Galleries and Museums near City Centre
*Distances are shown as the crow flies and are not necessarily the actual travelling
distance.
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Bo-Kaap (0.3 km from City Centre) The Bo-Kaap is the historical Cape Town residential area of freed slaves and muslims following the abolition of slavery.
The Bo-Kaap Museum is located in Wale Street and acts as a cultural history museum, depicting the lifestyle of the nineteenth-century muslim family.
Open from Mondays to Saturdays from 10h00 to 17h00.
Children under 18 years enjoy free entrance.
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Gardens (0.6 km from City Centre) Home to some of the most beautiful collections, The South African National Gallery features art of South African, African, British, French, Dutch and Flemish origin.
Collections are regularly rotated so that there is always a full programme of temporary exhibitions, including paintings, photography, sculpture, architecture, beadwork, textiles and works on paper.
Open daily from 10:00 to 17:00.
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Gardens (0.9 km from City Centre) The Little Theatre Complex is home to the University of Cape Town's drama and fine arts departments. The facility is actually three theatres with the Little Theatre ironically being the largest, providing seating for 240 people. The Intimate and Arena offer space for about 70-80 folk.
This trio offer a variety of delightful shows ranging from cutting-edge plays by critically acclaimed playwrights to work by emerging performers and students. A poster-plastered bar is popular for pre-show socialising.
+27 (0) 21 480 7129
Hiddingh Campus, Orange Street, Cape Town
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Green Point (1 km from City Centre) Open twice a week, the Cape Quarter Village Market is a lifestyle, European-inspired market that exhibits local goods and produce.
Within the centrally located mall of the Cape Quarter, when the market is up and running you'll find an al fresco venue surrounded by a myriad of shops, restaurants and speciality services. In terms of market food, there is a large choice to enjoy comprising delicious gourmet-style items. Live music is also a common attraction. On Saturdays you'll find the corner bar area open, offering a large selection of locally brewed beers on tap and wines.
When you've browsed the various vendors and ate your full, you can explore the rest of the mall at leisure.
There is plenty of underground parking available.
Open every Wednesday and Sunday, 10:00 to 15:00.
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District Six (1.1 km from City Centre) An exciting new theatre in Cape Town’s legendary District Six, The Fugard, is home to the internationally acclaimed Isango Portobello Theatre Company - an exciting example of what can transpire when local talent and vision meets committed international support.The Fugard is located in the historic Sacks Futeran building with the original decommissioned Congregational Church Hall in Caledon Street as its entrance. The theatre is named in honour of Athol Fugard, South Africa’s greatest playwright who will be present at the inauguration. The 270 seat theatre complex, including a rehearsal studio, foyer space, dressing rooms and office space, is a transformation of two warehouse spaces and the original Congregational Church Hall.
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V and A Waterfront (2 km from City Centre) The Chavonnes Battery Museum gives visitors a chance to experience the early history of Cape Town.
Learn more about the people who walked along this shoreline, the San and Khoi, the explorers and adventurers, slaves and settlers. Learn about the men and women who gave birth to our nation, find out why the British are called Limeys, and why the Cape was so important for ships on the spice and slave trade route. This is a unique and fun experience for all ages.
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V and A Waterfront (2 km from City Centre) Located in the Clock Tower precinct of Cape Town's V & A Waterfront, Cape Town Diamond Museum pays tribute to the world's most precious gem.
Take a guided tour of the museum by a diamond professional, providing a unique opportunity to experience the wonderful world of diamonds and understand why the world’s most desired treasure has been met with such allure and fascination over the centuries.
Duration: 25-40 minutes. Maximum 10 adults per tour.
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V and A Waterfront (2.2 km from City Centre) Sway your hips to great bands, live dance productions and storytelling or catch live action on the big screen.
The V&A Waterfront Amphitheatre is one of Cape Town's hottest stages, hosting live music and other entertainment that's free to visitors.
It's also a popular place for shopped out folk to grab some fresh air, rest weary feet and watch the bustling harbour activity.
