Walking tour · Grand Parade to Greenmarket Square

The Complete 12-Style Chronological & Award-Winning Architectural Loop

Three and a half centuries of Cape Town, building by building, from the Castle of Good Hope through the city's Art Deco streets and up into the Bo-Kaap.

DurationAbout 4.5 hours with a lunch breakGroup2 to 6 guests StyleWalkingStarts12:00, Monday to Friday DistanceAbout 3.5 km, one hill

Main photo: Brigitta to supply

Photo

The route

From a 1666 star fort to a timber tribute to Archbishop Tutu: twelve buildings, read in the order the city wrote them.

12:00
Castle of Good Hope
1666 to 1679. A five-bastioned star fort, the oldest surviving colonial building in South Africa.
12:31
City Hall
Opened 1905, faced in honey-coloured limestone imported from Bath.
12:46
Mutual Heights
Art Deco, opened 1940, with a 118-metre stone frieze by Ivan Mitford-Barberton.
13:04
Mullers Optometrists
A 1930s Art Deco shopfront of black glass and metal, for a firm founded in 1890.
13:16
Coffee stop
An independent roaster on Church Street.
13:29
Gorgeous George
A 1930s Art Deco building and its neighbour, joined into an award-winning hotel.
13:43
Taj Cape Town
The 1932 granite Reserve Bank and the 1890s Temple Chambers, now one hotel.
13:55
Arch for Arch
2017. Fourteen strands of larch, one for each chapter of the Constitution.
14:07
Waalburg Building
1930, Louw & Louw. Granite podium, sandstone pylons and bronze relief panels.
14:21
Lunch break
In a restored heritage building on Bree Street (lunch at your own cost).
15:12
Bo-Kaap Museum
Mid-18th century, one of the earliest houses in the Bo-Kaap, with a shaped Baroque parapet.
15:44
Centre for the Book
Hawke & McKinlay, 1906 to 1913. Copper dome and green-glazed tiled towers.
16:04
Old Town House
Cape Rococo, 1755 to 1761. Home of the Michaelis Collection of Dutch and Flemish masters.
16:24
Tour ends on Greenmarket Square

Studios and galleries are working spaces, so stops can change from day to day. If one is unavailable, Brigitta replaces it with one of the same standard and tells you before your tour.

Included

A registered local guide for the whole tour
A small, private group (your party only)
Every stop on the route, arranged in advance

Not included

Museum entry, paid on the day
Food and drinks, including coffee and lunch
Hotel pick-up and drop-off
Any purchases

Meeting point

Castle of Good Hope, Darling Street entrance

Good to know

One uphill stretch into the Bo-Kaap
Hat, water and sunscreen
Minimum two days' notice for every booking

Your guide

Brigitta Gaylard is a photographer, painter, ceramicist and designer who has spent more than thirty years teaching art, architecture and design. On her tours she teaches how to really look at an object, whether it is visual art, design or architecture.

Meet Brigitta

Questions

How do I book and pay?

Choose your guests and two possible dates, then press Book now. Brigitta confirms your date, usually the same day, and you pay in full by card through a secure payment link.

What if neither of my dates is available?

Brigitta offers you another date, or a full refund.

What is the cancellation policy?

Full refund if you cancel more than 48 hours before the tour, 50% inside 48 hours, and no refund on the day or for a no-show. One free change of date. If we cancel for weather, you get a new date or a full refund.

Is lunch included?

No. The tour ends close to a recommended restaurant, and Brigitta is happy to suggest one.

How much notice do you need?

At least two days for every booking.