TAKE A WALK

3. GO FULL TOURIST IN THE BO-KAAP Cobblestones, steep uphills, brightly coloured houses, the country’s oldest mosque, early morning calls to prayer and shops shuttered on Friday afternoons… This neighbourhood – now a mix of descendants of freed slaves and latter-day arrivals keen to own a piece of history – is the most photogenic in Cape Town, and no matter how often you walk through, across or around it, there’s always something new to see.

2. BOUNCE ALONG THE BOOMSLANG WALKWAY Although named for one of our most venomous reptiles, this particular ‘tree snake’ is perfectly harmless. It’s an architecturally imaginative way of strolling through the air, walking between the branches with a gentle bounce as you survey the tree canopy at Kirstenbosch Gardens. Stare down at the curious blooms, try to identify indigenous trees, and make up your own Latin names for plants you spy from this elevated angle. sanbi.org

1. REACH THE TOP The most direct walking route up Table Mountain is via Platteklip Gorge. It can be tough on your calves, like climbing an endless stairway built for giants, but at the end you’ll feel as though you’ve conquered Everest. Once at the top, take the path left that leads to Maclear’s Beacon (the mountain’s highest point). City, sea and mountain views change with every step. It’s a 45-minute walk back in the opposite direction to the upper cableway station for the easier, quicker trip down by cable car. tablemountain.net

WITH MOUNTAINS, FORESTS AND HIKING ROUTES CRISS-CROSSING HER, CAPE TOWN IS A WONDERFUL CITY TO EXPLORE ON FOOT

5. HEAD EAST AND TRAVEL ACROSS TIME Within a fairly compact area, you can stroll through hundreds of years of history. Start at the Castle of Good Hope – not a castle in the royal-dwelling sense, but rather a star fort, with battlements and dungeons, and the oldest surviving built structure in the country (completed 1679). Then make your way past City Hall (with its balcony from which Nelson Mandela gave his first speech after being released from prison), and ramble up Parliament Street, to have a gander at the buildings where so much mayhem unfolds today.

4. SURVEY SQUIRRELS IN A PARK Since Capetonians of every stripe walk through here at some point, strolling through the Company’s Garden is a soulful way to get a sense of the city’s rhythm. Bordered by historic buildings and inundated by brave squirrels, it might be considered the equivalent of making a turn through New York’s Central Park or Hyde Park in London, although a walk through Cape Town’s original fruit and veggie garden is on a much tinier scale and takes just a few minutes.

7. CITY TO SEA WITH A NOSTALGIC TWIST While it’s not possible to relive all the magic of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, there’s something fantastic about walking from the city centre, along the purpose-built ‘Fan Walk’, observing the changes in architecture as you move from the high-rise landscape, through Green Point’s squatter Victorian-era tracts, to Cape Town’s monolithic Stadium rising up like a huge white elephant. Continue through Green Point Park to the lighthouse at Mouille Point, and you’re suddenly at the sea.

6. A MILE OF MILLIONAIRE MANSIONS It’s an easy walk along a varying mix of pathways, along a patch of beach, adjacent train tracks, and under a bridge or two. The great thing about hoofing it from Muizenberg to Kalk Bay is that when you arrive, there are plenty of tasty treats to tuck into, from a full-blown brekkie at Olympia Café, to fish ’n’ chips at Kalky’s. En route, don’t forget to look up at the mansions on the mountain slopes – many are attributable to so-called randlords who acquired vast fortunes during South Africa’s gold-mining heyday.

8. LACE UP FOR THE FULL ATLANTIC SEABOARD Most locals have some relationship with the Sea Point Promenade (if you’ve never walked along it, have you even been to Cape Town?). For a fuller half-day experience, start at the V&A Waterfront and follow the entire convoluted coastline all the way to Camps Bay. You’ll get a truer sense of the coastline’s contours, and of the architectural idiosyncrasies of building on the slopes of mountains that plunge sharply into boulder-strewn coves. SCAN HERE

TO GET A PREVIEW OF SOME OF THESE SPECIAL WALKS ON YOUR PHONE

9. FOLLOW A ROUTE THROUGH A FOREST A walk through Cecilia Forest in Constantia is an easily accessible opportunity to dip into the vast woodland that gives the Southern Suburbs their distinctive charm. There’s a dedicated parking area where Rhodes Drive and Hohenhort Avenue meet, and a choice of routes marked with signs so you can pick your poison, long or short. A real treat is to follow the contour path to Cecilia Ravine and picnic in view of Cecilia Waterfall, one of Table Mountain’s many gems. 10. PLOT A PATH TO THE POINT Aside from baboons and crashing waves, another thrilling thing at Cape Point is the dramatic pathway known as the Lighthouse Keeper’s Trail. It’s overlooked by most tourists rushing to get to their next stop, but at less than 3 km, it’s an easy walk along a narrow path with historical bunkers, plentiful fynbos and phenomenal views. capepoint.co.za