Shopping on line can be easy, simple and save you lots of money. It can also take a lot of your time, frustrate you, and result in unwanted purchases. Now the same can be said for regular high street shopping, but with the vast opportunity presented by the Internet it will pay you to spend a few minutes reading this and understanding how to better optimize your Cape Town shopping experience:

1. Compare - without doubt the biggest advantage that the Cape Town offers shoppers today is the ability to compare thousands of Cape Town at a time. This is a great thing, but not necessarily all the time! Too much can be daunting at times so take advantage of the great comparison sites and where possible let them do the hard work for you.

2. Research - if it has been said it will be on the internet. Ignorance is no longer a justifiable reason for buying the wrong thing. Take the time to research in detail everything that you could possible want to know about

3. Testimonials - don't know anybody that has bought a Cape Town? Wrong! If the Cape Town is good the internet will let you know. Use the Internet as a friend and get testimonials before you buy.

4. Questions - Got a question about Cape Town then search the Forums, FAQ's, Blogs etc. Don't be afraid to ask .....

5. Reputation - Never heard of the company selling Cape Town? Don't worry, no reason why you should know every company in the world, but you know someone that does! Use the internet to find out what people are saying about Cape Town and build up a picture of their reputation for sales, returns, customer service, delivery etc.

6. Returns - still worried that even after all of the above your Cape Town wont be what you want? Check out the returns policy. There is so much competition now that someone, somewhere is bound to offer the terms that you are comfortable with.

7. Feedback - happy with your Cape Town then let people know, after all you are depending on others people input in your buying decision, so why not give a little back.

8. Security - check for the yellow padlock on the Cape Town site before you buy, and the s after http:/ /i.e. https:// = a secure site

9. Contact - got a question about Cape Town, or want to leave a comment then check out the sites contact page. Reputable companies have them and respond.

10. Payment - ready to pay for your Cape Town, then use your credit card or PayPal! Be aware of companies that don't accept them, there may be genuine reasons but given the huge amount of choice you have when buying online there is no reason at all not to buy via credit card or PayPal.

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Cape Town (Afrikaans and Dutch language: Kaapstad; Xhosa language: iKapa) is the List of largest cities in South Africa by population in South Africa, forming part of the metropolitan municipality (South Africa) of the City of Cape Town. It is the provincial capital of the Western Cape, as well as the legislature capital of South Africa, where the Parliament of South Africa and many government offices are located. Cape Town is famous for its harbour as well as its natural setting in the Cape floral kingdom, including such well-known landmarks as Table Mountain and Cape Point. Often regarded as one of the world's most beautiful cities because of its geography, Cape Town is the most popular South African destination for tourism.

Cape Town was originally developed as a victualling station for Netherlands ships sailing to Eastern Africa, India, and the Far East more than 200 years before the construction of the Suez Canal in 1869. Jan van Riebeeck's arrival on 6 April 1652 established the first permanent European settlement in South Africa. Cape Town quickly outgrew its original purpose as the first European outpost at the Castle of Good Hope. It was the largest city in South Africa until the growth of Johannesburg and Durban.

According to the South African National Census of 2001, the city has a population of 2.95 million. Cape Town's land area of 2,499 square kilometres (965 square mile) is larger than other South African cities, resulting in a comparatively lower population density of 1,158 people per square kilometre (2,999/sq mi). Cape Town is town twinning with Nice in France and Haifa in Israel.

History There is no certainty as to when humans first occupied the area prior to the first visits of Europeans in the 15th century. The earliest known remnants in the region were found at Peers cave in Fish Hoek and date to around 12,000 years ago. Little is known of the history of the region's first residents, since there is no written history from the area before it was first mentioned by Portugal Age of Discovery Bartolomeu Dias in 1486. Vasco da Gama recorded a sighting of the Cape of Good Hope in 1497, and the area did not have regular contact with Europeans until 1652, when the Netherlands' Jan van Riebeeck and other employees of the Dutch East India Company (Dutch language: Verenigde Oost-indische Compagnie, VOC) were sent to the Cape to establish a way-station for ships travelling to the Dutch East Indies. The city grew slowly during this period, as it was hard to find adequate labour. This labour shortage prompted the city to import slaves from Indonesia and Madagascar; many of whom would come to form the first of the Cape Coloureds communities.

The British successfully gained outright control of Cape Town in 1795, during the Battle of Muizenberg. Under the terms of a peace agreement negotiated after the war, the Cape was returned to the Dutch in 1803. The war resumed later that year, and British forces re-occupied the Cape, after winning the Battle of Blaauwberg in 1806. In the 1814 peace treaty which ended the war in Europe, the Cape was permanently incorporated into the British Empire. As the territory under British control grew even larger outward from the city, it became the capital of the newly formed Cape Colony. in Table Bay (by Charles Davidson Bell)

The discovery of diamonds in Griqualand West in 1869, and gold on the Witwatersrand in 1886, near the present-day city of Johannesburg prompted a massive Witwatersrand Gold Rush. Johannesburg grew rapidly as the country was flooded with immigrants. Tensions also emerged between the Boers, who had taken part in the Great Trek and established republics in the centre of the country; the new migrants, known as uitlanders; and the British colonial government. This conflict resulted in the Second Anglo-Boer War. After the British won this war and acquired control of the gold and diamond industries, they unified the Cape Colony with the two defeated Boer Republics (the South African Republic and the Orange Free State) and the British colony of Natal to form the Union of South Africa, which was proclaimed in 1910 with Cape Town as its legislative capital, a function it has continued to serve for the Republic of South Africa from 1961 to the present.

In 1948, the National Party (South Africa) was elected on election promises of racial segregation laws, collectively known by the Afrikaans word apartheid. As a consequence of the Group Areas Act, which classified all areas of the country and city according to race, formerly multi-racial suburbs were either purged of unlawful residents or demolished. The most infamous example of this in Cape Town is District Six, Cape Town, which was demolished in 1965, prompting the forced removal of over 60,000 residents after it was declared a whites-only region. Many of these residents were relocated to the Cape Flats. Under apartheid, the Cape was considered a "Coloured labour preference area", to the exclusion of Black Africans.

.Cape Town was home to many leaders of the anti-apartheid movement, despite many of the group's leaders' internment on Robben Island, a penitentiary island 10 kilometres out to sea from the city, where many famous political prisoners were held for many years. In one of the most famous moments marking the end of apartheid, Nelson Mandela made his first public speech in decades on 11 February 1990 from the balcony of Cape Town City Hall hours after being released. His speech heralded the beginning of a new era for the country, and the first South African general election, 1994 was held four years later, on 27 April 1994. Since 1994, the city has struggled with problems such as HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and a surge in violent drug-related crime. At the same time, the economy has surged to unprecedented levels due to the boom in the tourism and the real estate industries.

