Monte Vista, or Mountain View in Spanish, is a suburb in the north of Cape Town with dazzling views of Table Mountain. It’s a working class suburb with large, well maintained properties and established gardens along wide streets. The area is central to shopping districts, the wine farms and Cape Town city.

Monte Vista is bordered by a military camp on its western border and the Plattekloof Nature Reserve, a small strip of untapped land, in the north. The national N1 highway is south of the suburb.

Monte Vista’s close knit community values their suburban lifestyle which is surrounded by churches, schools, sports clubs and parks.

Top 8 reasons to visit Monte Vista

1. Spend some time shopping for bargains at the N7 Shopping Centre across the highway or at the sprawling Tygervalley Shopping Centre in adjoining Bellville. Both malls have food courts and children’s entertainment.

2. The Monte Vista Tennis Club invites visitors to a social game of tennis on their 5 new courts. Coaching is offered for all skill levels.

3. Visit Intaka Island at Century City, a wetland and bird sanctuary. Boat trips are offered along the canal to view the over 100 species of bird. If there are children in your party, spend the afternoon at Ratanga Junction, an exciting theme park with several wild rides.

4. Travel the Durbanville wine route that begins in the nearby suburb of Panorama. Wine tastings are available at a number of wineries along a route that meanders through hilly green areas with fine views of Table Bay and Table Mountain.

5. Take a drive into Cape Town to hop on the red bus for convenient sightseeing of the city’s numerous attractions. Featured stops are the aerial cableway up Table Mountain and a buzzing café culture in Camps Bay.

6. Go ice skating at The Ice Station, an Olympic-sized rink located at Grand West Casino and Entertainment World. The venue also has gaming facilities, movie theatres and a food court.

7. Swim safely at Milnerton Beach where lifesavers are permanently on duty, or hire a canoe from the Milnerton rowing club to paddle down the Diep River and reach the river mouth.

8. The Killarney race track hosts regular racing events, from karting to motorbikes and super cars. Killarney has been selected as one of the venues for the upcoming Formula Junior Diamond Jubilee World Tour.

Transport

The nearest airport is Cape Town International, 14km from Monte Vista. Nearby suburbs Parow and Bellville have car rental agencies, however, car rental bookings can be done online. There are several taxi options available too. If you have the Uber app, order a ride via your mobile phone. Local tour operators offer shuttle services between Monte Vista, Cape Town and the airport. The Monte Vista station is on the main train line into Cape Town or to travel further south as far as Simon’s Town.

Did you know?

Besides being at the centre of a shopping mecca (did we mention Canal Walk, Willowbridge and Bayside malls?), Monte Vista is also surrounded by golf clubs in Bellville, Parow, Goodwood, Milnerton, Burgundy Estates, Sunset Links at Sunset Beach and the Golf Village driving range nearby.

On the 11th June 2010 and over a 5 hour period, the Monte Vista train line transported almost 20000 fans attending the first FIFA World Cup 2010 soccer game held at the Cape Town stadium.