Victoria & Alfred Waterfront

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The Victoria & Alfred Waterfront in the historic heart of Cape Town's working harbour is South Africa's most-visited destination, having the highest rate of foreign tourists of any attraction in the country.^[1] Situated between Robben Island and Table Mountain and set against a backdrop of sea and mountain views, it offers a variety of shopping and entertainment options to visitors, intermingled with office locations, hotels (such as the historical Breakwater Lodge - once a 19th century prison) and luxury apartments in the residential marina.

It houses the Nelson Mandela Gateway which offers boat trips to Robben Island, as well as the Two Oceans Aquarium.

[edit] History

Prince Alfred, second son of Queen Victoria, began construction of the harbour in 1860. The first basin was named after himself, the second after his mother, hence the name.

The Victoria & Alfred Waterfront development is a renewal project that incorporates much of the historic harbour infrastructure. The whole complex is managed and is being developed by a private company owned by Transnet. An international consortium has just acquired the development at a record value in South African terms, for an amount of 7.4 billion Rand.

Talks are currently underway regarding the berthing of the former Cunard liner Queen Elizabeth 2 in the harbour as a floating hotel for a period of 12 months. ^[2]

[edit] Gallery

Clock Tower (built 1883) at the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront	Table Mountain from the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront	Boating activity at the waterfront	View showing new Waterfront apartments
V&A shopping complex	Nobel Square	View across the Victoria Basin	View across the Victoria Basin
Nedbank/BOE building at night	The Table Bay Hotel