Description

Essentials about the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront in brief

Mostly just called “V&A Waterfront” for short, the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront is the lavishly restored dockyard and harbor district around the two historic docks in the center of Cape Town. Since its redevelopment in the late 1980s, the Waterfront has established itself as Cape Town’s second major attraction alongside Table Mountain and has become a real magnet for tourists and locals alike, attracting over 30 million people each year.

The history of the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront

The two harbor basins in Table Bay of the Atlantic Ocean were commissioned in 1870 and 1905 and received their names in honor of the British Queen Victoria and her second son, Prince Alfred. Table Bay was never an ideal berth for ships and, especially in the winter months, violent storms swept through the bay, sinking many ships. It was not until a breakwater wall in front of the harbor basin, the foundation stone of which was laid by Prince Alfred in 1860, that the harbor became safe.

In the 1970s, Cape Town’s historic harbor and shipyard district was one of the city’s most neglected areas. Since the mid-1970s, the oldest port areas in particular could no longer be used economically – the docks and quays there were hardly used because of the new ship depths, and the jetties, basins and warehouses fell into disrepair. From about 1985 onwards, there was a desire to revitalize the unused, derelict harbor area, and so the city and the port authority developed a redevelopment concept for the historic area.

Any visitor to the V&A Waterfront will be able to confirm that the basic idea of combining tradition, work, learning and fun was implemented very successfully. For example, a historic warehouse has been converted into a shopping mall, a former pump house now houses restaurants, and an old prison now houses a hotel.

The buildings and attractions of the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront

Within a few years, the V&A Waterfront developed into one of the most popular shopping, living, working, nightlife and entertainment districts in all of South Africa. Today, the area is home to more than 250 stores, over 50 restaurants and takeaways, 10 pubs, several hotels, cinemas and museums (such as the famous Two Oceans Aquarium), as well as several apartment and office buildings.

If you want to get a bird’s eye view of beautiful Cape Town, you can take off from Heli-Port for a helicopter tour of the city and the Cape Peninsula. Boats also depart from here to Robben Island, the legendary prison island where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for many years. The Waterfront’s latest attraction is the conversion of a former silo building into the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa, which has been open since 2017.

The flair of the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront

In addition, the V&A Waterfront is also the stage for street musicians, amateur actors and other performance artists every day. What is perhaps most important, however, is the fact that the V&A Waterfront has retained its maritime harbor atmosphere despite all the renovation and reconstruction work and the daily rush of tourists. After all, the port of Cape Town is the oldest port still in operation in South Africa. Fishing boats with their catch and cargo ships full of containers still arrive and depart here every day, and shipyard work is carried out.

Website

waterfront.co.za

Opening hours

Opening hours Shopping Mall:

Admission fees

None.

Address

Getting there

By public transport:

Bus line 104: Stops Waterfront Silo, Aquarium, Nobel Square, Breakwater and Waterfront

Mit dem Auto:

Around the V&A Waterfront there are a number of parking garages and parking lots, such as East Pier Road Parking, Victoria Wharf Open Air Parking, Breakwater Parking Garage, Portswood Parking Garage, Portswood Road Parking and Silo District Parking.