Company's Garden
A vegetable garden the Dutch East India Company laid out in 1652 to supply passing ships. Today it is a historic park in the city center, surrounded by parliament and several museums.
Company's Garden is the oldest garden in South Africa. It was originally planted with vegetables and fruit to supply merchant ships passing the Cape. Today it is the green lung of the city center, with a century-old rose garden, ancient pear trees, fish ponds, squirrels and pigeons, and a tearoom ideal for a rest. Along the central axis of Government Avenue are the South African Parliament, St George's Cathedral (where Archbishop Desmond Tutu once served), the Iziko South African Museum (natural history and a blue whale skeleton), the National Gallery, the South African Jewish Museum and the Holocaust Centre, making it a good half-day museum walk. The garden is free and open roughly 07:00 to 19:00. It is a 10-minute walk from Long Street and Bo-Kaap.
Opening hours
About 07:00–19:00
Nearby sights
- Greenmarket Square
- District Six Museum
- Bo-Kaap
- Castle of Good Hope
- Signal Hill
- Two Oceans Aquarium
- Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa
- V&A Waterfront