*A series of guides on shooting Street Photography in cities around the world. Find the best spots to shoot, things to capture, street walks, street tips, safety concerns, and more for cities around the world. I have personally researched, explored and shot Street Photography in every city that I create a guide for. So you can be ready to capture the streets as soon as you step outside with your camera!

Cape Town

Overview:

Situated in one of the most picturesque spots you’ll find anywhere for a large city, there’s no denying Cape Town is good-looking. Nicknamed the “Mother City,” Table Mountain dominates the background with endless beaches to explore along the coastlines. With all of its natural beauty, it’s not surprising there’s a very outdoorsy feeling here, but along with its natural beauty, you’ll find one of the most multi-cultural cities in the world. All this is mixed in with an urban atmosphere and plenty of history, making it one of the more unique cities in the world. For street photography, you have natural beauty mixed with urban edge and some of the most beautiful light around too. 

So here’s a Street Photography guide so you can be ready to capture all that Cape Town has to offer before you even arrive!

Map:

1. Bo Kaap / Long Street / Market
2. Waterfront
3. Camps Bay (Hout Bay further south)
4. Muizenberg / St. James Beach / Kalk Bay (Simonstown further south mostly boring, except Penguins)
5. Woodstock (Obz nearby)

Top 5 Street Spots:

1. Bo Kaap / Long Street / Market

Bo Kaap, formerly the Malay Quarter, is a former township on the slopes of Signal Hill near the city center. One of the oldest sections of the city, this historical neighborhood is known for its colorful buildings, architecture and cobblestone streets. The bright colors attract visitors for pictures, but there’s culture and character found here too, which makes it an interesting spot to come explore with your camera. 

The popular Long Street is a quick walk from here, providing maybe the busiest street in the city. Lined with restaurants, bars, bookstores and more, it attracts most of the tourists that come downtown. Always busy, it doesn’t stop at night when it becomes the city’s most popular spot for nightlife too. Nearby, you’ll also find Greenmarket Square, one of Cape Town’s oldest markets, filling the square and connected street with crafts, clothing, jewelry, souvenirs and other items. Bo Kaap, Long Street and Greenmarket are all located together within an easy area to walk for street photography, so I’d recommending spending some time exploring it all.

2. V&A Waterfront

What’s the most visited attraction in Africa? Egypt’s pyramids? No. The Serengeti? Nope. The most visited attraction in all of Africa is a shopping complex. Not only surprising, but kinda sad if you ask me. I’ll be honest, though, calling it a shopping complex isn’t fair. It’s situated in South Africa’s oldest working harbour, containing 300 acres of retail outlets and ocean view restaurants, working fishing boats and container ships, street performers and more. It’s as touristy as it gets, but guarantees non-stop activity with the ocean on one side and the backdrop of Table Mountain on the other. And people love it, obviously.

This all makes it the place nearly every local recommends first for street photography. I understand why with all that activity, but for me it just isn’t that interesting for photography (But that’s me!). A good place to go for fun with friends, but extremely touristy and inauthentic today, in my opinion. But that’s just my opinion and plenty of others will love it for street photography. You have an outside shopping and entertainment atmosphere with plenty of people, street musicians, nice backdrops, boats and other interest so it is worth checking out. And many of you will keep coming back for more.

3. Camps Bay (Hout Bay further south)

Camps Bay is probably my favorite beach area to come for street photography in Cape Town. It’s huge, fills with a mix of locals and foreigners, has a variety of beach atmosphere and terrain, has a very active Main Street, and includes a beautiful backdrop of the Twelve Apostles, Table Mountain’s jagged backside. Camps Bay is an affluent suburb of Cape Town that you can get to by bus, around 10 minutes from the center. If you have all day and like to walk like me, you can also walk there and pass a variety of other beaches.

