Sea Point is an old established seaside suburb, close to Cape Town city centre. Sea Point looks over the shimmering Atlantic and is set in dramatically beautiful scenery, with the staggering backdrop of Signal Hill, and the magnificent Table and Lion’s Head Mountains beyond.
High rise luxury apartments line Beach Road with wonderful sea views of Table Bay, and the rest of the suburb slopes up to the Nature Reserve on Signal Hill. Ships coming in to the harbour sail past Sea Point. The coastline varies, from rocky to beaches with white sand. Whales and dolphins can be seen in Table Bay.
The long Main Road curves through Sea Point, lined with pubs, restaurants, coffee shops, shopping malls and everything else one could want. A cosmopolitan eclectic population of residents and visitors stroll about the densely populated suburb.
What to Do
There is a wide range of things to do, from outdoor sports to art and culture. Cape Town is a sophisticated city with a cultured artistic population, highly appreciative of art, music and dance, so there is always a lot on.
The Sea Point Beachfront Promenade is one of Cape Town’s most beautiful popular public spaces, with its lovely landscape, wide lawns and ocean views, stretching from the lighthouse at Mouille Point past Sea Point to Bantry Bay.
It is constantly busy with people, young and old, Walking and Jogging or taking their dogs out, and there are large recreational grassy parks with children’s playgrounds, swings and people playing various sports. Bicycling, Skateboarding and Rollerblading are allowed.
As Sea Point faces west, there are gorgeous Sunsets. Numerous sculptures are dispersed along the walkway and it is a favorite place for picnics and birthday parties next to the sea.
Rocklands is a small beach with soft white sand, frequented by people Surfing and Body boarding. The main swimming beaches are at Clifton and Camps Bay, a short drive or walk away.
At the Sea Point Pavilion is one of the most breathtaking outdoor Swimming Pool Complexes in the world, with 2 children’s pools, a deep diving pool and an Olympic size filtered seawater pool with crystal clear water. They are open every day from 7 till 5.
There is a vibrant nightlife, with many Nightclubs and Music Clubs in Sea Point and Green Point nearby. The Green Point Stadium has numerous events and concerts. The huge V&A Waterfront Shopping Centre has excellent restaurants and cinemas.
The Cape Quarter Shopping Centre is a smaller centre with upmarket elegant jewelry, fashion and decorating shops.
Many shops line the Main Road.
St John’s Piazza mall is good for food shopping and the Point is a new modern shopping mall.
Sea Point is close to the city centre where there are interesting Historical Buildings, protected national monuments, like the Castle of Good Hope, built in 1667, the oldest building in South Africa, the Company Gardens, the National Art Gallery,and examples of refined Georgian architecture.
TheTable Mountain Cable Car takes a trip up to the phenomenal views views, or there are hiking trails up Signal Hill to look down to Sea Point below, with panoramic views of the iridescent Atlantic ocean and Robben Island.
Sea Point is close to many attractions Cape Town has, and it is easy to organise and book Scenic Tours along the exquisite coastline, or the mountain walks, Nature Reserves and vineyards inland.
Where To Eat
Cape Town has been placed third on the prestigious Conte Nast List of the World's Best Food Cities, a remarkable accolade. The restaurants are described as "“casual but supremely stylish and welcoming, like the people" !
Many excellent restaurants are in Sea Point.
On Beach road looking out to sea there are casual sidewalk cafes for light meals, like La Vie Cafe and Bar.
Harvey’s Restaurants, the Courtyard and the Terrace, with a superb view of the beachfront, are at Winchester Mansions<, a stunning elegant Cape Dutch boutique hotel, open for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
La Perla, also on Beach Road, with a raised open deck, has superb Italian food with the freshest ingredients, and has been a favorite Cape Town restaurant forever.
La Mouette (named after the seagulls flying about in Sea Point) has traditional French cuisine for fine dining.
La Boheme is a small bistro style restaurant doing authentic French cuisine.
Posticino’s, also in the Main Road is a casual Italian restaurant.
Mykonos Taverna has irresistible delicious Greek food, and is always packed.
Koi at the Ambassador Hotel is a superb restaurant in Bantry Bay specialising in sushi, with a wall of glass looking down onto the phenomenal view of the bay below.
Mano’s in Greenpoint nearby, is a very popular good restaurant.
The Grand Cafe on the Beach is in Granger Bay down the road, but worth visiting, not only for the excellent food but also for the gorgeous location .
Duchess of Wisbeach is another fashionable nightclub and restaurant in Sea Point.
The Top of the Ritz hotel has a revolving restaurant with incredible views.
There is a wide variety of restaurants at the Waterfront Shopping Centre. One exceptional restaurant there overlooking the docks and ships, is Baia, for Portuguese seafood. For health food and fruit smoothies there is Nu at St Johns Piazza.
Where to Stay
Sea Point has a wide variety of comfortable accommodation, both self catering and hotels. Between Beach Road and the Main Road are luxury beachfront self catering apartments and penthouses with glorious views. There are several hotels, modern and traditional, on the beachfront with views over Table Bay.
On the other side of the Main Road sloping up to Signal Hill, are elegant guest houses, some gracious old Victorian mansions and large private villas with ocean views, lovely gardens and pools. They are all a short walk from the Promenade on the beachfront.
Transport
Sea Point is 20 minutes from the Airport and 10 minutes from the city centre. In the other direction along the sea, it is about 5 minutes from Clifton.
Past Camps Bay towards Hout Bay is an exquisite scenic drive along the coastline, with 17 kilometers of heavenly views of the sparkling ocean, and alongside a majestic long range of mountains, the Twelve Apostles. An efficient frequent MyCiti bus service runs through Seapoint and there are also Uber taxis and sightseeing buses, the Hop-On Hop-Off Red Bus.
Do You Know
Bartholomew Diaz, a Portuguese explorer, discovered the Cape of Good Hope in 1488, at the south west tip of Africa, while searching for a route to the East.
The Dutch East India Company established a settlement in Cape Town in 1667, building the stone fort with a moat known as the Cape Town Castle,.
Seapoint started to develop as a suburb in the 1800’s.
The climate is mediterranean. Winters are wet and mild, and summers are warm and dry.
Cape Town is the only city in the world built into a vast nature reserve, the massive Table Mountain National Park.
Sea Point is sometimes misspelt Seapoint.
