Archeology
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Tour

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Tour

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Itinerary

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Architecture
Architecture
Architecture
Architecture
Architecture
Architecture
Architecture

Architecture Tour: Itinerary

DAY 1 – CAPE TOWN
On arrival at Cape Town airport you’ll be met and transferred to Winchester Mansions hotel on the attractive Sea Point Promenade where you can relax and unwind.
In the early evening, get together for a welcome drink with informative guests before a scene-setting dinner at a top rated restaurant.

DAY 2 – CAPE PENINSULA & TWO OCEANS
Get your bearings when summiting Table Mountain by way of cable car for an eagle’s view of the city and the Waterfront. Travel south along the spectacular Chapman’s Peak drive, where sheer cliffs plunge into the Atlantic. While looking over the ruggedly beautiful southern coastline, enjoy lunch with award-winning wines. Cape Point is one of the most dramatic view points anywhere on earth, a place of wild, untamed beauty and the legendary meeting point of two oceans at the tip of the vast African continent. Return via the fishing village of Kalk Bay where from the windows of a treasure trove of a gallery, you’ll see the colourful,working harbour.
Dinner is open, with a number of celebrated restaurant options.

DAY 3 – HEART OF THE CITY
Exclusive viewing of the residence of former South African prime minsters bequeathed to the nation by Cecil John Rhodes. Its contents are priceless, its setting magnificent and its style Cape Dutch Revival, courtesy Herbert Baker. Woodstock is one of the oldest neighbourhoods and now an emerging precinct where a medley of talented people showcase their wares.
In the heart of the city take in significant architectural and civic landmarks, made predominantly by the invisible hands of slave labour whose cultural legacy, lunching here. Look around BoKaap and the fashionable Cape Quarter with its sophisticated shops and ‘’revived’’ townhouses.
In the evening, enjoy a pan African banquet.

DAY 4 – THE WINELANDS
Head out for the Winelands, where Cape Dutch homesteads with symmetrical gables and grid-like gardens attest to a harmony of opposites. Stroll around the spacious grounds and gracious manor house of the country’s premier wine estate. Enjoy priveleged access into the private domain of an acclaimed sculptor. Meander through Stellenbosch, a tree-lined university town, glimpsing some architectural gems among its preserved streets before arriving in Franschhoek.
Stay at the Franschhoek Boutique Hotel in the heart of this picturesque village for 2 nights.
The evening is open, with an abundance of restaurants to choose from within this culinary hot spot.

DAY 5 – VINEYARDS & VALLEYS
The morning is open to explore the village’s inviting array of galleries, shops and quirky offerings.
In the afternoon be guided around an über contemporary estate with a dedicated art and sculpture collection before visting a neighbouring estate who’s owner’s passion is equalled by his patronage of local artistic creativity. On the slopes of a great granite rock that loom above the town of Paarl, stroll around an architecturally symbolic tribute to South Africa’s hybrid language – Afrikaans.
Dinner is a multiple course, wine-paired meal in one of The World’s 100 Best restaurants.

DAY 6 – JOHANNESBURG’S MANMADE LANDMARKS
In the morning wander around beguiling gardens based on the Dutch East India Company’s garden layout which replenished passing ships with fresh food, and lunch on its oh-so-edible fare.
An afternoon flight to Johannesburg (two hours) gets you to ‘the commercial capital – a city of contrasts, contradictions and oddities that has bloomed and boomed, whose most significant original landmarks were gold mine dumps’ –Wallpaper.
Welcoming staff at The Winston are on hand to whip up a delicious meal before you relax on the  first of 3 nights here.

DAY 7 – THE CITY’S CHANGING FACE
At a unique heritage site that tells a tale of South Africa’s difficult past and remarkable transition, see democracy at work. Hear about the genesis of a building with an art collection-with-a-human-rights-theme. (The architectural brief was to convey the openness of SA’s new constitution on a site adjacent to what was the country’s most notorious prison complex.)
Downtown contains key glimpses of  Joburg’s past, like Braamfontein’s first urban renewal complex in the inner city’s moribund core and other sensitively redeveloped projects. Take a walkabout around a vibrant, urban regeneration project – a complex of early 1900 warehouses converted into So Ho-inspired work spaces. Lunch within its tree-filled courtyard, meeting some of its multicultural tenants – as varied as they are impressive. Hit the ”Art Mile” for sitings of upscale developments and blue-chip art.
Over dinner from a striking space pick out architectural landmarks that define the city’s skyline.

DAY 8 – THE CRADLE OF HUMANKIND – ANTHROPOLOGY & ART
Unravel man’s journey out of Africa over a curated walkabout at Origins Centre that uncovers where & when things began, and highlights San/Bushmen rock art traditions (the world’s oldest continuous art form). After a light lunch here, spend the rest of the day within the Cradle of Humankind, some 60-mins away. Wander around landscaped gardens dotted with artworks in a creative arts complex which fosters multi-level engagement between international artists, local icons and emerging communities.
Celebrate your last night under African skies in this World Heritage Site where 3.5 million years of human activity have taken place. You’ll be greeted by a sculpture signifying the evolution from early to modern man, while another depicts the human journey out of Africa.

DAY 9 – RETURN JOURNEY
Take in the Apartheid Museum’s captivating exhibition space, approachable and visually arresting,  before getting a glimpse of Soweto, the township home to a third of the population, and its commemorative landmarks.
Subject to your flight schedule, you’ll be transferred to Johannesburg airport for your homebound journey.