Cape Town has always reminded me of San Francisco. From the whitewashed buildings to the nearby wine country, from the creeping fog to the incredible coastal views, the Mother City certainly shares parallels with the City by the Bay.
Oh, and then there’s also the large LGBTQ community: Cape Town is a progressive traveler’s dream, with marriage equality, a great art scene, incredible restaurants and some very fun gay bars and clubs. The country has started to slowly open up after its initial Covid-19 shutdown, although leisure visitors from the U.S. are not permitted at this time.
Sam Marais is a yoga instructor and former drag artist who lives in Cape Town; he previously performed as Samantha Knight at Beefcakes in the city. Marais said that the city has changed in the past five years, with more seasonality — the scene really thrives between December and March.
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“We have a few clubs, hangouts and parties during the season. That always lures the gays out of hibernation, but from what I can tell attendance has gone down,” Marais reported. “In my opinion, that is a wonderful thing for this reason: the locals have a standing joke that says Cape Town isn’t gay-friendly, it’s straight-friendly. The entire city has become a safe space for us to enjoy and be ourselves — and isn’t that we wanted all along? [Author] Gary Zukav said that communities don’t bring people together, they keep them apart.”
Marais also said he thinks that the queer community in Cape Town has become more health aware and interested in outdoor activities, of which Cape Town has an abundance: surfing, beaches, nude beaches, hiking, kayaking, park runs, etc.
“These are activities in Cape Town that are completely inclusive and accepting of the LGBTQ community. And, of course, there are plenty of private/house parties to attend,” he said.
Enver Duminy, the CEO of Cape Town Tourism, said that the LGBTQ market is an important one for his city.
“This is more than a niche market for us,” he said. “We value the fascination that the LGBTQ market has with exploration and seek to reach those would-be travelers wherever we can by showcasing what’s on offer, whether that’s in traditional and trade media or at trade shows and events.”
For a quick stopover in the city, a trip up Table Mountain Cableway is essential, and that could be followed by a hop-on, hop-off bus trip to wineries in Stellenbosch or Franschhoek (each located about an hour away) and then a wonderful sunset dinner.
Other must-sees include Robben Island where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned; an art tour of one of the local townships; the lovely V&A Waterfront area; and the African penguins colony at Boulders Beach.
Currently, most bars and restaurants are open again with limited capacity and a curfew at midnight. For food and nightlife, Marais has many suggestions.
“Well, obviously Beefcakes,” he said. “Other nominees worth mentioning would be Crew Bar, Harrington’s, Pink Panther, Manhattans, Village Idiot, Mojo Market, the Bungalow, Zer021, Blue Peter, Truth Coffee Roasting and the V&A Waterfront.”
