The Castle of Good Hope Cape Town South Africa. Oldest surviving Colonial building in South Africa. (Photo by: Education Images/UIG via Getty Images)

UIG via Getty Images

Castle of Good Hope

Cape Town

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Built by the Dutch between 1666 and 1679 to defend Cape Town, this stone-walled pentagonal castle remains the headquarters for the Western Cape military command. There are free guided tours of the site (11am, noon and 2pm Monday to Saturday), and don’t miss climbing up to the bastions for an elevated view of the castle’s layout and across to Grand Parade.

Inside the castle, and covered by your entry ticket, the Military Museum is interesting, as are the displays of antiques and decorative arts in the William Fehr Collection.

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Nearby Cape Town attractions

1. William Fehr Collection

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Housed within the former Governor's Quarters at the Castle of Good Hope is the bulk of the William Fehr Collection, including some fabulous bits of Cape…

2. Castle Entrance Gate

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The main entrance to the Castle of Good Hope, crowned by a bell tower, replaced the original sea-facing entrance to the fortress.

3. Secunde's House

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Inside the Castle of Good Hope, the Secunde's House was built in 1695 and housed the second in command at the Cape.

4. Castle Military Museum

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This interesting museum occupies the castle’s original bayside entrance. Inside you can see examples and vivid paintings of different military uniforms…

5. Grand Parade

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