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Observatory (5.6 km from City Centre) A shooting star in Observatory These Four Walls gallery has risen out of its humble beginnings as a series of affordable art exhibitions operating out of a small flat in Woodstock. Thanks to the overwhelming success of these exhibitions, the owners came to realise that there was indeed a gap in the Cape Town art market for a space that offers inexpensive, desirable and beautiful artworks in a semi-informal atmosphere.Our vision is to bring to the buying public a gallery that excels at exhibiting artwork that people want to live with and can afford to own.These Four Walls creates a space that is not completely defined. It is a space that can change and adapt with and to a variety of art and exhibitions in which the overwhelming sense is of honesty and integrity. Two elements which tend to be forgotten in the cut-throat world of art.It is a place to visit, be welcomed, and enjoyed, even if only for a fleeting five minutes.
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Camps Bay (5.8 km from City Centre) Pieter Toerien's beautifully intimate Theatre on the Bay offers all the latest and best shows in town. Theatre goers can enjoy a good mix of local and international drama, musicals, comedy, cabaret, music and dance.The theatre is also home to the Act I Theatre Café, a fabulous restaurant that is open for dinner before and after the shows. Enjoy a pre-show drink at the Coffee Lounge or the theatre bar. Dietrich's Bar, in the main foyer, is also open after each performance, so you can round off your evening by joining the actors for a nightcap.Need to know? Individual, credit card bookings for Theatre on the Bay can be made by calling +27 (0) 21 438-3300, or visit the Computicket site at www.computicket.com Outlet/Box Office Hours: Monday: 9.30am - 5pm, Tuesday to Saturday: 9.30am - start of show
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Observatory (5.9 km from City Centre) This all white minimalist space features innovative exhibitions showcasing some of South Africa's rising young talent as well as established artists. UCA Gallery regularly curates conceptual and visual artists in solo and group shows. Their dual focus is to promote Cape Town talent and bring in other vibrant artists from other parts of South Africa to the Mother City.Need to know? Gallery hours: Mon - Fri 9am - 5pm | Sat 9am - 1pm
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Rosebank - CT (6.5 km from City Centre) Irma Stern was a major South African artist who achieved national and international recognition in her lifetime.
Established in 1971, the museum is in fact the house of the late artist. The permanent collection at the Irma Stern Museum shows Irma Stern's development as an artist, with subject matter including exotic figures, portraits, lush landscapes and still lifes conveyed in a variety of media. Upstairs you'll find a collection of more commercial items by contemporary artists.
A temporary exhibition programme is arranged annually and visitors can enjoy the garden. Open Tuesday to Saturday, 10:00 to 17:00.
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Rondebosch (6.8 km from City Centre) The Baxter Theatre Centre provides an exciting forum for the celebration of life which is the essence of live theatre, music and dance. It is one of the major live theatre venues in Cape Town and has always been at the forefront of the performing arts both as a popular venue and as a leading producer.The Baxter Theatre Centre at the University of Cape Town endeavours to present and host the best of South African performing arts. The objective is to reflect the cultures of all the people of South Africa on our stages and in our galleries. The Baxter Theatre strives to present cutting-edge and major works from South Africa and masterpieces from the international repertoire. Since its opening in 1977 the complex has continued to provide a stage for all types of professional entertainment - music, drama, ballet, opera and intimate theatre. Even through the difficult years of racial segregation its doors remained open to everyone and it thrived, drawing on indigenous talent and creating a uniquely South African theatre tradition.
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Newlands (7.5 km from City Centre) Have you ever wondered how the Mother City got flour for her daily bread? Visit the Josephine Mill Museum for a trip back to a bygone era. This darling of the Cape Town Historical Society was restored in 1988. The fine iron waterwheel turning once again supplying the surrounding community with freshly milled, stone ground flour, just as it had done, for so many years before. Today the Mill is a fun destination that not only honours a precious piece of Cape History, but also respects the traditions of the community, an awareness of natural and organic living and responsibility to the environment.Plans to turn the museum from a small display of recovered artefacts into a stimulating exhibition of the stone milling process are well underway. A major challenge is to recreate the original watercourses to supply the waterwheel and harness the power of the Liesbeek River. Mill pundits and scholars alike will be offered a rare insight into the methods and equipment devised to industrialise the production of flour. The Mill Museum will offer an intriguing exhibition of stone milling in process, and showpiece the history of power and its evolution from water to steam to electricity - and back again.