Geography satellite image of Cape Town and its environment taken by a Landsat satellite in February 2000 and Signal Hill (Cape Town) From Table MountainThe centre of Cape Town is located at the northern end of the Cape Peninsula. Table Mountain forms a dramatic backdrop to the city bowl, with its plateau over 1,000 m (3,300 Foot (unit of length)) high; it is surrounded by near-vertical cliffs, Devil's Peak (Cape Town) and Lion's Head (Cape Town). Sometimes a thin strip of cloud forms over the mountain, and owing to its appearance, it is affectionately known as the "tablecloth". The peninsula consists of a dramatic mountainous spine jutting southwards into the Atlantic Ocean, ending at Cape Point. There are over 70 peaks above 1,000 feet (304.8 Metre) (the American definition of a mountain) within Cape Town's official city limits. Many of the suburbs of Cape Town are on the large plain of the Cape Flats, which joins the peninsula to the mainland. The Cape Flats lie on what is known as a rising marine plain, consisting mostly of sandy geology which shows that at one point Table Mountain itself was an island.

Climate The Cape of Good Hope has a Mediterranean climate with well-defined seasons. In winter, which lasts from May to September, large cold fronts come across from the Atlantic Ocean with heavy precipitation (meteorology) and strong north-westerly winds. The winter months are cool, with an average minimum temperature of 7 °Celsius (45 °Fahrenheit). Most of the city's annual rainfall occurs in wintertime, but due to the mountainous topography of the city, rainfall amounts for specific areas can vary dramatically. The suburb of Newlands which is to the south of the city is the wettest place in South Africa. The valleys and coastal plains average 515 millimetres (20 Inch) of rain per annum, while mountain areas can average as much as 1,500 millimetres (60 in) per annum. Summer, which lasts from November to March, is warm and dry. The Peninsula gets frequent strong winds from the south-east, known locally as the Cape Doctor, because it blows away pollution and cleans the air. The south-easterly wind is caused by a Pressure system#High-pressure system which sits in the South Atlantic Ocean to the west of Cape Town, known as the South-Atlantic High. Summer temperatures are mild, with an average maximum of 26 °C (79 °F).

{| class="wikitable" style="width: 75%; margin: 0 auto 0 auto;"|+ Climate Table|-!   !! Jan !! Feb !! Mar !! Apr !! May !! Jun !! Jul !! Aug !! Sep !! Oct !! Nov !! Dec !! Year|-! Maximum record temperature (Celsius)| 37 || 38 || 39 || 39 || 35 || 29 || 29 || 32 || 34 || 32 || 34 || 38|-! Minimum record temperature (Celsius)| 7 || 5 || 6 || 3 || -1 || -2 || -2 || -1 || 1 || 1 || 4 || 5 |||-! Mean daily maximum temperature (Celsius)| 26 || 26 || 25 || 22 || 19 || 18 || 17 || 18 || 18 || 21 || 23 || 24 || 21.5|-! Mean daily minimum temperature (Celsius)| 16 || 16 || 14 || 12 || 9 || 8 || 7 || 8 || 9 || 11 || 13 || 14 || 11.5|-! Mean monthly rainfall (Millimetre)| 15 || 8 || 18 || 48 || 79 || 84 || 89 || 66 || 43 || 31 || 18 || 10 |||-| colspan="15" style="text-align: center;" | Source: |} Government , located in the City Bowl, Cape Town

Cape Town's local government is the City of Cape Town, which is a metropolitan municipality (South Africa). Cape Town is governed by a 210-member city council, which reports to a 28-member executive council. The executive council, in turn, is presided over by a city manager and an executive mayor. The city is divided into 105 electoral wards; each ward directly elects one member of the council, whilst the other 105 councillors are elected by a party-list proportional representation system. The mayor is chosen by the city council.

The current mayor is Helen Zille of the Democratic Alliance (South Africa). In the most recent South African municipal election, 2006s, the Democratic Alliance was the largest single party with 90 of the 210 seats on the council, ahead of the African National Congress's 81 seats, but with no party holding a majority. A subsequent by-election has increased the DA's seats to 91. The DA has now increased it's majority, by introducing the Independent Democrats (South Africa) to the coalition, and so the DA-led council now has a majority of 22 seats.

Before the unification of Cape Town's local government into the so-called "Unicity", it was divided into six regional "Administrations"; many functions of the Unicity are still divided according to the old Administrations. The administrations include Cape Town, which has the regions of the City Bowl, the Atlantic Seaboard, the southern suburbs, Pinelands, Cape Town, Langa, Cape Town and Mitchell's Plain. The South Peninsula includes Hout Bay, Wynberg, Cape Town, Constantia, Cape Town, Fish Hoek, Kommetjie, Cape Town, Noordhoek and Simon's Town. The Blaauwberg region includes Milnerton, Cape Town, Tableview, Cape Town, and Bloubergstrand, Cape Town. Tygerberg, Cape Town has its own region, with Durbanville, Cape Town, Bellville, Cape Town, and Khayelitsha added to it. Oostenberg includes Kraaifontein, Cape Town, Brackenfell, Cape Town, Kuilsrivier, Cape Town, Blue Downs, Cape Town, and Eerste Rivier, Cape Town. The last administration, Helderberg, includes Somerset West, Western Cape, Strand, Western Cape, and Gordon's Bay.

Demographics

According to the South African National Census of 2001, the population of Cape Town is 2,893,251 people. There are 759,767 formal households, of which 87.4% have a flush or chemical toilet, and 94.4% have refuse removed by the municipality at least once a week. 80.1% of households use electricity as the main source of energy. 16.1% of households are headed by one person.

Coloured people account for 48.13% of the population, followed by Black Africans at 31%, White (people) at 18.75%, and Asian peoples at 1.43%. 46.6% of the population is under the age of 24, whilst 5% are over the age of 65. The median age in the city is 26 years old, and for every 100 females, there are 92.4 males. 19.4% of city residents are unemployment; 58.3% of the unemployed are black, 38.1% are Coloured, 3.1% are White and 0.5% are Asian.

41.4% of Cape Town residents speak Afrikaans at home, 28.7% speak Xhosa language, 27.9% speak English language, 0.7% speak Sotho language, 0.3% speak Zulu language, 0.1% speak Tswana language and 0.7% of the population speaks a non-official language at home. 76.6% of residents are Christianity, 10.7% have no religion, 9.7% are Islam, 0.5% are Judaism and 0.2% are Hinduism. 2.3% have other or undetermined beliefs.

4.2% of residents aged 20 and over have received no Education in South Africa; 11.8% have had some primary school; 7.1% have completed only primary school; 38.9% have had some high school education; 25.4% have finished only high school and 12.6% have an education higher than the high school level. Overall, 38.0% of residents have completed high school. The median annual income of working adults aged 20–65 is South African rand 25 774. Males have a median annual income of ZAR 28 406 versus ZAR 22 265 for females.

Economy Cape Town is the economic centre of the Western Cape and serves as the regional manufacturing centre. It also has the primary harbour and airport in the Western Cape. The large government presence in the city, both as the capital of the Western Cape and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa, has led to increased revenue and growth in industries that serve the government. Cape Town hosts many meeting, particularly in the new Cape Town International Convention Centre, which opened in June 2003. The city has recently enjoyed a booming real estate and construction market, with many people buying summer homes in the city as well as relocating there permanently. The central business district is under an extensive urban renewal programme, with numerous new buildings and renovations taking place under the guidance of the Cape Town Partnership.

