Table Mountain is more than just a great photo opportunity. It’s a piece of Africa and a national park within a modern city. Zebra and wildebeest graze the southern slopes, and hikers explore both easy paths and challenging rock formations.

Table Bay Harbor symbolizes the balance that makes Cape Town the finest place in Africa. The busy port has not spoiled the natural beauty of the ocean. The modern, cosmopolitan city is within minutes of every kind of outdoor recreation, from boating to hang-gliding. Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens display the most spectacular collection of plants in the Southern Hemisphere: delicate local heathers, foot-wide king protea flowers, unearthly succulents, glistening silver trees, and even a baobab from the savannahs far the north.

Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned, has been designated as a World Heritage Site. Convenient ferry services, tours, and the new Robben Island Museum provide fascinating insights into South Africa’s unique past.

The Cape Winelands offer scenery, architecture, and wines to compete with the most famous European wine regions, at a fraction of European prices. Tour historic towns and wine farms by bus, by car, or on horseback. Relax and taste the results of more than three centuries of wine-making in the Cape.

Have a beach practically to yourself—there are so many around Cape Town that you can. There is a beach for everything, from family fun, to nude bathing, to surfing, to parties and shows, to wildlife viewing. (Boulders Beach is a haven for penguins!)

Cape Town’s state-of-the-art revolving cable car provides a comfortable yet breathtaking ride. A restaurant and park at the top of Table Mountain invite visitors to spend a whole afternoon experiencing some of the most beautiful scenery in the world.

Visitors gather every year from September through November to enjoy the recovery of the southern right whale from near extinction. Migrating here to mate and bear their young, these whales stay in the warm shallow waters and can be observed a few yards from the shore at Hermanus. For a really close-up experience, try a whale-watch cruise.

For more views of the region visit www.capetourism.org.