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Home » Travel » South Africa » Cape Town » Bo-Kaap Neighborhood Cape Town

Bo-Kaap Neighborhood Cape Town

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Waal Street Bo Kaap Neighborhood - Cape Town, South AfricaIt’s hard not to immediately fall in love with the Bo-Kaap neighborhood of Cape Town, South Africa. With the bright pastel and fluorescent houses it’s a pretty magical place.

Bo-Kaap is a historically Muslim community. Many of its residents descend from slaves brought in by the Dutch in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Even though they came from all over Africa and Asia, they are known as the “Cape Malay” people.

Waal Street Bo Kaap Neighborhood - Cape Town, South AfricaThe houses weren’t always colorful though. They were built after emancipation by freed slaves and were originally white. At that time, it was illegal for non-white people to own property, so they were considered renters. When their descendants were finally legally allowed purchase them, they began to paint them bright colors in celebration of Eid (the end of Ramadan).

We had the chance to take a Bo-Kaap neighborhood by a resident of Bo-Kaap who lives in one of the painted houses.

We found ourselves in Bo-Kaap because I was thinking about all of the Instagram goodness, but visiting helped me learn more about the history and importance of this neighborhood. We had a tour of the neighborhood by a Bo-Kaap resident and after the tour, we cooked a Cape Malay meal in her home. It was a pretty special experience.Waal Street Bo Kaap Neighborhood - Cape Town, South AfricaColorful Houses in Cape Town, South Africa - Bo Kaap NeighborhoodWaal Street Bo Kaap Neighborhood - Cape Town, South Africa

If you’re interested in exploring Bo-Kaap neighborhood, there are a few tour options to do it. The tour we purchased as a part of our cooking class was not as detailed as I’d hoped, so I don’t want to officially recommend it. There are a couple of other options. There is a free (tip-based) guided tour that is actually associated with the hop-on hop-off tour buses. Wanderlust tours by Ursula Stevens are also highly-rated on TripAdvisor.Colorful Houses in Cape Town, South Africa - Bo Kaap NeighborhoodColorful Houses in Cape Town, South Africa - Bo Kaap NeighborhoodColorful Houses in Cape Town, South Africa - Bo Kaap Neighborhood

Outfit Deets :: Versatile Black Dress – similar // Black Leather Sandals – similar // Hair Chalk – Amazon (tutorial here) // Berry Leather Purse – similar // Stacked Gold Rings – Gorjana, Stylecable, Gorjana // Sunnies – Warby Parker //

Most photographable tourist destinations Cape Town, South Africa

Most photographable tourist destinations Cape Town, South Africa

Most photographable tourist destinations Cape Town, South AfricaThanks so much for reading A Side of Sweet! For more Sweet in your life, you can find me on Instagram, Pinterest,Facebook, YouTube, Bloglovin‘, Snapchat (@asideofsweet), or Twitter. You can also subscribe to receive a weekly email with new posts.

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February 15, 2016  â€¢  Filed Under: Cape Town, Fashion, South Africa, Style, Travel 8 Comments

Comments

  1. Melissa de Mata says

    February 16, 2016 at 7:23 pm

    The colors! LOVE!

    Reply
    • Kelly Egan - A Side of Sweet says

      February 17, 2016 at 1:10 pm

      Thanks!! Love your profile pic!

      Reply
  2. Miranda | Miranda's Notebook says

    February 16, 2016 at 10:26 pm

    What a fascinating and gorgeous place! Your photos are amazing, and I’m looking forward to hopefully hearing more about the meal you cooked too. xxx

    Reply
    • Kelly Egan - A Side of Sweet says

      February 17, 2016 at 1:17 pm

      Yay! I need to try what we learned at home and then I’ll share it on the blog!

      Reply
  3. Catherine Short says

    March 17, 2016 at 3:27 pm

    What a beautiful city! It’s shocking at first considering loud colors isn’t not common in the USA but I love it!

    Reply
    • Kelly Egan - A Side of Sweet says

      March 18, 2016 at 6:05 am

      I know! It makes me think that someone needs to organize here in San Francisco to get a block brightly-painted too!

      Reply
  4. Sharon Picone says

    January 28, 2017 at 2:53 pm

    Kelly, I’m absolutely thrilled that you showed these beautiful images of South Africa. I’m a South African expat now living in the USA, and no matter how I try to explain to Americans how beautiful South Africa is, words cannot truly express and capture its beauty. Thanks for sharing these stunning images and your experience.

    Reply
    • Kelly Egan - A Side of Sweet says

      January 29, 2017 at 8:10 pm

      Hi Sharon – Thanks so much for reading. I appreciate your kind words!

      Reply

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San Francisco Food, Fashion, Travel Blogger

Hi! I’m Kelly. I live in San Francisco with my husband, Pat, and our puppy, Maddie. Here you’ll find recipes, DIYs, style, travel & a glimpse into our adventures. To learn a little more about me, Click Here.

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