Cape Town has four major commercial nodes, with Cape Town Central Business District containing the majority of job opportunities and office space. Century City (Cape Town), the Bellville, Western Cape/TygerValley strip and Claremont, Cape Town commercial nodes are well established and contain many offices and corporate headquarters as well.

High school attendance rates and the city's well-established higher education infrastructure have helped Cape Town to attract foreign investors, as there are more people with internationally recognised certification and diplomas.

The Western Cape also generates a quarter of the South African agricultural sector's total gross income and more than half of South Africa's exports. Much of the produce is handled through the Port of Cape Town or Cape Town International Airport. Most major shipbuilding companies have offices and manufacturing locations in Cape Town. The Province is also a centre of energy development for the country, with the existing Koeberg nuclear power station providing energy for the majority of Cape Town's needs. Recently, scientists have discovered crude oil and natural gas off of the coast in the Atlantic Ocean.

The Western Cape is an important tourist region in South Africa; the tourism industry accounts for 9.8% of the Gross domestic product of the province and employs 9.6% of the province's workforce. In 2004, over 1.5 million international tourists visited the area.

Tourism with Table Mountain and its characteristic tablecloth in the background Bo-Kaap is one of the most visited areas in Cape Town.

Cape Town is arguably the most popular tourist destination in South Africa due to its good climate, natural setting, and relatively well-developed infrastructure. The city has several well-known natural features that attract tourists, most notably Table Mountain, which forms a large part of the Table Mountain National Park and is the back end of the City Bowl, Cape Town. Reaching the top of the mountain can be achieved either by hiking up, or by taking the Table Mountain Cableway. Cape Point is recognised as the dramatic headland at the end of the Cape Peninsula. Many tourists also drive along Chapman's Peak, a narrow road that links Noordhoek, Cape Town with Hout Bay, Cape Town, for the views of the Atlantic Ocean and nearby mountains. It is possible to either drive or hike up Signal Hill (Cape Town) for closer views of the City Bowl and Table Mountain.

Many tourists also visit List of beaches of Cape Town, which are popular with local residents. Due to the city's unique geography, it is possible to visit several different beaches in the same day, each with a different setting and atmosphere. Beaches located on the Atlantic Coast tend to have very cold water as the water is mostly glacier from Antarctica. The water at False Bay beaches is often warmer by up to 10 °C (18 °F). Both coasts are equally popular, although the beaches in affluent Clifton, Cape Town and elsewhere on the Atlantic Coast are better developed with restaurants and cafés, with a particularly vibrant strip of restaurants and bars accessible to the beach at Camps Bay. Boulders Beach near Simon's Town is known for its colony of African Penguins. Surfing is popular and the city hosts the Red Bull Big Wave Africa surfing competition every year.

The city has several notable cultural attractions. The Victoria & Alfred Waterfront, built on top of part of the dock (maritime)s of the Port of Cape Town, is one of the city's most popular shopping venues, with several hundred shops and the Two Oceans Aquarium. Part of the charm of the V&A, as it is locally known, is that the Port continues to operate and visitors can watch ships enter and leave. The V&A also hosts the Nelson Mandela Gateway, through which ferry depart for Robben Island. It is possible to take a ferry from the V&A to Hout Bay, Cape Town, Simon's Town, Cape Town and the Cape Fur Seal colonies on Seal and Duiker Islands. Several companies offer tours of the Cape Flats, a mostly Coloured Township (South Africa), and Khayelitsha, a mostly black township. An option is to sleep overnight in Cape Town's townships. There are several B&Bs where you can spend a safe and real African night.

Cape Town is noted for its architectural heritage, with the highest density of Cape Dutch architecture style buildings in the world. Cape Dutch style, which combines the architectural traditions of the Netherlands, Germany and France, is most visible in Constantia, Cape Town, the old government buildings in the Central Business District, and along Long Street (Cape Town). The annual Coon Carnival, also known by its Afrikaans name of Kaapse Klopse, is a large minstrel festival held annually on January 2 or "Tweede Nuwe Jaar" (Afrikaans: Second New Year). Competing teams of minstrels parade in brightly coloured costumes, either carrying colourful umbrellas or playing an array of musical instruments. The Artscape Theatre Centre is the main performing arts venue in Cape Town.

Night life in the city caters for all tastes and sexual preferences, with a range of restaurants and cafes that are generally recognised as including some of the finest eateries in South Africa (both in food quality and decor terms). Night clubs and bars abound with popular areas including the top end of Long Street and its immediate surrounds, as well as the redeveloped Cape Malay quarter, De Waterkant. Varied accommodation for tourists is also abundant, ranging from well located backpackers hostels to hotels that have been rated at the top of their class in world terms.

Cape Town's transport system links it to the rest of South Africa; it serves as the gateway to other destinations within the province. The Cape Winelands and in particular the towns of Stellenbosch, Western Cape, Paarl, Western Cape and Franschhoek, Western Cape are popular day trips from the city for sightseeing and wine tasting. Whale watching is popular amongst tourists: Southern Right Whales are seen off the coast during the breeding season (August to November) and Bryde's Whales can be seen any time of the year. The nearby town of Hermanus is known for its Whale Festival, but whales can also be seen in False Bay. Heaviside's Dolphins are endemic to the area and can be seen from the coast north of Cape Town; Dusky Dolphins live along the same coast and can occasionally be seen from the ferry to Robben Island.

Approximately 1.5 million tourists visited in Cape Town during 2004, bringing in a total of R10 billion in revenue. The forecasts for 2006 anticipate 1.6 million tourists spending a total of R12 billion. The most popular areas for visitors to stay include Camps Bay, Sea Point, the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront, the City Bowl, Cape Town, Hout Bay, Constantia, Cape Town, Rondebosch, Newlands, Cape Town, Somerset West and Hermanus.

Communications and media , which is the headquarters of Naspers, the largest media company in Cape TownSeveral newspapers, magazines and printing facilities have their offices in the city. Independent News and Media publishes the major English language papers in the city, the Cape Argus and the Cape Times. Naspers, the largest media conglomerate in South Africa, publishes Die Burger, the major Afrikaans language paper.

Cape Town has many local community newspapers. Some of the largest community newspapers in English are the Athlone News from Athlone, Cape Town, the Atlantic Sun, the Constantiaberg Bulletin from Constantiaberg, Cape Town, the City Vision from Bellville, Cape Town, the False Bay Echo from False Bay, the Helderberg Sun from Helderberg, Cape Town, the Plainsman from Michells Plain, the Sentinel News from Hout Bay, the Southern Mail from the Southern Peninsula, the Southern Suburbs Tatler from the Southern Suburbs, Cape Town, Table Talk (Cape Town) from Table View and Tygertalk from Tygervalley/Durbanville. Afrikaans language community newspapers include the Landbou-Burger and the Tygerburger.Vukani, based in the Cape Flats, is published in Xhosa language.

