Located at the crossroad of Coen Steytler Boulevard and Heerengracht Street, Bartolomeu Dias Statue was erected to honor the first European who sailed to the Cape of Good Hope. This notorious explorer was also the one to baptize this place as "the Cape of Storms."

This memorial was created by Vernon March in memory of all African soldiers who died in the World Wars and the Korean War. It depicts an angel guarded by two soldiers that represent freedom and peace, for which all the brave people mentioned on the statue's plaque fought.

Cape Town City Hall is a large Edwardian building in Cape Town city centre which was built in 1905. It is located on the Grand Parade to the west of the Castle and is built from honey-coloured oolitic limestone imported from Bath in England. The Organ was built by Messrs Norman and Beard of London and Norwich, the specifications were drawn up by Sir George Martin, organist of St Paul's Cathedral in London especially for the City Hall. The workmanship and materials are of high quality, and the organ made from mahogany, teak and pine. The tower of the City Hall has a Turret Clock which strikes the hours and chimes the Westminster quarters. The faces of the clock are made from 4 skeleton iron dials filled with opal. The City Hall no longer houses the offices of the City of Cape Town, which are located in the Cape Town Civic Centre. The auditorium is regularly used for concerts, while the City Library was recently moved to the adjacent Old Drill Hall.

Built by the Dutch East India Company between 1666 and 1679, the Castle is the oldest building in South Africa. In 1682, the gated entry replaced the old entrance towards the sea. A bell tower, situated over the main entrance, was built in 1684 — the original bell, the oldest in South Africa, was cast in Amsterdam in 1697 by Claude Frémy and weighs just over 300 kilograms. It was used to announce time, as well as warning citizens in case of danger, since it could be heard 10 kilometers away. Inside, the fortress housed a church, bakery, various workshops, living quarters, shops and cells, among others. The yellow paint on the walls was originally chosen because it lessened the effect of heat and the scorching sun. In 1936 the Castle was declared a national monument. The Castle acted as local headquarters for the South African Army in the Western Cape, but today houses the Castle Military Museum and ceremonial facilities for the traditional Cape Regiments.

While you are in Cape Town don’t miss the opportunity to visit the Groote Kerk – or Great Church on Adderley Street.

Usually, when settlers arrive in any area, one of the first things they do is to build a church or some other gathering place of worship, but when Jan Van Riebeeck arrived in the Cape region in 1652, a church was only established three years later.

Riebeeck and his men were sent to the Cape of Good Hope by the Dutch East India Company to set up a supply station for ships sailing to East Africa, India and the Far East. He was the founder of Cape Town which grew to be the most important city in South Africa at the time.

However, few ministers fancied settling in such a far-flung outpost and the population had to make do with a lay preacher to comfort them. In 1665 a minister was appointed and the Groote Kerk was founded, making it the oldest church in the region.

The church was simple, as all Dutch Reformed churches are, and a bell tower was added as late as 1704. It is somewhat ironic that this addition, deemed superfluous at the time, is the only part of the original church to have survived.

The church you will see today was built by Herman Schuette in 1841. The style is a combination of Greek and Gothic; the interior is plain with a lot of heavy dark wood used for the pews and the galleries.

It is not without beauty, however, and the beautifully ornate pulpit, carved out of teak by Anton Anreith and Jan Graaf, is a true masterpiece. The organ is immense and boasts 5917 pipes.

If you are interested in architecture and history but don’t want to visit museums, then you will be happy just to photograph De Tuynhuys from the outside, as it houses the offices of the State President and is not open to the public.

It is rather hard to imagine, but in 1675 this building was a rather shabby tool-shed, owned by the Dutch East India Company. At the time there were few splendid buildings in the Cape Town area, which was a basic supply station for Dutch ships passing through the Cape of Good Hope on their way to the Far East and India.

In 1679, when the state governor decided to visit the growing outpost, there was a bit of a panic about where to lodge him. As the tool shed was the only unoccupied building, it was hastily enlarged into a two-storey house with a flat roof and a large veranda.

By 1751 it had become the summer residence for succeeding governors and had been refurbished in the Neo-classical style with sculptures of Mercury and Poseidon added – the former being the Roman god of trade and the latter the god of the sea – to enhance Dutch prowess at both trade and sailing. The beautiful front door was created by a slave carpenter, Rangton Van Bali, whose excellent work later earned him his freedom.

In 1824 a lovely ballroom was added, but the building was damp and no longer habitable except during the driest months of the year. At the beginning of the 20th century the town council considered demolishing it, but as the house was linked to the city’s history, they couldn’t decide whether to knock it down or not.

In 1968 it was decided to restore the house and Gabriel Fagan was commissioned to carry out the necessary repairs. Using drawings that dated back to 1790, he began the work and during restoration he uncovered the façade’s original stucco garlands, bas reliefs and floral decorations that you can photograph today.

No visit to Cape Town would be complete without visiting Bertram House, which you will find on the corner of Orange Street and Government Avenue Gardens.

Due to the strong Dutch influence in Cape Town, it is easy to forget that the British held the area several times during South Africa’s history, and Bertram House is a house museum which will show you how a wealthy British family lived in a country far from their own.

You should perhaps note that at the time of the British rule in the region, the settlers were, on the most part, military, trading or mining families who came from the British working or middle classes. Finding themselves in a new territory, these families were the nouveau riche and they modelled their homes on the grand houses they had dreamed about owning.

Bertram House was built in the Georgian style and is one of the last surviving buildings of its kind in the Cape area. It was built in 1839 by John Baker and its British owners lived there until 1903. When they left the country, it was bought by the South African College and taken over by the government in 1930.

The house was saved from demolition by the determination of Winifred Ann Lidderdale, a member of the South African Cultural History Museum, who insisted that it should be made into a house museum.

Restored to its former beauty, the house museum is furnished with English Georgian furniture and beautifully decorated in light colours. The 364 pieces of Chinese and English porcelain are from the personal collection of Mrs Lidderdale.