Shopping

The favourable international exchange rate makes South Africa a shopper's paradise for foreigners.

Cape Town offers a great variety of domestic and imported goods including gold (South Africa's chief export), diamonds (South Africa is world famous for these sparkling gems), jewellery, leather goods, African curios, art, antiques, ceramics and fashion wear.

The shopping hours are from 8am to 5pm from Monday to Friday and until 1pm on Saturday. Some stores stay open late on Friday evening until 9pm.

Adderley Street has shopping centres, malls and many interesting gift shops. The area is well known for its fashion outlets, as well as many well known jewellery stores which offer quality goods for the discerning buyer.

St George's Mall has a number of interesting boutiques and around the corner is Greenmarket Square with its flea market and fashion boutiques. Long Street has many small charming shops, reflecting the character of Cape Town. The V&A Waterfront has a variety of outlets (open 7 days a week) from niche interest to fashion and is open till late.

There’s also a lot on offer at Atlantic Seaboard - Sea Point and Camps Bay, while Hout Bay has several craft shops where resident artists, potters and sculptors sell their craft to the public.

The False Bay coastline is known as the Treasure Coast and is dotted with many charming shops selling a variety of products. Claremont is the shopping mecca of the Southern Suburbs and Cavendish Square is its main attraction. Tyger Valley Shopping Centre is at the centre of the Northern Suburbs and is the largest shopping centre in the Cape and is conveniently situated between Cape Town and the Winelands.