Cape Town is a centre for broadcast media and has several radio stations that only broadcast within the city. Good Hope FM (94–97 megahertz FM broadcasting) and KFM (Cape Town) (94.5 MHz FM) mostly play pop music, while Fine Music Radio (101.3 FM) plays European classical music and jazz. Heart FM (104.9 MHz FM), the former P4 Radio, plays Jazz and R&B. Bush Radio is a community radio station (89.5 megahertz FM broadcasting). The Voice of the Cape (95.8 MHz FM) and Cape Talk (567 kilohertz Mediumwave) are the major talk radio in the city.

The SABC (South African Broadcasting Corporation) has a small presence in the city, with satellite studios located at Sea Point. e.tv has a greater presence, with a large complex located at Longkloof Studios in Gardens, Cape Town. M-Net is not well represented with infrastructure within the city. Numerous productions companies and their support industries are located in the city, mostly supporting the production of overseas commercials, model shoots, TV-series and movies. The local media infrastructure remains primarily in Johannesburg.

Sports teams and stadia {| class="infobox" style="font-size: 90%; "|- style="text-align: center; background: #eee"! Club !! Sport !! League !! Stadium|-| Ajax Cape Town| [Premier Soccer League (South Africa)| Philippi Stadium| [Cricket| [Newlands Cricket Ground| [Football (soccer)| Premier Soccer League (South Africa)| Athlone Stadium| [Rugby union| [Newlands Stadium| [Rugby union| [Newlands Stadium, [football (soccer), swimming, and rugby union. The Stormers represent Western Province (rugby) and Boland in the Southern Hemisphere's Super 14 rugby union competition. Cape Town is the home of the Western Province (rugby), who play at Newlands Stadium and compete in the Currie Cup. Cape Town also regularly hosts the national team, the South Africa national rugby union team, and hosted matches during the 1995 Rugby World Cup, including a semi-final.

Football, which is better known as soccer in South Africa, is also popular. Two Football club from Cape Town play in the Premier Soccer League (PSL), South Africa's premier league. These teams are Ajax Cape Town, which formed as a result of the 1999 amalgamation of the Seven Stars (Cape Town) and the Cape Town Spurs; and Santos Football Club (South Africa). Cape Town will also be the location of several of the matches of the Football World Cup 2010, which is to be held in South Africa. The Mother City is building a new 70,000 seat stadium in the Green Point area.

In cricket, the Cape Cobras represent Cape Town at the Newlands Cricket Ground. The team is the result of an amalgamation of the Western Province Cricket and Boland Cricket teams. They take part in the Supersport Series and Standard Bank Cup Series.

Cape Town has Olympic aspirations: in 1996, Cape Town was one of the five candidate cities shortlisted by the IOC to launch official candidatures to host the 2004 Summer Olympics. Although the games ultimately went to Athens, Cape Town came in an impressive third place, edging out Stockholm and Buenos Aires in the first three rounds of voting. There has been some speculation that Cape Town is seeking the South African Olympic Committee's nomination to be South Africa's bid city for either the 2016 Summer Olympic Games or the 2020 Summer Olympic Games.

Transport , also known as the Eastern Boulevard, as it enters the City Bowl, Cape Town and ends in the Central Business District as it passes the University of Cape Town. The M3 is the major link between the City Bowl, Cape Town and the southern suburbs.

Air Cape Town International Airport serves both domestic and international flights. It is the second-largest airport in South Africa and serves as a major gateway for travellers to the Cape region. Cape Town has direct flights to most cities in South Africa as well as a number of international destinations.

As of June 2006, Cape Town International Airport is being upgraded to handle an expected increase in air traffic as tourism numbers will increase in the lead-up to the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The renovations include several large new parking garages, a revamped domestic departure terminal and a new international terminal. The airport's cargo facilities are also being expanded and several large empty lots are being developed into office and hotels.

The Cape Town International Airport was among the winners of the World Travel Awards for being Africa's leading airport.

Sea Cape Town has a long tradition as a port city. The Port of Cape Town, the city's main port, is located in Table Bay directly to the north of the central business district. The port is a hub for ships in the southern Atlantic: it is located along one of the busiest shipping corridors in the world. It is also a busy container port, second in South Africa only to Durban. In 2004, it handled 3,161 ships and 9.2 million tonnes of cargo.

Simon's Town, Cape Town on the False Bay coast of the Cape Peninsula is the main base of the South African Navy.

Rail The Shosholoza Meyl is the passenger rail operations of Spoornet and operates two long-distance passenger rail services from Cape Town: a daily service to and from Johannesburg via Kimberley, South Africa and a weekly service to and from Durban via Kimberley, South Africa, Bloemfontein and Pietermaritzburg. These trains terminate at Cape Town Railway Station and make a brief stop at Bellville, Cape Town. Cape Town is also one terminus of the luxury tourist-oriented Blue Train (South Africa).

Metrorail (Western Cape) operates a commuter rail service in Cape Town and the surrounding area. The Metrorail network consists of 96 stations throughout the suburbs and outskirts of Cape Town.

Road Three National Roads in South Africa start in Cape Town: the N1 (South Africa) which links Cape Town with Bloemfontein, Johannesburg, Pretoria and Zimbabwe; the N2 (South Africa) which links Cape Town with Port Elizabeth, East London, South Africa and Durban; and the N7 (South Africa) which links Cape Town with the Northern Cape Province and Namibia. The N1 and N2 both start in the Central Business District, and split to the east of the CBD, with the N1 continuing to the north east and the N2 heading south east past Cape Town International Airport. The N7 starts in Mitchells Plain and runs north, intersecting with the N1 and the N2 before leaving the city.

Cape Town also has a system of freeway and dual carriageway M-roads, which connect different parts of the city. The M3 (Cape Town) splits from the N2 and runs to the south along the eastern slopes of Table Mountain, connecting the City Bowl with Muizenberg. The M5 (Cape Town) splits from the N1 further east than the M3, and links the Cape Flats to the CBD. The R300 (Western Cape), which is informally known as the Cape Flats Freeway, links Mitchells Plain with Bellville, South Africa, the N1 and the N2.

Buses Golden Arrow Bus Services operates scheduled bus services throughout the Cape Town metropolitan area. Several companies run long-distance bus services from Cape Town to the other cities in South Africa.

Taxis Cape Town has two kinds of taxis: taxicab and minibus taxis. Unlike many cities, metered taxis are not allowed to drive around the city to solicit fares and instead must be called to a specific location.

Minibus taxis are the standard form of transport for the majority of the population who cannot afford private vehicles. Although essential, these taxis are often poorly maintained and are frequently not road-worthy. These taxis make frequent unscheduled stops to pick up passengers, which can cause accidents. With the high demand for transport by the working class of South Africa, minibus taxis are often filled over their legal passenger allowance, making for high casualty rates when minibuses are involved in accidents. Minibuses are generally owned and operated in fleets, and inter-operator violence flares up from time to time, especially as Taxi wars in South Africas occur over lucrative taxi routes.

