Taste a more mellow side of Cape Town on the sheltered vine-covered slopes of the mountain, home to gracious wine estates, extensive gardens and ancient oaks.
Scroll for more
It’s the Cape’s original wine country — a place where heritage meets understated indulgence.
All set against the forested slopes of Table Mountain.
The great Constantia wine estates remain the beating heart of the area, their elegant tasting rooms and vineyard-set restaurants inviting long, leisurely afternoons. Nearby, the Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens offer one of the world’s most beautiful green spaces. Check out the serpentine skywalk over the trees. Plus Constantia boasts extensive woodland walks and cycling trails threading through the surrounding hills. Plus it’s easy to explore further afield to the fishing villages of Kalk Bay and St James.
For those in search of peace, simply linger in your hotel gardens and listen to the breeze through the oaks. Here there’s a sense of tranquillity and peace, and who doesn’t need more of that?
For the active, it’s an ideal base: hike or mountain bike in the Tokai Forest on the back slopes of the mountain, tee off at Steenberg Golf course, or tackle one of the more strenuous hikes UP the back of Table Mountain. (Constantia has over 30 kilometres of walking trails, connecting vineyards, forests, and wetlands — one of the most extensive green networks within any city in Africa.) Then reward yourself with a glass of cool Sauvignon Blanc at one of the many wine estates, or a trip to one of the excellent Constantia restaurants.
Constantia is where Cape Town’s wine story began — established by Simon van der Stel, the first Governor of the Cape. His Groot Constantia estate became world famous in the 18th and 19th centuries for its sweet “Vin de Constance,” adored by European royalty and literary figures like Napoleon, Jane Austen, and Charles Dickens.
By the late 1800s, wealthy Capetonians built country houses here to escape the summer heat and city bustle — a tradition that continues today, though the estates are now boutique hotels and guesthouses.
Some visitors worry Constantia feels “too far” from the action — yet Cape Town’s city centre is just 20–25 minutes away by car. And many of the Cape’s most sought-after sights, from Kirstenbosch to beaches to the Cape Peninsula day trip, are in fact closer from Constantia than from the Waterfront/City. (The beaches of False Bay and the charming quirky fishing villages of Kalk Bay and St James are only 10-15 minutes away for example.)
Think of it as the best of both worlds: city access, with birdsong instead of traffic.
If you’d prefer to stay a little closer in, Newlands and Bishopscourt offer Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens and share Constantia’s leafy atmosphere. But they lie between the city centre and Constantia offering a happy middle ground between urban and serene.
Ready to taste Cape Town’s more tranquil side? Let us plan your stay among Constantia’s vines, wines and oaks.
Only the best African travel advice, tidbits and tours. No nonsense.
