Cape Facts

Names: Foreigners called it “Cape Town”, but the city is lovingly referred to by locals as the “Mother City”.

The 11 official languages of South African mean there are lots of names for Cape Town, including iKapa (Xhosa) and Kaapstad (Afrikaans).

Languages: South Africa has 11 official languages, though most people can speak English. Afrikaans and Xhosa are also widely spoken in the Cape.

Population: About 3.5-million people live in Cape Town, South Africa’s second most-populated city.

Climate: Cape Town has a climate similar to that of California and the Mediterranean. Winter starts in May and ends in September and is generally a wet and windy season. Temperatures are cool and tend to range between 7°C (45°F) and 17°C (63°F). Summer lasts from November to March and temperatures range between 19°C (66°F) and 35°C (95°F). The summer season can be windy, but it doesn’t bring much rain.

Coordinates: 33°55'31.S, 18°25'26.E

Time: Cape Town lies in the GMT + 2 time zone and does not have daylight saving time.

Monetary information: The currency is the rand (ZAR). The South African exchange rate is favourable to most currencies, including the pound, euro and dollar.

Most restaurants, shops and hotels accept international credit cards. Value-added tax (14%) is included in the price of all items, but can be claimed by foreign visitors when leaving the country.