Simon's Town sits on the False Bay side of the Cape Peninsula, about 40 km south of Cape Town and an easy drive or train ride along the shore. It has been a naval town for more than two centuries — first a British Royal Navy base and, since the dockyard was handed over in 1957, the main base of the South African Navy. Grey warships and frigates still fill the harbour, and the Victorian main street curves above the water lined with naval-themed pubs, antique shops and small museums.
The town's best-loved character is Just Nuisance, a Great Dane and the only dog ever officially enlisted in the Royal Navy, who is commemorated by a bronze statue on Jubilee Square. The Simon's Town Museum and the South African Naval Museum tell the longer story of the dockyard, while the Heritage Museum recalls the Muslim community displaced under apartheid's Group Areas Act. It is a place to wander slowly, with a coffee, between the sea wall and the shopfronts.
A short walk or drive south brings you to Boulders Beach, where a colony of African penguins waddles between the granite boulders and sheltered coves — one of the few places in the world you can swim alongside them. Beyond Boulders the road continues toward Cape Point and the Cape of Good Hope reserve, making Simon's Town a natural base or stop on a tour of the southern peninsula.
The Metrorail Southern Line runs all the way from central Cape Town, hugging the False Bay coast for much of the journey, though check current service reliability before relying on it. Most visitors come for a half-day, combining the town with the penguins and a seafood lunch on the waterfront.