Shopping in Cape Town is a truly unique experience. The city is home to a variety of markets, malls, and local shops, offering something for everyone.
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Whether you’re looking for local goods or international brands, you’re sure to find what you’re looking for. And don’t forget to pick up some of the local wines while you’re shopping!
Cape Town is also a great place to find unique clothes and souvenirs. Be sure to bargain with the vendors – it’s all part of the fun! Shopping in Cape Town is an unforgettable experience that you won’t want to miss.
1. CAPE COBRA LEATHERCRAFT
These luxurious leather creations have all been made with authentic and interesting leathers such as Nile crocodile, ostrich, whip snake, and python; all strictly sourced under the regulations of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species. Internationally recognized for unsurpassed quality, Cape Cobra Leathercraft has been carried in the hands of the British Royal Family, Sandra Bullock, Jennifer Lopez, and Anne Hathaway.
Location: 43 Bree St, Cape Town City Centre, Cape Town
Contact details: +27 60 646 6704
2. BAY HARBOUR MARKET
Every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, an old authentic fish factory in the beautiful Hout Bay Harbour comes to life with the hustle and bustle of an eclectic marketplace. The Bay Harbour Market brings craftsmen, artists, and busking musicians together, and then aromatically infuses the scene with freshly-baked bread, local wines, craft beers, and other delectable treats.
One of the Bay Harbour Market’s key aims is to give traders, many of whom are from disadvantaged backgrounds, an opportunity to develop their artistic and business skills and set up sustainable businesses. At the same time, the market delights shoppers and visitors with a plethora of boutique and hand-made clothing, jewellery, art, and foods of every cuisine.
Location: 31 Harbour Rd, Hout Bay, Cape Town, 7872
Contact details: +27 84 370 5715
3. ATLAS TRADING COMPANY
As far as spices go, you could not be more spoiled for choice. Atlas Trading stocks everything from South African Potjiekos spice to pure Spanish saffron.
Don’t miss their wide variety of nuts, beans and lentils, curry pastes, seeds, and incense sticks, and more importantly, don’t forget to ask for tips for that perfect Cape Malay curry.
Location: 104 Wale St, Schotsche Kloof, Cape Town, 8001
Contact details: +27 21 423 4361
4. MACASSAR POTTERY
The best bits of beauty are the ones that happen unexpectedly; they leap out of the corner of your eye and overwhelm you with colourful, meaningful surprises.
Macassar is Cape Town’s township nobody knows about, still hidden in plain sight – apartheid-style – behind a national road, a sand mine and a munitions factory.
The Udu drum, with its origins in Nigeria, is a popular piece to purchase and play, while the African Ocarina, a unique clay flute, has been developed in Macassar and is designed in such a way to allow for easy playing for both experienced and inexperienced. It is ideal for encouraging lovely melodies from very young community members. The clay flute is also an ideal gift to take home after a visit to Cape Town.
Location: 53 Fish St, Macassar, Cape Town, 7130, South Africa
Contact details: +27 82 747 7104
5. CAPE DIAMONDS
UNIQUE fynbos flower-inspired diamond engagement rings in cape town
Cape Town in South Africa is an all-time favourite city with its dream locations offering breathtaking views, stunning sunsets, world-class stays and dazzling diamonds. If you’re looking to pop the question in this majestic city, you’ll find a range of unique engagement rings for women at competitive prices from Cape Diamonds.
Cape Diamonds makes diamond buying easy and accessible for locals and visitors who wish to bedazzle themselves or a loved one with quality, conflict-free, GIA-certified diamonds. You’ll find the shop conveniently located within walking distance of the V&A Waterfront – a prime location to make a turn while touring the beautiful city.
Location: Unit 6, Victoria Junction, Gate 1 & 2, 57 Prestwich St, Green Point, Cape Town
Contact details: +27 21 421 5364
6. CAPE CONTINENTAL MEATS
Eat’s Delicious is based in Cape Town and has emerged as a sister company to Cape Continental Meats (CCM).
Their online solution is offering you the convenience of finding what you need, ordering what you need and having it delivered to you within 24-48 hours.
Cape Continental Meats enjoys being a preferred meat supplier to many well-established customers and continues to grow its business and its market.
Location: Dennehof Centre, Siprus Road, Thornton, Cape Town, South Africa
Contact details: +27 62 438 9496
7. OLGA JEWELLERS
Since 1977, they’ve been specialists in diamond and tanzanite pieces, the likes of which catch the eyes of many passersby. The on-site design studio gives customers the unique chance to witness their jewellery being made, right from raw diamonds to polished pieces.
Each piece in Olga Jewellers is made to be one-of-a-kind, so you know when you purchase a special piece, that’s exactly what you’ll get. This makes Olga a popular store for engagement rings, wedding bands, anniversary gifts and sentimental sets. Jewellery can also be made to your exact size and specifications.
Location: Bree St, Cape Town City Centre, Cape Town, 8001, South Africa
Contact details: +27 82 682 4243
8. SHIMANSKY
Experience the fascinating world of diamonds as you’ve never seen them before. Shimansky Jewellers offers visitors three incredible prime showroom locations at which they can explore the remarkable 3.3 billion-year-long journey of a diamond from mine to finger.
Across the V&A Waterfront in the Clock Tower Precinct, sits The Shimansky Diamond Experience and Jewellery Showroom – also home to the Cape Town Diamond Museum. At this staggeringly-beautiful location, set against the backdrop of Table Mountain, visitors will become part of a 3.3 billion-year-old story, with tales of a diamond’s journey from formation deep below the Earth’s surface to the point at which it finds pride of place in a prestigious Shimansky Jewellers setting. The Shimansky Diamond Experience is also home to a jewellery showroom, diamond cutting and polishing factory and designer diamond jewellery manufacturing workshop.