Camps Bay is the highlight of Cape Town’s Atlantic coastline for me, though. When it’s nice out, there’s just so much life everywhere here. The sandy beach, natural pool, rocks, grass, concrete football/skateboard park, and more fill with people enjoying life. Families, tourists, friends, and children come here to relax, unwind or get active. The last couple of hours before sunset, especially on the weekend,  are really great here. The light, scenery and life really come together beautifully for photography at Camps Bay.

4. Muizenberg / St. James Beach / Kalk Bay (Except for Penguins, Simonstown further south is mostly boring, imo)

This section of beaches lie south on False Bay, around 45 minutes on the train away from the city center. That sounds long, but Cape Town is spread out and it’s worth making the easy and cheap trip due to the amount of beach areas to explore.

Muizenberg is one of the most famous surfing beaches in the world. It’s also the location of all those colorful clothes changing beach huts you see in photos from Cape Town. You’ll of course see plenty of surfers here, but non-surfing tourists love it too. There’s a nice, large concrete area by the beach that fills with activity, and a few streets to walk around with a surfer atmosphere. Down along the coast, you’ll find St. James Beach next, a small beach with colorful huts of its own. Then a little further and you’ll walk to Kalk Bay, a small fishing harbour that’s become a trendy spot with restaurants, shops and more. It’s touristy, but has some charm. If you continue walking, you’ll hit Fish Hoek, another fishing harbor with some interest. From here, if you want to go all the way down to the famous Simonstown, you’ll need to take the train. Simonstown is famous for its penguins. Crowds of tourists come down here, but I honestly wouldn’t give it a recommendation for street photography, unless you really love penguins. 

This whole coastal section of beaches are filled with a mix of history, character, color and some of the city’s most known scenes. If you’re in Cape Town, it would be crazy to not make the trip down here to check it out with your camera at least once.

5. Woodstock (Obz nearby)

Woodstock is Cape Town’s oldest suburb. A century ago, Woodstock was a fast growing working class industrial town, but later hit bad times and turned into a poor, run down and crime ridden neighborhood. Over the last decade, though, it’s changed dramatically, becoming a hipster hotspot. Similar to other gentrified hipster neighborhoods around the world, you’ll find a vibrant blend of art, design, food and fashion with the edgy character of its past mixed in. There’s still a lot of diversity and mix of cultures found here, though, and plenty of local life. While it has been changed and cleaned up quite a bit, it’s still not completely safe feeling, as you will wander into spots that look like before if you explore enough. Overall, though, I found this one of the more interesting neighborhoods to shoot in. There’s a rough, but photogenic mix here, with graffiti and hipster influence next to its gritty, slightly run down past. Do be careful once outside the streets lined with cafes and hipster hangouts, even though I did find these areas the most interesting and authentic.

Sample Street Walk:

For a full day of Street Photography, covering some of the best spots, you can follow this sample street walk for Cape Town:

• Start your morning walking around Bo Kaap, Long Street and Green Market in the center
• Then walk northeast to the V&A Waterfront and explore the whole area
• From here, you can walk past the lighthouse to Three Anchor Bay
• After you’re done with this area, take the MyCiti bus south along the Atlantic coast to Camps Bay (3)
• Finish your day exploring this huge area around Camps Bay (3) and make sure to catch the amazing sunset before heading back home

3 Things I’ll Remember Most about Photographing Cape Town:

1. Those Backdrops

Capetown might have the most impressive backdrops of any big city I’ve been to. Rio de Janeiro is hard to beat looking from above, but down on the ground, it doesn’t get much better than here for an urban landscape. Everywhere you go, you have a background of picturesque mountains behind the city buildings or beaches. It’s most known for Table Mountain, a very impressive and uniquely flat-topped rock structure the covers much of the city, but that’s not all it has. You also have Lion’s head, a grassy hill with a rocky top shaped reminiscent of a lion, and then next there’s Signal Hill, another picturesque grassy hill that reflects light nicely. And a little further, you  have the very impressive Twelve Apostles Mountain Range, a long rocky structure extending from Table Mountain to the southwest. Having all these amazing backdrops will make many photographers excited. Even if you’re shooting street, it doesn’t hurt to have this in the background.

