| Cape Town presents an odd mix of historical buildings. | | | | the excellent Koopmans-De Wet House, and |
| They are the result of the city's historical role as the | | | | Rust-en-Vreugd in the city centre. Also look for it in the |
| halfway point on the maritime trade route between | | | | more modest terraces of the Bo-Kaap district. |
| Western Europe and the Far East, and of colonisation | | | | Long Street Collage |
| by the Dutch and then the British. Cape Town's hottest | | | | Nowhere else in South Africa will you find the historic |
| tourist attraction, the glitzy V&A Waterfront Complex, | | | | range and architectural variety that is found on the |
| is a newcomer; a late 20th century mall built on the | | | | Cape Peninsula. Long Street, one of the most famous |
| remnants of the Victorian era wharfs and an 18th | | | | thoroughfares in Cape Town, is a case in point. Take a |
| century military installation, the Chavonnes Battery. The | | | | walk down this street and you will see a collage of |
| city has contemporary bungalows and high-rise office | | | | architectural styles that show both Dutch and English |
| buildings, but visitors can also see Georgian mosques, | | | | influence. The 18th century Palm Tree Mosque stands |
| Cape Dutch houses, Victorian terraces, and Moravian | | | | next to three-storey Victorian buildings that now serve |
| churches. | | | | as low cost lodgings for backpackers. Near the |
| Cape Dutch Style | | | | harbour end of Long Street, visitors can see a splendid |
| It is clear from its architecture that Cape Town is | | | | example of an early 19th century Dutch Mission |
| Africa's least African city. From the time construction | | | | Church, right next to an Art Noveau office building. |
| began on the Castle of Good Hope in the 17th century, | | | | Close by, the mid 18th century Baroque style Old |
| the main influences on the city's architecture have | | | | Town House overlooks the same square as a group |
| been European. The signature style that developed | | | | of Art Deco buildings from the 1920s and 1930s. |
| here is called Cape Dutch. In the Winelands outside | | | | Overlooking all of this are Cape Town's modern |
| Cape Town this style can be seen in the thatched and | | | | skyscrapers. These are modest by North American |
| gabled manor houses. Within the city, some of the best | | | | standards, but they are nonetheless in contrast to |
| examples of Cape Dutch architecture can be seen in | | | | what is generally associated with Africa. |