Direct from Cape Town. Travels and experiences in and around the city, and voyages that carry you beyond its shores.
Cape Town balances mountain and sea, and creativity with entrepreneurial spirit. It’s where café culture meets coastal calm, with easy access to an abundance of alluring wine farms and favourite neighbourhood spots, stylish hotels and coastal escapes. It’s where a simple drive can turn into a day trip worth writing about. These are stories about where to eat, stay, wander and escape. Told with an insider’s eye and a touch of attitude.
But the journey doesn’t stop there. Direct From Cape Town also follows travels that lead elsewhere – to spaces and places that stir curiosity, or soothe the senses.
Contact us on : info@directfromcapetown.co.za
Dining
Cape Town’s dining scene is among the most dynamic anywhere, shaped by its coastal setting, abundant produce, diverse cultural influences and imaginative, ambitious chefs. Yes, the city delivers exceptional fine dining, but its strength runs the full spectrum – from vibrant neighbourhood eateries to characterful coffee shops. The result is a food culture that’s refined yet relaxed, adventurous without pretence, and full of flavour.
Local
Cape Town is a city of neighbourhoods, each with its own rhythm and personality. Start with a coffee in the City Bowl beneath the rise of Table Mountain, stroll the Sea Point promenade with its mix of joggers, dog walkers and ocean air, or climb Lion’s Heaad for sweeping views. Venture a little further to Kalk Bay or Muizenberg, where the pace slows and the mood shifts. Wherever you go, the city’s creative spirit spills into galleries, weekend markets, music and design.
Overseas
There’s something quietly transformative about arriving in a new place – a fresh skyline, a different quality of light, unfamiliar flavours. Whether it’s a quick city break in Europe, a long-haul escape to Southeast Asia, or a slow, scenic wander through Mediterranean coastal towns, travel widens your world and shifts your perspective. The moods and moments you gather along the way have a way of lingering, reshaping how you live long after you return home.
The art of afternoon: some of Cape Town’s finest hotel high teas
There are occasions only a hotel high tea can create. The fine China or the considered styling, pastries that are almost too beautiful to touch – and that particular, unhurried sense of an afternoon or a celebration. A proper high tea arrives in tiers: finger…
No choice, no problem: Belly of the Beast will take care of it for you.
Belly of the Beast was one of the first restaurants on Harrington Street, and with a handful of other destinations helped elevate the East City Precinct. It’s fine-dining, but an informal approach. An award-winning restaurant developed around the idea: ditch the…
A global art conversation lands in Cape Town
It’s Art Week in Cape Town, that moment in the calendar when collectors, dealers, artists, curators and the art- curious converge on the city for the Investec Cape Town Art Fair – the largest contemporary art fair on the continent and a cultural anchor that draws the…
A Taste of the Golden Age aboard Cunard’s Queen Anne
When the Queen Anne docked in Cape Town, a small group of us stepped aboard for a walkabout and dinner – just enough time to get a feel for Cunard’s newest flagship. Launched in 2024, Queen Anne is Cunard’s most contemporary ship to date, yet it remains firmly…
Inside Norwegian Viva and the reinvention of Cruising
Cruises are no longer the preserve of the “newly-wed and nearly dead” and are being embraced by a younger generation. TikTok, Instagram and travel influencers are reshaping the image of cruising – sharing videos of experiences, swapping shuffleboard…
From power station to high voltage hospitality: Knysna’s Turbine Hotel & Spa
Knysna’s Turbine Hotel & Spa is housed in what was once a working power station, with original pipes, boilers and machinery seamlessly woven into the living spaces. The result is a striking industrial-chic aesthetic that blends heritage with contemporary…
Hemel-en-Aarde: South Africa’s striking cool-climate answer to Burgundy
Hemel-en-Aarde lies between the coastal town of Hermanus, the Cape Winelands and Elgin, offering a quieter, more understated sensibility than South Africa’s better-known wine regions. With fewer crowds and a slower pace, it feels refreshingly unhurried. The valley is…
FYN: Seven years in, still defining the cutting edge of South African fine dining.
FYN has firmly established itself as one of Africa’s most acclaimed restaurants. A growing list of accolades – both for the restaurant and chef-owner Peter Tempelhoff – underscores its standing, with little sign that the momentum is slowing. Fyn opened…
JAN brings bistro glamour to the V&A
Le Bistrot de JAN at the V&A Waterfront has the allure of a chic bistro, with its deep blue panelled walls, bistro chairs and beret-wearing waiters – but it’s large-scale and glamorous. Jan Hendrick van der Westhuizen knows a thing or two about…
Inside the Atlantic Seaboard’s hotel boom
The Atlantic Seaboard is having a hotel boom. Investment in Sea Point has surged to record levels, reshaping the coastline with a wave of new openings and high-profile revivals. Here’s an update on three of the most significant developments. The Cove The Cove is…