2. Endless Beaches

One of my favorite parts of Cape Town are its endless variety of beaches to explore for photography. Many of them have their individual character and different atmospheres, while usually having some interesting streets to explore too. If it’s nice out, they’re guaranteed to be active too, especially on the weekends. Not only are they interesting, unique, and active, but they’re also beautiful, especially for a large city. And those mountain backdrops only make the beaches more impressive.

You’ll find a mixture of golden sand and grey rocks that give that African beach look, but the natural rock pools can be some of the best for capturing life. Children, and even adults, come here to jump in the pools, climb the rocks and lay out on the hot stone. Most of these are found on the Atlantic (west) Coastline. In beaches like Camps Bay, my favorite beach, you’ll even find a large pond in the middle of the sandy beach where people can swim. Most of these beaches attract plenty of locals too, and on the weekend you’ll see family, friends, children and young couples all here enjoying picnics, recreation and some relaxation. Then on the False Bay (south) Coastline, you’ll find some of the old fishing villages, like Kalk Bay and Fish Hoak, and Boulder’s Beach in Simons Town, famous for its penguins. And of course you have Muizenberg, famous for its surfing and colorful beach huts.

While I already named most of them above, below is a list of some the beaches I’d recommend in Cape Town for photography:

• Sea Point
• Camps Bay
• Hout Bay
• Kommetjie
• Muizenberg
• St James
• Kalk Bay
• Fish Hoek
• Three Anchor Bay (no beaches, but a large green space with a promenade and outside gym overlooking the ocean)

3. Mix of edge/danger in all that beauty

As beautiful as Cape Town might look from a distance, it’s still clearly in South Africa when you get up close in many places. Danger and edge is very much a part of the city, which is made even clearer when you look at crime statistics. It’s picturesque and touristy with a great atmosphere, but you need to be careful. That edge, found throughout the city, creates an interesting contrast to Cape Town, though. It might not be for everyone, but if you explore, it provides great character too. Table Mountain, beaches, tourist attractions mixed with graffiti, abandoned buildings and a cautious vibe on foot.

What To Do For a Street Photography Break?:

Climb Lion’s Head

If you’re here, you have to climb Lion’s Head. While Table Mountain is the symbol of Cape Town and provides great views at the top too, nothing beats the top of Lion’s Head. The climb to the top is fun too. Get up before sunrise and easily trek up the grassy hill until you get to the rocks where the fun starts. While climbing up boulders and rocks this high might seem intimidating, you’ll see 60 year olds going up along with you. I usually stick to street photography, but on my last day here I couldn’t leave without trying it and it was the most enjoyable quick hike and view I’ve had anywhere.

Street Safety Score: 4

*As always, no place is completely safe! So when I talk about safety, I’m speaking in general comparison to other places. Always take precaution, be smart, observe your surroundings and trust your instincts anywhere you go!

Cape Town might be one of the most photogenic cities in the world, but this is still South Africa so crime rates aren’t so pretty. Unfortunately, South Africa statistically has some of the highest crime in the world and Cape Town usually sits at the top in the country. While I feel much safer in Cape Town compared to Johannesburg, not all statistics back this up. I think one of the main reasons for this feeling is that in Cape Town you have more relatively safe areas to explore. It’s more touristy and there’s more focus to keep those areas safer. You still get warned by locals quite a bit here, but during the day, most of the areas I recommended above feel safe enough, except maybe some parts of Woodstock. You just have to keep your street smarts going at all times and as one local told me, you need to be “vigilant” if exploring the city on foot. The beaches felt especially safe, while other areas require extra observation to your surroundings. Just be careful and you should be fine, though, just like me. At night, though, I’d recommending using Uber at all times for transportation.

