Hg2's Cape Town city guide explores boutique hotels and the best restaurants, as well as bars, clubs, shops, sights and spas.
Arguably the sexiest, most sophisticated city on the African continent, Cape Town is a wonderful juxtaposition of contemporary urbanity and native wildlife; a national park runs right through its centre, while mountain and sea borders it on both sides. Here freewheeling opulence clashes against heartbreaking poverty, with shacks sidling against sprawling mansions, while air-conditioned SUVs jostle with jam-packed mini-buses along its highways. While it lacks the African identity of Jo'burg and Durban, Cape Town has enough cosmopolitan cool about it to more than make up for any such shortcomings.