The Victoria and Alfred Waterfront, a multi-billion rand development, is a really exciting place to be. More importantly for South Africa, it feels a safe place to be.

The Alfred Basin is the working harbour but alongside it is the Waterfront Craft Market, one of South Africa's biggest indoor markets. There is also a Maritime Museum and the Two Oceans Aquarium. The Victoria Basin has a huge amphitheatre and regularly stages free concerts, so there is a background of music as you wander around some of the hundreds of shops and eating outlets. The Red Shed is filled with African crafts, while in the Kings Warehouse the catch of the day is stacked side by side with vegetables, herbs, spices and hand-rolled pasta. The whole atmosphere is colourful and exuberant.

Of course it is from this harbour that you sail to Robben Island, which is an unforgettable experience. The whole island is now a museum and you are actually taken around by men and women who were once political prisoners on the island. A stark reminder that what lies on the mainland is very, very new.

www.waterfront.co.za

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