Public spaces are where the Central City comes alive, where people meet and history comes together with the present. Popular venues throughout the year, they are often at their best during the summer season when good weather and days off bring people out to play.

The Company’s Garden

The Company’s Garden was established to supply passing ships with fresh produce on their way from Western Europe to Asia. Today it is Cape Town’s favourite public space. Surrounded by museums and itself a free Wi-Fi hotspot, the eight-hectare green lung has transformed into a serene space to cultivate the mind.  For a list of self-guided walks, visit www.capetown.gov.za/en/parks/Pages/TheCompanysGarden.

 

Grand Parade

South Africa’s oldest public space has been the site of many major events in the country’s history – most recently Nelson Mandela’s first speech as a free man in 1990 and the FIFA World Cup Fan Park in 2010.

 

 

Greenmarket Square

Milestones along Main Road in the southern suburbs measure the distance from the Old Townhouse on Greenmarket Square. This means the 300-years-old public space is quite literally the centre of Cape Town. Today, surrounded by art deco buildings, it’s a hub of market traders and buskers, and a place where all Capetonians come together for the annual free community jazz concert in the first quarter of the year.

St Georges Mall

This busy thoroughfare was pedestrianised in stages in the early 1990s. From takeaway stalls to department stores, St Georges Mall is one of the centres of commerce in the CBD. Like The Company’s Garden, free Wi-Fi is available at the top end.

 

Pier Place

Bronzes statues by Egon Tania represent various kinds of human activity on Pier Place, which offers a shady space to relax amid the bustle of Foreshore traffic.

 

 

 

 

Jetty Square

This space is notable for its shark sculptures by Ralph Borland. Jetty Square is situated on land reclaimed from Table Bay and the sharks are meant to represent the ghosts of the past.

 

Thibault Square

A John Skotness sculpture titled “Mythological Landscape” can be found on this large open space surrounded by some of the CBD’s tallest buildings.

 

Church Square

Church Square was the sight of a slave market and centuries later a car park. It has since been reclaimed as a memorial to slaves imported to the Cape, with granite monuments by Gavin Younge and Wilma Cruise.

 

Other public spaces

• North Wharf is tucked away between hotels at the bottom end of Bree Street and has a cool water feature.
• Predominantly a car park, Harrington Square is a space where you can access free Wi-Fi.
• Riebeeck Square has a small corner dedicated to a Paul du Toit sculpture and Rock Girl benches.

 

Free holiday events

December is the perfect time to visit the Grand Parade as it traditionally forms the epicentre of free City and civic events. The annual Festival of lights, which took place on the Grand Parade, Darling and Adderley streets on 6 December, attracted upwards of 80 000 spectators to the CBD.

 

• 16 December – Minstrel Voorsmakie: Keizersgracht (District Six) & Grand Parade
• 24 December – Christmas Bands Annual Parade: Bo-Kaap to Grand Parade
• 30-31 December – New Year’s Eve Parade: Bo-Kaap to Keizersgracht via Grand Parade

 

Other events

29, 30, 31 January

Mumford & Sons

The British indie folk band best known for their hit single “Little Lion Man” have chosen South Africa’s oldest public space as the stage for their first ever performance in the country.

Where: Grand Parade

When: 18h00

Cost: tickets sold in minutes!

 

19 December, 16 January, 20 February

City Walk Saturdays

This Cape Town Partnership project connects Central City public spaces through fun activities and street performances.

Where: The Company’s Garden, St Georges Mall, Fan Walk

When: 10h00 till 14h00

Cost: free

This article first appeared in the summer 2015-16 issue of City Views. Read it online.