Universities 's main campus with Devil's Peak (Cape Town) behind itCape Town has a well-developed higher education system of public university. Cape Town is served by three public universities: the University of Cape Town (UCT), the University of the Western Cape (UWC) and the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT). Stellenbosch University, while not in the city itself, is 50 kilometres from the City Bowl and has additional campuses, such as the Tygerberg Faculty of Health Sciences and the Bellville Business Park closer to the City.

Both the University of Cape Town and Stellenbosch University are leading universities in South Africa. This is due in large part to substantial financial contributions made to these institutions by both the public and private sector. Since the African National Congress has come into governmental power, some restructuring of Western Cape universities has taken place and as such, traditionally non-white universities have seen increased financing, which has benefitted the University of the Western Cape.

The public Cape Peninsula University of Technology was formed on January 1, 2005, when two separate institutions – Cape Technikon and Peninsula Technikon – were merged. The new university offers education primarily in English language, although one may take courses in any of South Africa's official languages. The institution generally awards the National Diploma (South Africa).

Skyline

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Notes

See also

External links Government

News

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Cape Jazz

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Cape Town (Afrikaans and Dutch language: Kaapstad; Xhosa language: iKapa) is the List of largest cities in South Africa by population in South Africa, forming part of the metropolitan municipality (South Africa) of the City of Cape Town. It is the provincial capital of the Western Cape, as well as the legislature capital of South Africa, where the Parliament of South Africa and many government offices are located. Cape Town is famous for its harbour as well as its natural setting in the Cape floral kingdom, including such well-known landmarks as Table Mountain and Cape Point. Often regarded as one of the world's most beautiful cities because of its geography, Cape Town is the most popular South African destination for tourism.

Cape Town was originally developed as a victualling station for Netherlands ships sailing to Eastern Africa, India, and the Far East more than 200 years before the construction of the Suez Canal in 1869. Jan van Riebeeck's arrival on 6 April 1652 established the first permanent European settlement in South Africa. Cape Town quickly outgrew its original purpose as the first European outpost at the Castle of Good Hope. It was the largest city in South Africa until the growth of Johannesburg and Durban.

According to the South African National Census of 2001, the city has a population of 2.95 million. Cape Town's land area of 2,499 square kilometres (965 square mile) is larger than other South African cities, resulting in a comparatively lower population density of 1,158 people per square kilometre (2,999/sq mi). Cape Town is town twinning with Nice in France and Haifa in Israel.

History There is no certainty as to when humans first occupied the area prior to the first visits of Europeans in the 15th century. The earliest known remnants in the region were found at Peers cave in Fish Hoek and date to around 12,000 years ago. Little is known of the history of the region's first residents, since there is no written history from the area before it was first mentioned by Portugal Age of Discovery Bartolomeu Dias in 1486. Vasco da Gama recorded a sighting of the Cape of Good Hope in 1497, and the area did not have regular contact with Europeans until 1652, when the Netherlands' Jan van Riebeeck and other employees of the Dutch East India Company (Dutch language: Verenigde Oost-indische Compagnie, VOC) were sent to the Cape to establish a way-station for ships travelling to the Dutch East Indies. The city grew slowly during this period, as it was hard to find adequate labour. This labour shortage prompted the city to import slaves from Indonesia and Madagascar; many of whom would come to form the first of the Cape Coloureds communities.

The British successfully gained outright control of Cape Town in 1795, during the Battle of Muizenberg. Under the terms of a peace agreement negotiated after the war, the Cape was returned to the Dutch in 1803. The war resumed later that year, and British forces re-occupied the Cape, after winning the Battle of Blaauwberg in 1806. In the 1814 peace treaty which ended the war in Europe, the Cape was permanently incorporated into the British Empire. As the territory under British control grew even larger outward from the city, it became the capital of the newly formed Cape Colony. in Table Bay (by Charles Davidson Bell)

The discovery of diamonds in Griqualand West in 1869, and gold on the Witwatersrand in 1886, near the present-day city of Johannesburg prompted a massive Witwatersrand Gold Rush. Johannesburg grew rapidly as the country was flooded with immigrants. Tensions also emerged between the Boers, who had taken part in the Great Trek and established republics in the centre of the country; the new migrants, known as uitlanders; and the British colonial government. This conflict resulted in the Second Anglo-Boer War. After the British won this war and acquired control of the gold and diamond industries, they unified the Cape Colony with the two defeated Boer Republics (the South African Republic and the Orange Free State) and the British colony of Natal to form the Union of South Africa, which was proclaimed in 1910 with Cape Town as its legislative capital, a function it has continued to serve for the Republic of South Africa from 1961 to the present.

In 1948, the National Party (South Africa) was elected on election promises of racial segregation laws, collectively known by the Afrikaans word apartheid. As a consequence of the Group Areas Act, which classified all areas of the country and city according to race, formerly multi-racial suburbs were either purged of unlawful residents or demolished. The most infamous example of this in Cape Town is District Six, Cape Town, which was demolished in 1965, prompting the forced removal of over 60,000 residents after it was declared a whites-only region. Many of these residents were relocated to the Cape Flats. Under apartheid, the Cape was considered a "Coloured labour preference area", to the exclusion of Black Africans.

.Cape Town was home to many leaders of the anti-apartheid movement, despite many of the group's leaders' internment on Robben Island, a penitentiary island 10 kilometres out to sea from the city, where many famous political prisoners were held for many years. In one of the most famous moments marking the end of apartheid, Nelson Mandela made his first public speech in decades on 11 February 1990 from the balcony of Cape Town City Hall hours after being released. His speech heralded the beginning of a new era for the country, and the first South African general election, 1994 was held four years later, on 27 April 1994. Since 1994, the city has struggled with problems such as HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and a surge in violent drug-related crime. At the same time, the economy has surged to unprecedented levels due to the boom in the tourism and the real estate industries.

Geography satellite image of Cape Town and its environment taken by a Landsat satellite in February 2000 and Signal Hill (Cape Town) From Table MountainThe centre of Cape Town is located at the northern end of the Cape Peninsula. Table Mountain forms a dramatic backdrop to the city bowl, with its plateau over 1,000 m (3,300 Foot (unit of length)) high; it is surrounded by near-vertical cliffs, Devil's Peak (Cape Town) and Lion's Head (Cape Town). Sometimes a thin strip of cloud forms over the mountain, and owing to its appearance, it is affectionately known as the "tablecloth". The peninsula consists of a dramatic mountainous spine jutting southwards into the Atlantic Ocean, ending at Cape Point. There are over 70 peaks above 1,000 feet (304.8 Metre) (the American definition of a mountain) within Cape Town's official city limits. Many of the suburbs of Cape Town are on the large plain of the Cape Flats, which joins the peninsula to the mainland. The Cape Flats lie on what is known as a rising marine plain, consisting mostly of sandy geology which shows that at one point Table Mountain itself was an island.

