The Company's Garden

The Company's Garden is where Cape Town started, and it is the natural place to begin a day in the city centre. When the Dutch East India Company set up its refreshment station at the Cape in 1652, it planted a garden here to grow fresh vegetables and fruit for the crews of its ships on the long voyage between Europe and the East Indies. Over the centuries the garden changed from a market garden into a botanical garden and then a public park, opened to the public in 1848, and today it covers about eight hectares at the foot of Table Mountain, between Adderley Street and the slopes of Gardens and Oranjezicht. Its spine is Government Avenue, a long, oak-shaded pedestrian walk, and around it are lawns, flower beds, a rose garden, water features, a restaurant, and plenty of benches where office workers eat lunch. Grey squirrels, introduced from abroad more than a century ago, are everywhere, and so are pigeons. What makes the garden special is what surrounds it. Along its edges stand the Houses of Parliament, St George's Cathedral, where Archbishop Desmond Tutu preached, the Slave Lodge, which tells the story of slavery at the Cape, the Iziko South African Museum and Planetarium, the South African National Gallery, and the South African Jewish Museum and Holocaust Centre. A walk through the garden links them all, and the garden is also a good place to reflect on the city's history: it was worked by enslaved people, and its statues, including one of Cecil Rhodes, are reminders of the colonial past that Cape Town still debates. The garden is free and open daily, from early morning until 19:00 in summer and 18:00 in winter.

How to use it: walk Government Avenue from the top, near the South African Museum, down towards Parliament and the cathedral, stopping at the museums that interest you. A coffee or lunch at the garden's restaurant under the trees is a pleasant break, and the lawns are fine for a picnic. Mornings are cool and quiet, while lunchtime brings office workers and street vendors. Look out for the old trees, including a pear tree said to date back to the early days of the garden, and the vegetable beds that recall its original purpose.

Safety and practicalities: the garden is busy and generally safe in daylight, but, as in any city centre, keep valuables out of sight and avoid it after dark. Toilets are available. It is easy to reach on foot from Bo-Kaap, Long Street and the city centre hotels, and the MyCiTi bus stops nearby. The garden's hours are 07:00 to 19:00 from September to March and 07:00 to 18:00 from April to August.

Who it suits: first-time visitors on a city centre day, families who want a break from sightseeing and space for children to run, and history lovers who want to connect the dots between Parliament, the museums and the story of the Cape. It is not a botanical showpiece like Kirstenbosch; it is a historic city park, and that is its charm.