Cape Town may be South Africa’s oldest city, but its rapid rise and growth ensured it is now Africa’s economic powerhouse.
Corporate apartments in Cape Town are a fantastic choice for the business traveller who wants their own private space. Each property offers its own cooking, dining and washing facilities, which you wouldn’t get in a hotel room, all at a very competitive rate too. If you want to dine out, rather than cook for yourself, of course, you can go to any of the excellent restaurants in the city. Many serviced apartments in Cape Town have housekeeping services and on-site laundry services too.
Situ’s business accommodation can also be much more convenient than hotels in Cape Town as places to do business. Guests have access to free Wifi and some buildings even have professional meeting rooms or at least places to enjoy a coffee. 'Choice' really is the keyword here – you choose a fully equipped, serviced apartment that offers what you want, as a 'home away from home' experience.
Cape Town is located on the southwest coast of South Africa. The Cape of Good Hope, which gives its name to the city, and which is the south-westernmost point on the African continent, is actually located around 50 miles to the south of the city centre.
It’s the second-largest city and the legislative capital of South Africa, being home to the national parliament. The country has three capitals, with political capital Pretoria being 813 miles to the northeast. The judicial capital, Bloemfontein, is 621 miles to the northeast; and the country’s largest city, Johannesburg, is located 784 miles to the northeast of Cape Town.
The most common languages spoken in Cape Town are the Dutch dialect of Afrikaans and the local language of Xhosa. However, English is much more widely spoken here than in many other parts of the country, and it’s certainly the language of international business in South Africa. Cape Town’s population has grown rapidly in recent years and now numbers approximately 4.8 million.
South Africa continues to have certain issues with racial tensions and crime, but Cape Town is claimed to be both the safest large city in the country and the most liberal. It’s recommended that you remain vigilant and take the same personal security measures as you would when visiting any major city worldwide.
South Africa has the third-largest economy in Africa, and Cape Town is the second-largest economic district in the country, contributing around 11% of the nation’s Gross Domestic Product.
The city’s principal industries include financial and business services, real estate, manufacturing, technology, agriculture, tourism and community services. Many local start-up businesses thrive alongside the major global players such as Amazon, Standard Bank, Bloomberg, Vodacom, Old Mutual and the ‘big four’ accountancy firms.
There’s also a well-qualified workforce here. The Greater Cape Town area is home to four major universities, and in the QS World University Rankings 2021, the University of Cape Town secured first place. Stellenbosch, just outside the city, was ranked fifth. The University of the Western Cape and the Cape Peninsula University of Technology also each have more than 20,000 students. 90% of the city’s population are of working age and unemployment is lower than in South Africa as a whole.
Business networking organisations in Cape Town include:
Exploring various corporate opportunities can take time, so to be sure you achieve everything you need to achieve here, book a stay in long term business accommodation in Cape Town.
The imposing Table Mountain towers above the city of Cape Town. A hike or a cable car ride to the 1,086-metre summit is a must to take in the incredible views of the city, the sea and the surrounding countryside.
On the eastern slopes of Table Mountain, Kirstenbosch Gardens are said to be some of the most stunning botanical gardens in the world, boasting more than 7,000 plant species, many of them rare or endangered. It also plays host to regular outdoor concerts. A ferry ride across the bay takes you to Robben Island, the notorious former prison that housed Nelson Mandela for 27 years. It’s now a museum.
No trip to the Cape would be complete without a visit to one of the many superb wineries. Groot Constantia is the oldest winery in Africa, having been founded in 1685, and it’s just 20 minutes drive from the city centre. The Cape Dutch Manor House, the historical cellars, a wine museum and a cultural history museum can all be found here.
To sample some great food and wine, some of the best restaurants are in the Waterfront and Long Street areas of the city, and the bohemian suburbs of Kalk Bay and Woodstock. Willoughby & Co is a highly rated Japanese restaurant in the Waterfront shopping mall, while Test Kitchen, in Woodstock, offers European fine dining via its regular menu or tasting menu.
Cape Town International Airport is 12 miles southeast of the city centre. It’s the second-largest airport in the country and the third-largest in all of Africa.
From here, there are regular flights to almost all of South Africa’s other major cities, including Port Elizabeth, Durban, Johannesburg, Bloemfontein and Kimberley. International destinations include London (Heathrow and Gatwick), Paris, Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Munich, Zurich, Vienna, Hong Kong and Singapore. If you’re flying from a UK airport outside London, you might be advised to change at London, Paris or Amsterdam before reaching your serviced apartment in Cape Town.
From Cape Town’s central railway station – located on Adderley and Strand Streets in the heart of the business district - Metrorail Western Cape services call at most of the city’s suburbs and other towns and cities in the region. These include the Southern Line, the Northern Line, the Cape Flats Line.
Other lines have less frequent service, perhaps as little as one train per day on some routes or may have very limited weekend services.
Long-distance sleeper trains connect Cape Town with Johannesburg, Durban, Pretoria and East London. South Africa is a big country by any standards, so for example the journey to Johannesburg typically takes more than 24 hours even on the fastest trains. There might also be just a few departures per week on each route, not a daily service.
The deluxe Premier Classe trains are still very much affordable, and nearly all trains have a dedicated restaurant car serving breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks. Meals are typically included in the fare, although alcoholic drinks cost extra. Meanwhile, the Blue Train to Pretoria is Africa’s ultimate luxury rail experience.
The MyCiTi network has more than 50 routes serving the entire Western Cape region. Buses connect Cape Town city centre with areas such as Sea Point, Camps Bay, District Six, Century City, Parklands, Big Bay and Atlantis. On the most popular routes, there might be buses every few minutes at peak times, while other routes could have perhaps a few departures per hour.
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