Climate The Cape of Good Hope has a Mediterranean climate with well-defined seasons. In winter, which lasts from May to September, large cold fronts come across from the Atlantic Ocean with heavy precipitation (meteorology) and strong north-westerly winds. The winter months are cool, with an average minimum temperature of 7 °Celsius (45 °Fahrenheit). Most of the city's annual rainfall occurs in wintertime, but due to the mountainous topography of the city, rainfall amounts for specific areas can vary dramatically. The suburb of Newlands which is to the south of the city is the wettest place in South Africa. The valleys and coastal plains average 515 millimetres (20 Inch) of rain per annum, while mountain areas can average as much as 1,500 millimetres (60 in) per annum. Summer, which lasts from November to March, is warm and dry. The Peninsula gets frequent strong winds from the south-east, known locally as the Cape Doctor, because it blows away pollution and cleans the air. The south-easterly wind is caused by a Pressure system#High-pressure system which sits in the South Atlantic Ocean to the west of Cape Town, known as the South-Atlantic High. Summer temperatures are mild, with an average maximum of 26 °C (79 °F).

{| class="wikitable" style="width: 75%; margin: 0 auto 0 auto;"|+ Climate Table|-!   !! Jan !! Feb !! Mar !! Apr !! May !! Jun !! Jul !! Aug !! Sep !! Oct !! Nov !! Dec !! Year|-! Maximum record temperature (Celsius)| 37 || 38 || 39 || 39 || 35 || 29 || 29 || 32 || 34 || 32 || 34 || 38|-! Minimum record temperature (Celsius)| 7 || 5 || 6 || 3 || -1 || -2 || -2 || -1 || 1 || 1 || 4 || 5 |||-! Mean daily maximum temperature (Celsius)| 26 || 26 || 25 || 22 || 19 || 18 || 17 || 18 || 18 || 21 || 23 || 24 || 21.5|-! Mean daily minimum temperature (Celsius)| 16 || 16 || 14 || 12 || 9 || 8 || 7 || 8 || 9 || 11 || 13 || 14 || 11.5|-! Mean monthly rainfall (Millimetre)| 15 || 8 || 18 || 48 || 79 || 84 || 89 || 66 || 43 || 31 || 18 || 10 |||-| colspan="15" style="text-align: center;" | Source: |} Government , located in the City Bowl, Cape Town

Cape Town's local government is the City of Cape Town, which is a metropolitan municipality (South Africa). Cape Town is governed by a 210-member city council, which reports to a 28-member executive council. The executive council, in turn, is presided over by a city manager and an executive mayor. The city is divided into 105 electoral wards; each ward directly elects one member of the council, whilst the other 105 councillors are elected by a party-list proportional representation system. The mayor is chosen by the city council.

The current mayor is Helen Zille of the Democratic Alliance (South Africa). In the most recent South African municipal election, 2006s, the Democratic Alliance was the largest single party with 90 of the 210 seats on the council, ahead of the African National Congress's 81 seats, but with no party holding a majority. A subsequent by-election has increased the DA's seats to 91. The DA has now increased it's majority, by introducing the Independent Democrats (South Africa) to the coalition, and so the DA-led council now has a majority of 22 seats.

Before the unification of Cape Town's local government into the so-called "Unicity", it was divided into six regional "Administrations"; many functions of the Unicity are still divided according to the old Administrations. The administrations include Cape Town, which has the regions of the City Bowl, the Atlantic Seaboard, the southern suburbs, Pinelands, Cape Town, Langa, Cape Town and Mitchell's Plain. The South Peninsula includes Hout Bay, Wynberg, Cape Town, Constantia, Cape Town, Fish Hoek, Kommetjie, Cape Town, Noordhoek and Simon's Town. The Blaauwberg region includes Milnerton, Cape Town, Tableview, Cape Town, and Bloubergstrand, Cape Town. Tygerberg, Cape Town has its own region, with Durbanville, Cape Town, Bellville, Cape Town, and Khayelitsha added to it. Oostenberg includes Kraaifontein, Cape Town, Brackenfell, Cape Town, Kuilsrivier, Cape Town, Blue Downs, Cape Town, and Eerste Rivier, Cape Town. The last administration, Helderberg, includes Somerset West, Western Cape, Strand, Western Cape, and Gordon's Bay.

Demographics

According to the South African National Census of 2001, the population of Cape Town is 2,893,251 people. There are 759,767 formal households, of which 87.4% have a flush or chemical toilet, and 94.4% have refuse removed by the municipality at least once a week. 80.1% of households use electricity as the main source of energy. 16.1% of households are headed by one person.

Coloured people account for 48.13% of the population, followed by Black Africans at 31%, White (people) at 18.75%, and Asian peoples at 1.43%. 46.6% of the population is under the age of 24, whilst 5% are over the age of 65. The median age in the city is 26 years old, and for every 100 females, there are 92.4 males. 19.4% of city residents are unemployment; 58.3% of the unemployed are black, 38.1% are Coloured, 3.1% are White and 0.5% are Asian.

41.4% of Cape Town residents speak Afrikaans at home, 28.7% speak Xhosa language, 27.9% speak English language, 0.7% speak Sotho language, 0.3% speak Zulu language, 0.1% speak Tswana language and 0.7% of the population speaks a non-official language at home. 76.6% of residents are Christianity, 10.7% have no religion, 9.7% are Islam, 0.5% are Judaism and 0.2% are Hinduism. 2.3% have other or undetermined beliefs.

4.2% of residents aged 20 and over have received no Education in South Africa; 11.8% have had some primary school; 7.1% have completed only primary school; 38.9% have had some high school education; 25.4% have finished only high school and 12.6% have an education higher than the high school level. Overall, 38.0% of residents have completed high school. The median annual income of working adults aged 20–65 is South African rand 25 774. Males have a median annual income of ZAR 28 406 versus ZAR 22 265 for females.

Economy Cape Town is the economic centre of the Western Cape and serves as the regional manufacturing centre. It also has the primary harbour and airport in the Western Cape. The large government presence in the city, both as the capital of the Western Cape and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa, has led to increased revenue and growth in industries that serve the government. Cape Town hosts many meeting, particularly in the new Cape Town International Convention Centre, which opened in June 2003. The city has recently enjoyed a booming real estate and construction market, with many people buying summer homes in the city as well as relocating there permanently. The central business district is under an extensive urban renewal programme, with numerous new buildings and renovations taking place under the guidance of the Cape Town Partnership.

Cape Town has four major commercial nodes, with Cape Town Central Business District containing the majority of job opportunities and office space. Century City (Cape Town), the Bellville, Western Cape/TygerValley strip and Claremont, Cape Town commercial nodes are well established and contain many offices and corporate headquarters as well.

High school attendance rates and the city's well-established higher education infrastructure have helped Cape Town to attract foreign investors, as there are more people with internationally recognised certification and diplomas.

The Western Cape also generates a quarter of the South African agricultural sector's total gross income and more than half of South Africa's exports. Much of the produce is handled through the Port of Cape Town or Cape Town International Airport. Most major shipbuilding companies have offices and manufacturing locations in Cape Town. The Province is also a centre of energy development for the country, with the existing Koeberg nuclear power station providing energy for the majority of Cape Town's needs. Recently, scientists have discovered crude oil and natural gas off of the coast in the Atlantic Ocean.