People’s Reaction Score: 6.5

Cape Town feels almost average for street photography reactions. South African locals give Cape Town a less friendly reputation compared to Johannesburg, which I would agree with, but that has more to do with Johannesburg’s big city friendliness than Cape Town being unfriendly. It’s fine here and you shouldn’t feel it much worse than most other cities. Maybe a slight negative feeling towards candid captures, but nothing to worry about. Be cautious in sketchier areas where people don’t want to be photographed for understandable reasons and you should be fine.

Street Tips:

Cape Town is big and spread out, take the train 

Cape Town feels really big, especially with Table Mountain right in the middle of it all. This means not only are many places spread far apart, but sometimes you’ll also have to go around the mountains to get there. Except for right in the center and waterfront, it’s not the most walkable city. You will need to take plenty of transportation if you really want to see what this city has to offer for street photography.

For example, one of the most popular areas to visit, which I’d also recommend for photography, is down around  Muizenberg/Kalk Bay. This is a 45 minute train ride one way from the center. If you’re going to rent a car anywhere, this would be the city. But if you’re like me and don’t, then the train is really your only option without breaking the bank for a taxi/uber when going south. The MyCiti bus can be another decent option if you’re staying up around the city center to Camps Bay/Hout Bay. You just have to make sure you account for extra time with either option.

Don’t cram too much in, Pick a spot and work it

As I just explained in the last tip, Cape Town is spread out and Table Mountain makes it feel even more so. You’ll be in slow-moving transportation all day if you try to fit multiple spots in. So, I’d also recommend not trying to fit too many places in one day. I’d choose one area that includes multiple nearby spots and make it a day’s focus to explore there. I also tried to bunch them together for you above.

Starting early is also smart, while making sure to head back earlier than normal to give yourself time to make it home before dark, when Cape Town can be much more dangerous exploring.

Uber is a game changer and life saver in South Africa

Uber is a game changer in South Africa. The difference it makes here for safety and transportation is bigger than any country I’ve been to. While Cape Town feels much safer than Johannesburg, it’s still definitely not as safe compared to most other cities in the world. You have to watch out here if you explore around. Locals will always make it sound more dangerous than it is, but there are plenty of areas where you can feel and see the danger. Muggings are not uncommon, especially at night, and this is still South Africa. Combine this with how Cape Town can feel spread out, you’ll need to use to transportation. 

Unfortunately, taxis in South Africa can sometimes feel more dangerous than walking around the city. Many of the drivers are criminals using this as a cover up job or side job. They’re not always friendly and if you’re unlucky, there’s always a chance something could go wrong. At the very least, they’ll try to rip you off. Fortunately, Uber solves all these problems. They’re much safer due to Uber’s background checks and strict guidelines. They’re friendly, comfortable and even quite a bit cheaper. Using Uber is a no brainer here. Only one bit of warning is that taxi drivers aren’t too happy about losing their business so sometimes they will attack Uber drivers. I didn’t have a problem, but the Uber drivers are sometimes worried depending on the area they’re in and might not pick you up or drop you off in certain areas.

Inspiration:

For some more inspiration, you can look through Street Photography from Cape Town on Flickr and check out 33 of my photos taken in Cape Town.

Conclusion:

It’s impossible to look at pictures of Cape Town and not want to visit. If you expect a picturesque city unlike another in the world, that’s what you’ll get. You’ll also find a mix of cultures, plenty of South African edge, and a very urban city in the middle of all that beauty surrounding it. There’s a variety of terrain, character and scenery to explore in a large city, making it a great place to visit for some street photography. As all those skyline photos show, there’s no city like Cape Town. And luckily, that rings true for exploring its streets, landscape and life on the ground with your camera too.

I hope this guide can help you better experience Cape Town. So, grab your camera and capture all that Cape Town has to offer for Street Photography!

If you still have any questions about shooting in Cape Town, feel free to comment below or email me.

(I want to make these guides as valuable as possible for all of you so add any ideas on improvements, including addition requests, in the comment section!)

Click Here For More City Street Guides!

(A New Guide Posted Every Other Week)

Liked it? Take a second to support Forrest Walker on Patreon! (And access a variety of exclusive content)