If you walk through the Company’s Garden, it’s easy to overlook just how much history is crammed into the space.
Another way to experience the City of Cape Town is to do the free self-guided heritage walk that links 45 points of interest throughout the garden and the surrounding historic precinct.
And you don't need to be a history buff to enjoy it.
The route leads you past old trees, memorials, water channels, statues, gardens, and some of Cape Town’s most significant historic buildings.
Start with the story of the garden
The Company’s Garden was established in 1652 as part of the Dutch East India Company’s settlement at the Cape under Jan van Riebeeck.
Its original purpose was practical. Fresh fruit and vegetables were grown to supply the settlement and ships stopping at the Cape. Over time, the working garden developed into the historic public garden we know today.
Government Avenue, with its mature trees and historic buildings, remains a defining feature of the precinct.
Walking the heritage route gives you a chance to see the garden as more than a shortcut between the CBD and the southern end of the city centre.
Forty-five places to explore
The City’s heritage guide lists 45 places of interest across the Company’s Garden precinct.
The route takes in landmarks including the Iziko Slave Lodge, St George’s Cathedral, the Houses of Parliament, Tuynhuys, the National Library of South Africa, the Iziko South African Museum, the Planetarium, the South African National Gallery and the South African Jewish Museum.
It also draws attention to smaller details that are easy to miss when you are simply passing through.
Among the stops are the historic water furrows, Japanese Lantern, Bothy, Rose Garden, VOC Vegetable Garden, Delville Wood Memorial and the garden’s historic saffron pear.
Five stops worth slowing down for
Government Avenue
The broad, tree-lined avenue is one of the best-known parts of the garden and provides a link between many of the historic buildings and institutions around the precinct.
Take your time here. The mature trees and surrounding architecture give you a sense of how much of Cape Town’s history is concentrated in this part of the city.
The water furrows
Look down and you may notice the stone-lined channels that formed part of the garden’s historic water system.
They are a reminder that the Company’s Garden began as a working food garden and depended on carefully managed water supplies.
The City’s guide identifies the stone-lined water furrows as one of the heritage stops.
The Japanese Lantern
The Japanese Lantern is one of the garden’s more unusual details.
Installed in 1932 as a gift from the Japanese government to Cape Town, the stone lantern is easy to overlook among the trees and surrounding attractions.
It is the sort of detail that makes the self-guided route worthwhile, particularly if you have walked through the garden many times without knowing its story.
The Delville Wood Memorial
Designed by Sir Herbert Baker, the memorial garden commemorates the Battle of Delville Wood in France in 1916 and the South Africans who served and died in the two World Wars.
The Company’s Garden memorial was unveiled in 1930 and forms part of the heritage route.
The saffron pear
One of the garden’s most remarkable living links to its early history is the saffron pear.
The tree is believed to date to around 1652 and is regarded by Cape Town Tourism as the oldest cultivated pear tree in South Africa.
Look up, not just ahead
The Company’s Garden is also worth exploring for its trees and wildlife.
The City’s self-guided material includes a tree guide featuring species such as ginkgo, southern magnolia, English oak, rubber tree and the saffron pear.
The garden also provides valuable green space in the middle of the city. Egyptian geese and hadedas are among the birds visitors may encounter, while squirrels have become familiar residents of the garden.
The lawns, mature trees and shaded paths make it an easy place to pause between visits to the surrounding museums and historic sites.
Make a morning of it
The route can be explored at your own pace, with the time required depending on how many of the surrounding attractions you visit.
The garden itself is free to enter, while museums and other attractions along the route may charge admission.
The garden is wheelchair accessible, although accessibility can vary along the wider heritage route.
The guide starts at the Adderley Street end of Government Avenue, but the precinct can be explored from any of the garden’s entrances.
If you want to make a longer outing of it, allow extra time for the museums and other attractions along the way. You can also stop for coffee or a meal at the Company’s Garden Restaurant before continuing your walk.
CapeTowner tip
You do not have to complete all 45 stops.
Choose a handful that interest you, slow down and pay attention to the details around them. The old water channels, unusual trees, memorials and historic buildings tell a much bigger story when you start connecting them.
The Company’s Garden is often treated as a place to pass through.
The self-guided heritage walk gives you a reason to stop.
Before you go
- Start: Adderley Street or another entrance to the garden
- Time: Allow extra time if you plan to visit museums and other attractions
- Cost: Free to enter the garden
- Accessibility: The garden is wheelchair accessible, although accessibility can vary along the wider heritage route
- Good to know: Museums and other attractions along the route may charge separate admission
- Guide: Download the City of Cape Town’s free Company’s Garden Precinct Walk guide before you set off