For years I have wanted to visit the Castle of Good Hopes, those walls hold so many stories and one can only imagine what has happened on that soil hundreds of years ago.
Last week we had to go to Cape Town to apply for our Schengen visas and decided that such a gorgeous winters day in the Mother City could not go to waste so we decided visit the Castle. We got there just in time because at 12pm sharp they have The Key Ceremony on the front lawns and it really is worth watching. You can see this at 11am, 12pm and again at 14pm every week day.
We bought a map and tried to figure out where what was and deep down inside hoped to run into one of the many ghosts that inhabit the Castle but there was no such luck that day. Instead we spent the afternoon wondering through old passages and up and down narrow stairways enjoying the view from the top of the bell tower. The map was a bit tricky to make head or tails of but the majority of rooms had a piece written about them outside.
Normally when you visit a castle or historical building you get a sense of the past and what happened many years ago so this visit was slightly disappointing as many of the rooms were being used for some political conference. There were tents and cameramen spotted all over the lawns and it really detracted from the history. There are 2 museums at the Castle, one is a military museum which was very interesting and the other the William Fehr Collection which is a collection of old paintings and furniture.
We got in for an absolute bargain with our student cards - R15 per person - Adult rate is R30 and Children R15.
The Castle of Good Hope is open seven days a week (Monday to Sunday) and only closed to the public on Christmas Day(25 Dec) and New Year(01 Jan).
Contact Details:
Normally when you visit a castle or historical building you get a sense of the past and what happened many years ago so this visit was slightly disappointing as many of the rooms were being used for some political conference. There were tents and cameramen spotted all over the lawns and it really detracted from the history. There are 2 museums at the Castle, one is a military museum which was very interesting and the other the William Fehr Collection which is a collection of old paintings and furniture.
We got in for an absolute bargain with our student cards - R15 per person - Adult rate is R30 and Children R15.
The Castle of Good Hope is open seven days a week (Monday to Sunday) and only closed to the public on Christmas Day(25 Dec) and New Year(01 Jan).
- Telephone: +27 21 787 1260
- Tour Bookings: +27 21 787 1249
- E-Mail: casteel@mweb.co.za
- Gates open: 09h00 daily (last entry 15h30 - close at 16h00)
Key Ceremony Monday-Friday (10h00 & 12h00)
Firing of Signal Cannon: Monday-Friday (10h10 & 12h10), Saturday (11h00 & 12h00)
Stairway
Key Ceremony 
Model train at the Military Museum 
The most handsome man in the World
No comments:
Post a Comment