Your Bokaap Experience Starts Here

Why Visit Bokaap, Cape Town?

Great People. Authentic Food. Scenic.

Bokaap, a vibrant Cape Malay (Muslim) district not far from the downtown area, was formerly home to the city’s slave population. In any case, the area expanded throughout time, and now a wide variety of people live there.

The Cape Malay community is now a thriving part of town. Residents are used to having their houses documented on Instagram, so feel free to go about and snap some shots. Our goal in visiting the area first thing in the morning was to take advantage of the best lighting for photographs and to see the neighborhood come to life.

Bokaap has top-notch Cape Malay eateries, and all are nearby the Auwal Mosque, South Africa’s first mosque. It is a great location for taking pictures of the colorful orange, green, pink, and blue homes.

This is the oldest residential neighborhood in South Africa, and its streets include the country’s greatest concentration of buildings constructed before 1850.

Bokaap is a vibrant neighborhood with a lot of attractions. The streets are well-known for their eye-catching color scheme and the high quality of its Cape Dutch and Cape Georgian architecture. Jan de Waal constructed the oldest surviving building in Bo-kaap in 1768; now, it serves as the Bo Kaap Museum, the best destination for first-time visitors to the area. The museum, designed to seem like the home of a prosperous Cape Malay family from the 19th century, provides visitors with a glimpse into the daily lives of the city’s first residents and an understanding of how Islamic customs have shaped Cape Town’s artistic and cultural landscape.

First Time In Bokaap?

How to visit bokaap

Bokaap is far more secure for travelers than some of Cape Town’s other less affluent neighborhoods. The V&A Waterfront (the city’s primary tourist destination) is a 10-minute drive away, although the city center can be reached on foot in about five minutes.

Walking along Wale Street towards the Bokaap Museum is the quickest way to locate oneself in the center of Bokaap. Spend an hour or two getting lost in the museum’s charming side alleyways after you’ve finished perusing the exhibitions. 

Anyone interested in learning from a local guide can sign up for one of the numerous BoKaap walking tours offered across the city. Cost-free Guided Tours There is a well-liked free walking tour of Cape Town, however visitors are encouraged to bring cash to tip the guide.