What is the world's oldest registered trademark? How many water reservoirs are there on Table Mountain? Where exactly did Jan van Riebeeck land? What was the purpose of Green Market Square? A three-hour walking tour with Footsteps to Freedom answers all your burning questions about Cape Town.

By far the best way to get to know a strange city, its history and its culture is by exploring it by foot. Or even better: by a guided walking tour by Footsteps to Freedom. In no less than three hours, a highly experienced and very knowledgeable guide takes you on a guided walk through Cape Town and through its modern history, covering all important periods: The moment the Dutch landed in 1652, the overtaking by the British, the era of slavery, the period of apartheid and of course the birth of freedom and democracy. 

"It is estimated that Jan van Riebeeck landed over there," Carline of Footsteps to Freedom says, standing on the Grand Parade with her back to City Hall and pointing to the Absa building. "Where we are standing he built his first fort from wood. Weather circumstances and the ocean made him build a second, more durable construction which we know as The Castle."

The Castle isn't the only souvenir of Jan van Riebeeck and the beginning of Dutch, thus European, presence in the Cape. "The bricks used for the steps were used as ballast in ships of the Dutch East India Company or the Verenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie (VOC)," Carline explains at the Old Town House on Green Market Square, which houses priceless paintings of Dutch and Flemish masters. "And did you know -by the way- that the VOC is the world's oldest trade mark?"

Greenmarket Square was where farmers and slaves sold vegetables and fruit produced in amongst other the Company Garden. This lush and exotic garden was once the veggie garden of the VOC. "Slavery and slaves play an important role in the Cape's history," Carline says, explaining about cruel slave codes, the inhumane treatment of slaves in the Cape and the impact slaves had on South African culture and language.

Indeed, the guided tour incudes many slavery sites like the Slave Lodge, the Slave Tree near Church Square and the Slave Church on Long Street.

One of the most interesting stops of the Footsteps To Freedom walking Tour is the District Six Museum. This fascinating museum is dedicated to District Six. In the 1960's this colourful, vibrant and multicultural neighbourhood was allocated as a white residential area. When the community resisted the decision, the authorities flattened the area and scattered the community over the Cape Flats.

Only a few mosques and churches remain on the still barred land. "Steps are being made to let people move back into District Six", Carline explains. "The first families have already moved back!"

Our tour ends with a stroll through the Company Garden, where we walk along the buildings of Parliament, the Tuynhuys, a massive statue of John Cecil Rhodes. It is unbelievable that this lush, exotic garden with soft lawns and a small restaurant used to be the working ground of hundreds of slaves. Luckily time has changed in South Africa. For the best!

The Footsteps to Freedom Walking tours, free with The Cape Town Pass, depart from Monday to Saturday at 10:30 from Cape Town Tourism Visitor Information Center, Burg Street, Cape Town City Centre. Contact +27 (0) 21 465 2032 / + 27 (0) 83 452 1112 for more information.

The Foot Steps to Freedom walking tours are usually done in English, depending on the availability of multilingual guides. But, on request, all the information is provided in several other languages as French, Dutch German and Italian.

Source: Miriam Mannak / CapeTownMagazine.com

This tour is Free with the Cape Town Pass.

The Cape Town Pass comprises of a choice of over 65 attractions to choose from, all included in a full colour guide book. CapeTownMagazine.com has negotiated the absolute best price anywhere, as we give 15%(!) discount when you book your pass online with us.

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