The famous Long Street, known throughout the city for its magnificent old edifices and charming bookshops, is over 300 years old and reflects the allure of a bygone era. Long Street’s architectural melting-pot includes Georgina, Cape Malay, Art Nouveau and 20th century styles. Some of the most striking buildings are the splendid Victorian structures, with their filigreed ornamentation. A fine example is the exquisite Blue Lodge, the only remaining Victorian corner building in the city, styled by Max Rosenberg to accommodate his boarding house.

The Palm Tree Mosque at number 185 was converted into a mosque in 1807 by Jan van Boughies, himself a slave who had been granted his freedom.

Further up is the Long Street Baths, comprising a swimming pool, Turkish baths and steam rooms for either men or woman.

Behind the doors of the 1804 church near the corner of Hout and Long Streets is the Missionary Meeting House Museum, which chronicles the Sendinggestig, established in the early 19th century by evangelists from the London and Netherlands missionary societies to bring Christianity to the slaves. The building contains a fine pulpit, pipe organ and displays on the history of missionary work at the Cape.

The vibrant and bustling pedestrian concourse of St George’s Mall is a hive of lively activity as street musicians provide informal entertainment, and vendors ply their trade. At the top of the mall, on the other side of Wale Street, is the Gothic St George’s Cathedra, built on the site of the original cathedral consecrated in 1848, and replace in 1897 by the new design of Sir Herbert Baker and Francis Massey. This is the home congregation of Nobel laureate Desmond Tutu, the former Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town. The awe-inspiring cathedral boasts the lovely stained-glass Rose Window by Francis Spear.

Behind the cathedral is the South African Library. Modelled on the Fitzwilliam Museum at Cambridge University, the dazzling white building houses important reference works, including priceless Africana and original manuscripts.

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