The Western Cape is an important tourist region in South Africa; the tourism industry accounts for 9.8% of the Gross domestic product of the province and employs 9.6% of the province's workforce. In 2004, over 1.5 million international tourists visited the area.

Tourism with Table Mountain and its characteristic tablecloth in the background Bo-Kaap is one of the most visited areas in Cape Town.

Cape Town is arguably the most popular tourist destination in South Africa due to its good climate, natural setting, and relatively well-developed infrastructure. The city has several well-known natural features that attract tourists, most notably Table Mountain, which forms a large part of the Table Mountain National Park and is the back end of the City Bowl, Cape Town. Reaching the top of the mountain can be achieved either by hiking up, or by taking the Table Mountain Cableway. Cape Point is recognised as the dramatic headland at the end of the Cape Peninsula. Many tourists also drive along Chapman's Peak, a narrow road that links Noordhoek, Cape Town with Hout Bay, Cape Town, for the views of the Atlantic Ocean and nearby mountains. It is possible to either drive or hike up Signal Hill (Cape Town) for closer views of the City Bowl and Table Mountain.

Many tourists also visit List of beaches of Cape Town, which are popular with local residents. Due to the city's unique geography, it is possible to visit several different beaches in the same day, each with a different setting and atmosphere. Beaches located on the Atlantic Coast tend to have very cold water as the water is mostly glacier from Antarctica. The water at False Bay beaches is often warmer by up to 10 °C (18 °F). Both coasts are equally popular, although the beaches in affluent Clifton, Cape Town and elsewhere on the Atlantic Coast are better developed with restaurants and cafés, with a particularly vibrant strip of restaurants and bars accessible to the beach at Camps Bay. Boulders Beach near Simon's Town is known for its colony of African Penguins. Surfing is popular and the city hosts the Red Bull Big Wave Africa surfing competition every year.

The city has several notable cultural attractions. The Victoria & Alfred Waterfront, built on top of part of the dock (maritime)s of the Port of Cape Town, is one of the city's most popular shopping venues, with several hundred shops and the Two Oceans Aquarium. Part of the charm of the V&A, as it is locally known, is that the Port continues to operate and visitors can watch ships enter and leave. The V&A also hosts the Nelson Mandela Gateway, through which ferry depart for Robben Island. It is possible to take a ferry from the V&A to Hout Bay, Cape Town, Simon's Town, Cape Town and the Cape Fur Seal colonies on Seal and Duiker Islands. Several companies offer tours of the Cape Flats, a mostly Coloured Township (South Africa), and Khayelitsha, a mostly black township. An option is to sleep overnight in Cape Town's townships. There are several B&Bs where you can spend a safe and real African night.

Cape Town is noted for its architectural heritage, with the highest density of Cape Dutch architecture style buildings in the world. Cape Dutch style, which combines the architectural traditions of the Netherlands, Germany and France, is most visible in Constantia, Cape Town, the old government buildings in the Central Business District, and along Long Street (Cape Town). The annual Coon Carnival, also known by its Afrikaans name of Kaapse Klopse, is a large minstrel festival held annually on January 2 or "Tweede Nuwe Jaar" (Afrikaans: Second New Year). Competing teams of minstrels parade in brightly coloured costumes, either carrying colourful umbrellas or playing an array of musical instruments. The Artscape Theatre Centre is the main performing arts venue in Cape Town.

Night life in the city caters for all tastes and sexual preferences, with a range of restaurants and cafes that are generally recognised as including some of the finest eateries in South Africa (both in food quality and decor terms). Night clubs and bars abound with popular areas including the top end of Long Street and its immediate surrounds, as well as the redeveloped Cape Malay quarter, De Waterkant. Varied accommodation for tourists is also abundant, ranging from well located backpackers hostels to hotels that have been rated at the top of their class in world terms.

Cape Town's transport system links it to the rest of South Africa; it serves as the gateway to other destinations within the province. The Cape Winelands and in particular the towns of Stellenbosch, Western Cape, Paarl, Western Cape and Franschhoek, Western Cape are popular day trips from the city for sightseeing and wine tasting. Whale watching is popular amongst tourists: Southern Right Whales are seen off the coast during the breeding season (August to November) and Bryde's Whales can be seen any time of the year. The nearby town of Hermanus is known for its Whale Festival, but whales can also be seen in False Bay. Heaviside's Dolphins are endemic to the area and can be seen from the coast north of Cape Town; Dusky Dolphins live along the same coast and can occasionally be seen from the ferry to Robben Island.

Approximately 1.5 million tourists visited in Cape Town during 2004, bringing in a total of R10 billion in revenue. The forecasts for 2006 anticipate 1.6 million tourists spending a total of R12 billion. The most popular areas for visitors to stay include Camps Bay, Sea Point, the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront, the City Bowl, Cape Town, Hout Bay, Constantia, Cape Town, Rondebosch, Newlands, Cape Town, Somerset West and Hermanus.

Communications and media , which is the headquarters of Naspers, the largest media company in Cape TownSeveral newspapers, magazines and printing facilities have their offices in the city. Independent News and Media publishes the major English language papers in the city, the Cape Argus and the Cape Times. Naspers, the largest media conglomerate in South Africa, publishes Die Burger, the major Afrikaans language paper.

Cape Town has many local community newspapers. Some of the largest community newspapers in English are the Athlone News from Athlone, Cape Town, the Atlantic Sun, the Constantiaberg Bulletin from Constantiaberg, Cape Town, the City Vision from Bellville, Cape Town, the False Bay Echo from False Bay, the Helderberg Sun from Helderberg, Cape Town, the Plainsman from Michells Plain, the Sentinel News from Hout Bay, the Southern Mail from the Southern Peninsula, the Southern Suburbs Tatler from the Southern Suburbs, Cape Town, Table Talk (Cape Town) from Table View and Tygertalk from Tygervalley/Durbanville. Afrikaans language community newspapers include the Landbou-Burger and the Tygerburger.Vukani, based in the Cape Flats, is published in Xhosa language.

Cape Town is a centre for broadcast media and has several radio stations that only broadcast within the city. Good Hope FM (94–97 megahertz FM broadcasting) and KFM (Cape Town) (94.5 MHz FM) mostly play pop music, while Fine Music Radio (101.3 FM) plays European classical music and jazz. Heart FM (104.9 MHz FM), the former P4 Radio, plays Jazz and R&B. Bush Radio is a community radio station (89.5 megahertz FM broadcasting). The Voice of the Cape (95.8 MHz FM) and Cape Talk (567 kilohertz Mediumwave) are the major talk radio in the city.

The SABC (South African Broadcasting Corporation) has a small presence in the city, with satellite studios located at Sea Point. e.tv has a greater presence, with a large complex located at Longkloof Studios in Gardens, Cape Town. M-Net is not well represented with infrastructure within the city. Numerous productions companies and their support industries are located in the city, mostly supporting the production of overseas commercials, model shoots, TV-series and movies. The local media infrastructure remains primarily in Johannesburg.

