Cape Town - the most beautiful city in the world

I'll admit, Cape Town may not be the most beautiful city in the world. (After all, I haven't seen all the cities out there, so there may well be some that put Cape Town to shame.) But I doubt it.

So, a few facts - Cape Town is the southernmost city in Africa. It is snuggled at the base of Table Mountain - an enormous flat-topped mountain which gives the City an iconic skyline. The sky is big, and the sea stretches out in every direction.

The region has provided some important fossil finds and cave paintings suggesting a human history that goes back to mankind's earliest days. However the written history began in 1486 with the discovery of the Cape by Portuguese explorer Batholomeu Diaz. The city itself was properly founded in 1652 by Jan van Riebeeck, who was tasked with creating a town to service ships on the way to the East Indies.

After a number of European wars saw the colony switch between the British and Dutch, Britain finally took control in the early 1800s. As a result, it is often seen as the most English of South African cities.

When South Africa gained independence, the apartheid years began. For many years South Africa fell off the tourist map. (Apologies for skimming over this period, but it's a topic that deserves more than a travel-related hub to do it justice.) Even so, the city continued to develop and while it is the seat of the South African parliament, it has always been one of the more liberal areas of the country. Cape Town shot into the spotlight when Nelson Mandela was released from prison in 1990 and was first seen by many making a speech from the City Hall.

The Cape really does have something for everyone. The beaches are beautiful, plentiful and easily accessible. It should be noted that the sea is pretty cold - so don't plan on doing a lot of sea swimming.

The mountain has a number of hiking routes ranging in difficulty - though all require reasonable fitness. Plus there is a cable car that will take you up, down or both. It offers one of the best views of the city, and it rotates so everyone gets a good look.

South Africans love sport, and there are some world class facilities for watching cricket and rugby in particular (current world champions), as well as football of course - with South Africa hosting the World Cup in 2010.

If you're less of a spectator, you can go diving, para-sailing, windsurfing, play golf, paintball, or go for a shark dive.

This is a strangely popular excursion where you climb into a shark cage while people on the boat do everything possible to attract great white sharks. Cape Town is one of the best places to see great whites, due to the large seal colonies. If you take a boat trip out to seal island, you might even sea a great white leaping out of the water like a whale. (This is apparently the only place where they hunt like this - something to do with the rapidly shelving sea floor I think.)

Dining out in South Africa is usually a treat. The quality of food is very good, and the service is usually excellent. (As a benchmark, there aren't many McDonald's in SA - I think it's because the local burger joints are much better.)

Red meat is very popular as is sea food. You can also be sure of a variety of types of food - and with a favourable exchange rate, dining out is even better value for money than many other countries.

Wine. The Cape is the South Africa's wine growing region and produces some very high quality wine. Although often referred to as a new world producer, South Africa has been producing wines for hundreds of years. Going on the wine route is a well established treat for locals and tourists, and you can choose to visit large old wine producing farms as well as more modern operations. Many offer low cost wine tasting, while some still offer free tastings. Some of the bigger farms have award winning restaurants, and some offer you picnic lunches to enjoy outdoors.

Luckily Cape Town and South Africa in general are serviced by a good range of well respected international airlines. You can fly direct to Cape Town or via Johannesburg or even Windhoek (which is in Namibia). British Airways and South African airways offer the most frequent flights, but you can get some good deals if you're prepared to take a much longer light with a long stopover.

I recommend checking out:

www.opodo.com

www.cheaptickets.com

www.orbitz.com

Plus British Airways directly as they occasionally have some good deals - www.britishairways.com.

Of course, if you have a bit more time on your hands Cape Town is one of the world's most famous ports, so arriving by boat is a definite option. I've met many sailors who say that the first view of Table Mountain from the sea is a view they will never forget.

This is easy.

1. Start saving for your next holiday.

2. Start searching flight comparison sites for good deals.

3. Start thinking of different ways to say 'I had the best holiday ever - this way it may take you a bit longer to annoy all your friends when you bang on about what a great time you had.