Castle of Good Hope

Pentagonal Dutch East India Company fortress, the oldest building in South Africa

The Castle of Good Hope is a five-pointed star fort that has anchored the eastern edge of Cape Town's centre for more than 350 years. Inside the walls is a small village of historic buildings — the Kat Balcony, the William Fehr Collection of Cape Dutch furniture, the Military Museum, the Castle Forge — and the old governor's residence, partly restored to its eighteenth-century state.

The hourly key ceremony and the cannon-firing demonstrations are popular with visitors but the place rewards a slow wander on its own. The view from the Kat Balcony across the inner courtyard, with Table Mountain rising directly behind, is one of the classic Cape Town set-pieces. Allow at least two hours; the entry fee includes the museums and a guided walk if you arrive in time.

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A story
Built between 1666 and 1679 by the Dutch East India Company to replace an earlier mud-and-timber fort, the Castle is the oldest colonial building still standing in South Africa. Its bastions are named for the titles of William of Orange — Leerdam, Buuren, Catzenellenbogen, Nassau and Oranje — and the original sea wall lapped right against its outer moat before twentieth-century land reclamation pushed the harbour back.