Cape Town's famous "Museum Mile" is located within short walking distance of the Mount Nelson Hotel and is easily accessible through the beautiful Company's Garden and Government Avenue. "Museum Mile" is home to some of South Africa's finest museums and art galleries, a few of which are listed below.
Bertram House
The establishment of this museum, opened on 12 May 1984, was largely the result of the magnificent bequest made by Winifred Ann Lidderdale, which forms the nucleus of the collection. Mrs Lidderdale’s bequest comprises ten major collections of which the largest is porcelain, numbering 364 items.
Although the collection consists mainly of English porcelain, it includes fine examples of Chinese export porcelain. It also includes a superb collection of English Furniture comprising 58 Georgian pieces.
South African Museum
The SA Museum - situated in Queen Victoria Road, opposite The Company Gardens, in the city centre - was founded in 1825 and is the oldest and largest museum in the country. Its exhibits include a fossil gallery, a Whale Well (dominated by a 20m long skeleton of a blue whale), the only example of a quagga foal, the famous Linton rock paintings that are described as a major treasure, the mysterious Lydenburg Heads (c.500 AD), and the highly acclaimed Wonders of Nature. Natural History videos are regularly shown, and presentations at the Planetarium next door take place daily.
District Six Museum
District Six was named the Sixth Municipal District of Cape Town in 1867. Originally established as a mixed community of freed slaves, merchants, artisans, labourers and immigrants, District Six was a vibrant centre with close links to the city and the port. By the beginning of the twentieth century, however, the history of removals and marginalisation had begun. The first to be 'resettled' were black South Africans, forcibly displaced from the District in 1901. As the more prosperous moved away to the suburbs, the area became the neglected ward of Cape Town. In 1966, it was declared a white area under the Group areas Act of 1950, and by 1982, the life of the community was over. 60 000 people were forcibly removed to barren outlying areas aptly known as the Cape Flats, and their houses in District Six were flattened by bulldozers. The District Six Museum, established in December 1994, works with the memories of these experiences and with the history of forced removals more generally.
Bo Kaap (Malay Quarter) Museum
The Museum was established in 1978 as a satellite of the SA Cultural History Museum. It was furnished as a house that depicts the lifestyle of a nineteenth-century Muslim family. Today, the museum is in a transformation stage.
The Museum is managed by Iziko Museums, an amalgamation of five national museums that includes the SA Cultural History Museum and its satellites. The museum is being changed into a social history museum that will tell the story of the local community within a national socio-political and cultural context and two new displays with this theme have already been completed. The George Hallet Photographic Exhibition portrays one man's impression of life in the Bo-Kaap. A second exhibition highlights the social history of the Bo-Kaap and the influence of Apartheid and Apartheid laws such as the Group Areas Act. Older exhibitions show the material culture of the Muslim community at the Cape.
Cape Town Holocaust Centre
Racial discrimination, religious intolerance and ideological conflict have resulted in untold suffering, persecution and mass death. Only recently South Africa emerged from the injustices of Apartheid, with its abuse of human rights.
There have been hundreds of conflicts in the name of race, religion and ideology. While discrimination does not always lead to genocide, it invariably precedes it and, in the twentieth century alone, genocides have claimed millions of lives. This centre aims to highlight the injustices that not only the Jews have suffered, but also Black South Africans under the Apartheid regime.
South African Jewish Museum
The South African Jewish Museum explores the social, intellectual and cultural contributions made by South Africa's Jewish community. Situated in the "Museum Mile" district of central Cape Town, it offers visitors a truly unique experience with its bold architectural design, multi-media displays and engaging accounts of Jewish discourse.
Planetarium
The Planetarium, which is housed in the South African Museum building in Cape Town, is a celestial theatre in the round, utilizing the complex Minolta star machine and multiple projectors to transport the audience through the wonders of the universe. The ultimate in armchair travel.
Inside the domed auditorium, we can recreate the night sky, so whatever the weather outside, the Planetarium sky is always clear, an extraordinary audio-visual experience for old and young.
A 15 minute walk from the hotel.
Gold of Africa Museum
The Gold of Africa Museum, located in the historic Martin Melck House, is dedicated to the history and artistry of African gold. The museum contains the world-renowned collection of West African gold artefacts originally from the Barbier-Mueller Museum in Geneva, as well as artefacts from the ancient gold civilisations of southern Africa. Alongside its permanent collection the museum showcases temporary exhibitions from countries as diverse as India, Brazil, Mali and Egypt.