Sports teams and stadia {| class="infobox" style="font-size: 90%; "|- style="text-align: center; background: #eee"! Club !! Sport !! League !! Stadium|-| Ajax Cape Town| [Premier Soccer League (South Africa)| Philippi Stadium| [Cricket| [Newlands Cricket Ground| [Football (soccer)| Premier Soccer League (South Africa)| Athlone Stadium| [Rugby union| [Newlands Stadium| [Rugby union| [Newlands Stadium, [football (soccer), swimming, and rugby union. The Stormers represent Western Province (rugby) and Boland in the Southern Hemisphere's Super 14 rugby union competition. Cape Town is the home of the Western Province (rugby), who play at Newlands Stadium and compete in the Currie Cup. Cape Town also regularly hosts the national team, the South Africa national rugby union team, and hosted matches during the 1995 Rugby World Cup, including a semi-final.

Football, which is better known as soccer in South Africa, is also popular. Two Football club from Cape Town play in the Premier Soccer League (PSL), South Africa's premier league. These teams are Ajax Cape Town, which formed as a result of the 1999 amalgamation of the Seven Stars (Cape Town) and the Cape Town Spurs; and Santos Football Club (South Africa). Cape Town will also be the location of several of the matches of the Football World Cup 2010, which is to be held in South Africa. The Mother City is building a new 70,000 seat stadium in the Green Point area.

In cricket, the Cape Cobras represent Cape Town at the Newlands Cricket Ground. The team is the result of an amalgamation of the Western Province Cricket and Boland Cricket teams. They take part in the Supersport Series and Standard Bank Cup Series.

Cape Town has Olympic aspirations: in 1996, Cape Town was one of the five candidate cities shortlisted by the IOC to launch official candidatures to host the 2004 Summer Olympics. Although the games ultimately went to Athens, Cape Town came in an impressive third place, edging out Stockholm and Buenos Aires in the first three rounds of voting. There has been some speculation that Cape Town is seeking the South African Olympic Committee's nomination to be South Africa's bid city for either the 2016 Summer Olympic Games or the 2020 Summer Olympic Games.

Transport , also known as the Eastern Boulevard, as it enters the City Bowl, Cape Town and ends in the Central Business District as it passes the University of Cape Town. The M3 is the major link between the City Bowl, Cape Town and the southern suburbs.

Air Cape Town International Airport serves both domestic and international flights. It is the second-largest airport in South Africa and serves as a major gateway for travellers to the Cape region. Cape Town has direct flights to most cities in South Africa as well as a number of international destinations.

As of June 2006, Cape Town International Airport is being upgraded to handle an expected increase in air traffic as tourism numbers will increase in the lead-up to the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The renovations include several large new parking garages, a revamped domestic departure terminal and a new international terminal. The airport's cargo facilities are also being expanded and several large empty lots are being developed into office and hotels.

The Cape Town International Airport was among the winners of the World Travel Awards for being Africa's leading airport.

Sea Cape Town has a long tradition as a port city. The Port of Cape Town, the city's main port, is located in Table Bay directly to the north of the central business district. The port is a hub for ships in the southern Atlantic: it is located along one of the busiest shipping corridors in the world. It is also a busy container port, second in South Africa only to Durban. In 2004, it handled 3,161 ships and 9.2 million tonnes of cargo.

Simon's Town, Cape Town on the False Bay coast of the Cape Peninsula is the main base of the South African Navy.

Rail The Shosholoza Meyl is the passenger rail operations of Spoornet and operates two long-distance passenger rail services from Cape Town: a daily service to and from Johannesburg via Kimberley, South Africa and a weekly service to and from Durban via Kimberley, South Africa, Bloemfontein and Pietermaritzburg. These trains terminate at Cape Town Railway Station and make a brief stop at Bellville, Cape Town. Cape Town is also one terminus of the luxury tourist-oriented Blue Train (South Africa).

Metrorail (Western Cape) operates a commuter rail service in Cape Town and the surrounding area. The Metrorail network consists of 96 stations throughout the suburbs and outskirts of Cape Town.

Road Three National Roads in South Africa start in Cape Town: the N1 (South Africa) which links Cape Town with Bloemfontein, Johannesburg, Pretoria and Zimbabwe; the N2 (South Africa) which links Cape Town with Port Elizabeth, East London, South Africa and Durban; and the N7 (South Africa) which links Cape Town with the Northern Cape Province and Namibia. The N1 and N2 both start in the Central Business District, and split to the east of the CBD, with the N1 continuing to the north east and the N2 heading south east past Cape Town International Airport. The N7 starts in Mitchells Plain and runs north, intersecting with the N1 and the N2 before leaving the city.

Cape Town also has a system of freeway and dual carriageway M-roads, which connect different parts of the city. The M3 (Cape Town) splits from the N2 and runs to the south along the eastern slopes of Table Mountain, connecting the City Bowl with Muizenberg. The M5 (Cape Town) splits from the N1 further east than the M3, and links the Cape Flats to the CBD. The R300 (Western Cape), which is informally known as the Cape Flats Freeway, links Mitchells Plain with Bellville, South Africa, the N1 and the N2.

Buses Golden Arrow Bus Services operates scheduled bus services throughout the Cape Town metropolitan area. Several companies run long-distance bus services from Cape Town to the other cities in South Africa.

Taxis Cape Town has two kinds of taxis: taxicab and minibus taxis. Unlike many cities, metered taxis are not allowed to drive around the city to solicit fares and instead must be called to a specific location.

Minibus taxis are the standard form of transport for the majority of the population who cannot afford private vehicles. Although essential, these taxis are often poorly maintained and are frequently not road-worthy. These taxis make frequent unscheduled stops to pick up passengers, which can cause accidents. With the high demand for transport by the working class of South Africa, minibus taxis are often filled over their legal passenger allowance, making for high casualty rates when minibuses are involved in accidents. Minibuses are generally owned and operated in fleets, and inter-operator violence flares up from time to time, especially as Taxi wars in South Africas occur over lucrative taxi routes.

Universities 's main campus with Devil's Peak (Cape Town) behind itCape Town has a well-developed higher education system of public university. Cape Town is served by three public universities: the University of Cape Town (UCT), the University of the Western Cape (UWC) and the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT). Stellenbosch University, while not in the city itself, is 50 kilometres from the City Bowl and has additional campuses, such as the Tygerberg Faculty of Health Sciences and the Bellville Business Park closer to the City.

Both the University of Cape Town and Stellenbosch University are leading universities in South Africa. This is due in large part to substantial financial contributions made to these institutions by both the public and private sector. Since the African National Congress has come into governmental power, some restructuring of Western Cape universities has taken place and as such, traditionally non-white universities have seen increased financing, which has benefitted the University of the Western Cape.

The public Cape Peninsula University of Technology was formed on January 1, 2005, when two separate institutions – Cape Technikon and Peninsula Technikon – were merged. The new university offers education primarily in English language, although one may take courses in any of South Africa's official languages. The institution generally awards the National Diploma (South Africa).

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