Long Street

Cape Town


A stroll along Long St is an essential element of a Cape Town visit. This busy commercial and nightlife thoroughfare, partly lined with Victorian-era buildings featuring lovely wrought-iron balconies, once formed the border of the Muslim Bo-Kaap. By the 1960s, Long St had fallen into disrepute and it remained that way until the late 1990s, when savvy developers realised its potential. The most attractive section runs from the junction with Buitensingel St north to around Strand St.

At the street's southern end, as well as many bars and restaurants, you'll find a couple of bookshops and fashion boutiques; There's also the Palm Tree Mosque, dating from 1780, the SA Mission Museum, the oldest Mission church in South Africa, and the public art installation Open House.

Transportation

  • bus: Dorp|Leeuwen

Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Cape Town attractions

1. Centre for the Book

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This grand domed Edwardian building first opened in 1913 as the headquarters of the now-defunct University of Good Hope. More recently it has become an…

2. Cecil Rhodes Statue

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This bronze statue of the politician and mining magnate Cecil Rhodes was erected in 1908 in the Company's Garden on a plinth carved with the phrase ‘Your…

3. VOC Vegetable Garden

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Installed in 2014 at the southern end of the Public Garden, but inspired by the original market garden laid out by Dutch settlers here over 350 years ago…

4. Palm Tree Mosque

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Dating from 1780, this is one of the oldest unaltered buildings along Long St.

5. Company’s Garden

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These shady green gardens, which started as the vegetable patch for the Dutch East India Company, are a lovely place to relax. They are planted with a…

6. Delville Wood Memorial

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This monument was built to honour the 2000-plus South African soldiers who fell during a five-day WWI battle. The ensemble’s elements include Alfred…

7. Public Garden

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8. Open House

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Kimberley-born artist Jacques Coetzer was the winner of a World Design Capital competition in 2014 to create a piece of public art for the city. Rising up…

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