Because we live in a perfect part of the world… 2 minutes from the beach and on the slopes of a mountain waiting for us to explore… we don’t often blog about the other neighborhoods that Cape Town has to offer. Like the City Centre, which is only about twenty minutes drive away, we head there every Sunday for church. It is a bit like not noticing the neighborhood you live in!!! When I was a student I used to hang out in this part of town and I guess my older kids are not too far away from student life and exploring the streets of Cape Town themselves – give them a few years and I know they will love the hustle and bustle of the city center.
So we took a photo drive through the city center today – not much is happening on a sunday morning… lots of folk eating brunch, but certainly not the busy hive of a Saturday morning with heaps of shops spilling out onto the pavements to browse… this part of town is famous for its second hand book shops and antique/curio stores… lots of browsing and lots of street vending goes on in this part of town.
It is an area packed with all sorts of surprises, where you can experience a heap of the cross-cultural fun of living in Cape Town.
Like South Africa Long Street is packed with many contrasts…
Old and new,
Hotels and backpackers…
Shabby and glitzy… Lots of shops to potter in and food galore. On a sunday Morning it is not the hive of activity you can expect on a Saturday night – this is really the street where Cape town’s night life leaps into action.
And no district of Cape Town would be complete without a surf store…
And some fashion chic…
And just down that Walkway is Green Market Square – totally, absolutely have to take my kids there… A definite future blog post…
And so many buildings to draw… I sense an art project coming on!!!
Lots to look at…
Ad lots of adventures for tourists of course, because locals would never… (!!!)
At the top of Long Street you can find the world famous Long Street Baths…
And a short walk from the top of Long Street is the Labia Theatre… where I watched thousands of movies as a student… we would crush into our digs car all wearing trench coats and fedora’s!!! Don’t ask me why – standard digs uniform!!!
Long Street is a one way street so if you want to take a look again then you have to venture into the next street and take a drive all the way back to the bottom of town…
Past some colorful Cape Town…
And corner Cafe’s…
And begin the trip again…
Hope you had a fun weekend!!!
Oh I had a turkish bath and massage in the Long Street baths many moons ago when I was young enough to backpack. I hurt for days!
Hi KT, I was surprised when I wrote this post just how many folk had had a massage at the Long Street Baths, I am sure it is one of Cape Towns best kept secrets!!! Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!!!
I love your blog tours of Cape Town and surrounding areas. I’m in California, and the likelihood I will ever get to visit South Africa is slim to none, so these pictorial tours from a local are quite fun for me.
And yes, an art lesson on perspective would be perfect for Long Street.
Hi Rebecca, Never say never… you may yet, by some strange fluke, get to visit Cape Town!!! And then hopefully you will recognize some of the spots that we have blogged about!!! Thanks so much for stopping by – hope you have a great week!!!
I recognise some of those from my short dashes around the city last year. I need to come back and do it justice with the big camera 🙂