provides a chance to see real lions in their natural habitat without getting too far into Africa - these big wild cats have been provided with a high quality life in authentic surroundings.
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Bo-Kaap, formerly known as the Malay Quarter, is a traditionally multicultural picturesque area on the slopes of Signal Hill above the city centre known for its romantic cobbled stone streets.
If you want to spend your vacation where good climate, magnificent natural settings, and developed infrastructure come as standard, you should visit Cape Town, the go4hotels.com will help you find and book the Cape Town luxury hotels, Cape Town budget hotels and even discount hotels in Cape Town.
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