Families

Take the winding route up Lion's Head for panoramic views and a fun alternative to Table Mountain.

South Africa boasts that it's a family-oriented country, and indeed, Cape Town has plenty to offer the younger set. For a shorter (but at times steeper) alternative to climbing the daunting Table Mountain, trek up Lion's Head, a few miles to its northeast. The 360-degree views of Table Mountain, the city, and the Atlantic seaboard change constantly thanks to a route that winds around the knob of a summit. The option of taking a path with climbing chains and embedded metal ladders (for older children) means this quick hike has a big payoff.

If you'd rather enjoy the views while in the comfort of your car, take a drive along Signal Hill, part of the Table Mountain range that separates the City Bowl from Green Point. Views of the sunset from the hill are magnificent, but if you time your visit for midday on a weekday, kids can watch the loading (starting at 11:30 a.m.) and firing of the Noon Gun, located just above Bo-Kaap on the slopes of Signal Hill (reachable by Military Road through Bo-Kaap), for free. The tradition of the daily firing started in 1806 when a gun was shot off at noon each day from the city center to allow boats docked in the bay keep accurate time. As the city grew, the gun was moved to Signal Hill so as not to disturb life in the City Bowl, and the same two cannons have been fired off since 1902.

The African penguins that make their home at Boulders Beach in Simonstown are always a favorite with kids, who love scrambling over the rocks and poking their heads between the boulders to look for the birds. If it's a view you're after, head to Bloubergstrand, about ten miles to the northeast of the city center. It's the best place to catch the iconic view of Table Mountain—the mist-shrouded, sawed-off peak looming above the bay—that graces postcards and guidebook covers.