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Muizenberg (20.6 km from City Centre) Considered a cultural gem in the heart of Muizenberg, the Masque Theatre is home to a handful of amateur dramatic societies in Cape Town.
The Masque regularly delivers diverse and well-performed theatre and dance shows at affordable prices. This popular institution in the South Peninsula staged its hundredth production in 2008 with Agatha Christie's courtroom drama "Witness for the Prosecution".
Booking office open Monday to Friday 09:00 – 16:00 and Saturday 08:30 – 11.30.
+27 (0) 21 788 1898
www.masquetheatre.co.za
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Muizenberg (21.4 km from City Centre) Built in 1929 to reflect the spirit of 18th century Venice, Casa Labia is the former Muizenberg residence of Count and Countess Natale Labia.
Following a complete two-year restoration by the family, Casa Labia is home to a contemporary South African art gallery, an uber-stylish Africanova boutique as well as a celebrated Italian café.
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Kalk Bay (22.6 km from City Centre) Kalk Bay Theatre offers a unique evening of entertainment. The 78-seat theatre and restaurant is situated in the quaint Kalk Bay Dutch Reformed church. Built in 1876 and also a heritage protected building, the old church has been lovingly converted into an intimate theatre with the restaurant on the upper floor.
Dinner, theatre and quality time with friends is found under the same roof. Patrons arrive from 18:45 and are directed upstairs to the restaurant. The open-plan restaurant has been designed to give the customer a feel of eating in a warm, family kitchen. The wooden tables and chairs are set around a gallery, allowing customers to look down onto the stage below. There are usually two set menu choices of three course meals or diners can cherry-pick dishes off the menu.
If you choose a three course meal, the starter and the main course are served before the show and the desert and coffee is served after the performance. Patrons make their way down to the theatre after their main meal and return to the restaurant for their desert and coffee. Drinks may be taken into the theatre. The menu is vegetarian friendly. Specific dietary requirements will, wherever possible, be catered for provided advance warning is given. KBT is licensed. Corkage is charged at R20 per bottle.
The ground floor theatre has 78 comfortable seats crafted out of beech wood and modelled around the comfortable Morris chair. The theatre is a thrust stage with the audience on three sides. This allows for a very intimate theatrical experience. Shows usually run for four to eight weeks in the venue. Performances are from Wednesday to Saturday night (and sometimes Sundays as well) at 20:30. Shows are normally announced by email and on www.kbt.co.za.
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Tyger Valley (24.3 km from City Centre) Friendship, good food, wine and brilliant entertainment – this is where it all comes together. The Mother City's first Barnyard Theatre is situated in Willowbridge Shopping Centre. This is a dinner theatre at its best, offering excellent live entertainment including rock shows, musicals, bands and revues.
The Barnyard started as a homely, rustic farm theatre in Plettenberg Bay where friends and family could be entertained and eat, drink and talk into the small hours of the morning. It proved to be such a winner that more Barnyard Theatres started popping up all over the country.
There are currently 12 Barnyard Theatres in South Africa. While each theatre is a product of its individual setting, they all retain the quaint rustic charm of the original farm theatre’s humble beginning.
To book, visit the bookings office at the theatre or call central reservations (0) 21 914 8898.
Shop F09 1st Floor, Willowbridge Life Style Centre, 39 Carl Cronje Drive, Tygervalley.
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Durbanville (28.2 km from City Centre) Popular with discerning music and theatre lovers, Villa Pascal Theatre is a unique venue owned by well-known French chanteuse Danièle Pascal and Eugène Lebreton. This intimate theatre regularly hosts performances ranging from cabaret to classical to jazz by local and international artists.
Conveniently situated in the heart of Durbanville, Villa Pascal Theatre is close to the Durbanville Wine Route and Durbanville Golf Club. Patrons can bring a picnic basket and enjoy an unusual theatre experience in the Cape’s only theatre in a house.