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Location: Shop 6259 Upper Level, Victoria & Alfred Waterfront, Cape Town
Contact details: +27 21 425 9888
9. FEDHASA
FEDHASA is the national trade association for the hospitality industry that includes the accommodation and catering sectors and has been representing the industry since 1949.
FEDHASA’s vision is to be at the forefront of the Southern African hospitality industry by influencing policy decisions and direction by lobbying the government and industry as the official unified voice of the Southern African hospitality industry.
Location: Office Park, Unit A1A, Century Square, Heron Cres, Century City, Cape Town, 7441, South Africa
Contact details: +27 78 459 1910
10. THE OLD BISCUIT MILL
The Mill is home to day and night markets, dynamic office space, a range of workshops and designer stores, delicious farm stalls, decadent restaurants as well as an inspiring line-up of festivals and productions. Go and explore the Mill and meet some of South Africa’s most talented, innovative designers, artists, photographers, and connoisseurs of fine taste and decor.
The Mill houses some of the city’s most charming architecture and is loved by all of its patrons and visitors. The Old Biscuit Mill used to be just that – a biscuit mill. It seems the mill started out as a factory for Pioneer’, then Standard Mills’ and was most recently, before its conversion, a mill for Pyotts’ – at least that’s what the lettering down the side of the square brick chimney tells us.
Location: 375 Albert Rd, Woodstock, Cape Town
Contact details: +27 21 447 8194
11. ASHANTI DESIGN
Their flagship store on trendy Kloof street offers a variety of colourful homeware, accessories and furniture items.
From the way they source their materials, to the way their products are made and who makes them, the business proudly represents the resourcefulness, vibrancy and outlook of this colourful continent.
Their signature Ashanti fabric is hand-woven from the fibres of perfectly good fabric that would otherwise be sent to a landfill. It’s an intricate labour of love, steeped in tradition and hand-woven with pride and the incredible artistry of the remote villagers. The tools and techniques they use have been passed down through many generations.
Location: Online
Contact details: +27 71 866 6305
12. SCRATCH PATCH – MINERAL WORLD
Southern Africa is blessed with an incredible variety of gemstones and mineral wealth and almost half the planet’s gemstones are found right there! While most people tend to immediately associate gemstones with sparkling gems like Diamonds and Tanzanite, there are so many more magical minerals that are also timelessly beautiful and endlessly fascinating.
An excellent place to experience the more “expanded” range of Southern African mineral wealth is the Topstones centre just outside historic Simons Town. Here you will find a fabulous range of the usual faceted gems and jewellery at excellent prices – but you will also see an unbelievable display of other gemstone products from large and unusual gemstone specimens to excellent gem carvings and rough and polished crafted items.
Location: Dido Valley Road, Simon’s Town, South Africa
Contact details: +27 21 786 2020
13. MILNERTON MARKET
The market is popular for its 200 stalls, each offering something different, from bric-a-brac, collectables and antiques to simple everyday domestic tools and affordable houseplants.
There is also a selection of down-to-earth food stalls and food trucks, with something for every taste and budget.
Milnerton Market is a magical place of oddities, in fact, it is no longer in Milnerton proper where the market originated, but closer to Cape Town now, on Marine Drive (R27) and covers a vast expanse of land – equivalent in size to four football fields.
It’s open Saturdays, Sundays and certain public holidays, – easy to spot – just keep an eye open for the bustle of people and line of cars along Marine Drive.
Location: 126 Marine Dr, Paarden Eiland, Cape Town
Contact details: +27 21 551 7879
14. FIRST DIAMONDS
First Diamond’s philosophy is that a diamond is far more than a stone; more than a fortunate combination of time and geology. Rather, it is a glittering beacon of celebration. A scintillating symbol of life’s most cherished moments. Whether it’s a pledge of everlasting love, a milestone marking the birth of a child, a reminder of a treasured anniversary or a memento to celebrate a life-changing journey.
As a ‘First Hand of Trade’ diamond merchant, their rough diamonds are purchased directly from South Africa’s diamond mines, before each diamond is cut and graded by hand.
Location: 33 Bree St, Cape Town City Centre, Cape Town, 8001, South Africa
Contact details: +27 63 170 6064
15. WOODSTOCK GIN CO
Nestled neatly between Salt River and Woodstock is a bustling and creative commercial complex called the Salt River Arcade. Within this lies a small yet highly productive micro-distillery named the Woodstock Gin Company.
They believe that South Africa can produce a high-quality handcrafted gin that would make even the Brits turn their heads. As they continue to push the boundaries of concocting new and exciting gin recipes, they welcome you to come and taste their gin and open your taste buds to what the gin world has to offer.
Location: 399 Albert Rd, Woodstock, Cape Town, 7915, South Africa
Contact details: +27 21 447 0712
16. AFRICAN GEMS AND MINERALS
The store boasts over 120 collections of fine minerals from many different collectors, ensuring a vast stock that has been built up over the past eight years.
You can also sign up to become a member and receive newsletters with the latest information from one of the best providers of African gemstones, minerals and crystals in the world. There are also jewellery and fossil collections.
Location: Shop 2 Protea Assurance Building, Longmarket Street, Green Market Square, CBD, Cape Town, 8001, South Africa
Contact details: +27 76 665 1711
