Hip & Happening Green Point

Like so many areas of Cape Town, Green Point is, of late, enjoy­ing a second vogue. Nestled between Signal Hill and the touristy V&A Waterfront, the neigh­bour­hood is shrug­ging off its repu­ta­tion as the stalk­ing ground of ladies of nego­ti­able affec­tion, and trad­ing it in for a shiny new one - that of trendy trade and social hub. Businesses, boutiques, eat­er­ies and slick night­spots are spring­ing up like dais­ies, as those in the know hurry to stake their claim in this rap­idly chan­ging neighbourhood.

Of course, loc­als have always known they had a good thing on their hands. The bust­ling Giovanni’s Deli has been in busi­ness for longer than most res­id­ents can remem­ber, and every morn­ing sees it packed with reg­u­lars enjoy­ing one of Cape Town’s first decent cups of cof­fee and a pastry, or brows­ing the selec­tion of impor­ted deli goods ...

Buena Vista Social Club is another old Greenpoint favour­ite, a wood-floored homage to the ori­ginal in Havana, where I’ve per­son­ally whiled away many an even­ing enjoy­ing the incred­ible nachos, chilli pop­pers and moji­tos. One can cosy up on leather couches, or watch the world go by from the second floor bal­cony, all the while sway­ing to the Cuban beats eman­at­ing from inside.

Slightly newer - but already a firm favour­ite with loc­als - is Miss K, a cof­fee shop phe­nomenon that sees its cus­tom­ers return­ing again and again for their mouth-watering break­fasts and assort­ment of delect­able con­fec­tion­ary, includ­ing their sig­na­ture, marshmallow-iced cup­cakes. The décor is min­im­al­ist, very light and sum­mery, and if you’re any­thing like me you’ll go to the bath­room twice for the sheer pret­ti­ness of it.

Jade, a lounge bar, good for a drink that has been home to the Levi’s vin­tage ses­sions on Sundays in winter. Of course, for those with pounds, dol­lars and euros to burn, Green Point is a hop, skip and a jump from the exclus­ive One&Only Hotel, and the inter­na­tion­ally acclaimed - and inter­na­tion­ally priced - Maize and Nobu res­taur­ants, the babies of celebrity chefs Gordon Ramsay and Nobu Matsuhisa respectively.

However, if it’s some­thing more authen­tic­ally South African than world-class din­ing that you’re look­ing for, Sunday morn­ings dawn on The Green Point Market. Get lost in the hub­bub of the sprawl­ing diversity of stalls, selling everything from carved wood­crafts to cloth­ing to Gillette razor blades.

And with less than a year until the FIFA World Cup, you can’t miss out on tour­ing the Green Point Stadium. This new addi­tion to the area caused some con­tro­versy, being erec­ted on the old Green Point Common and spoil­ing a few pre­vi­ously unob­struc­ted views. But the R3 bil­lion, 68 000-seater con­struc­tion is a test­a­ment to South Africa’s energy and its drive to impress while front and centre on the world’s stage. (http://www.greenpointstadiumvc.co.za/).

If you prefer the more leis­urely sports, take a turn around the holes of the Metropolitan Golf Course, recently recon­struc­ted to fit around the new sta­dium (now that’s plan­ning). Or you could opt for many a South African’s favour­ite week­end pas­time (seated, cheer­ing on a game) at Hamilton’s, the old­est rugby club in South Africa.

Green Point is also not without its share of Cape Town’s nightclubs, and as soon as the sun goes down, the streets really come to life. Whether it’s cutting-edge trendy you’re after, or a visit to the Point’s array of gay and les­bian clubs (evid­ence of the area’s his­tory and repu­ta­tion as one of the most gay-friendly spots in the world), you’re sure to find some­where to get down till the sun comes up.

Flickr Photo Gallery:
See pho­to­graphs of the build­ing of the Green Point Stadium in vari­ous stages of pro­gress at Flickr.com:
http://www.flickr.com/search/show/?q=Green+Point+Stadium

Desirable Digits:
Giovanni's Deli: +27 (0)21 434‑6893
Miss K: +27 (0)21 439‑9559
Green Point Visitors Centre: +27 21 430‑0410

Useful Links:
For addi­tional des­tin­a­tion info please see:
Green Point Attractions
Things to Do in Green Point
Green Point Accommodation