What can you do in Cape Town after sunset? Are there any Cape Town Night Market where you can buy the local produce as well as imported goods? Are the Cape Town Night Markets are also thrown open to the three ‘D’s that are:
- Dine
- Drink
- Dance
Let us become nocturnal shoppers in Cape Town, South Africa’s most bustling city and also the most visited tourist city in South Africa.
I enjoyed a short stint of shopping during the night in Singapore. I thoroughly liked night shopping because of:
- Beautifully lit shops
- Innovative displays
- Cute sales girls who are not all that enthusiastic to serve me till I approached them with questions
- Plenty of ‘buy one, get one free’ offers
- Antiques and latest gadgets
- Drinks from various countries, especially beers
- Cuisine of several continents
- Mind-boggling food
Since I am about to go on a trip to Cape Town, I did meticulous research about night-time shopping in Cape Town, what can I buy as souvenirs, the best bars on sidewalks, and where can I eat authentic but cheap African cuisine in roadside shops.
Must visit Cape Town Night Market
In this blog post, I share my findings related to night-time shopping in Cape Town Night Market.
-
V&A Waterfront Cape Town Night Market
I placed the V&A market at the top of the list of Cape Town Night Market because it is a waterfront shopping area. Somehow, I developed a great liking to drink and dine in a promenade. The atmosphere in a place facing a water body such as a lake or sea is much more relaxed than in a steel and glass cage shopping mall. Are you with me?
Here, enter the ‘wharf’ and see what can you drink and dine in this most visited shopping area in Cape Town. I do not have a video of V&A Wharf shot in the night.
I think this video showed all the most popular drinking and dining kiosks in the wharf.
It is sad that the V&A Waterfront closes by 9 pm but before that, you can buy cakes and pastries, drink beer and cognac, window shop for gadgets and electronics and more.
-
V&A food market-Cape Town Night Market
Well, as the name indicates, this Cape Town Night Market as well as daytime market is full of countless street food stalls. The aroma of food cooking can force you to try as many delicacies as possible, washing them down with chilled beer.
It is a multi-floor shopping mall that is exclusively dedicated to eating.
So, what are all the foods that you noticed?
I could recognize:
- Ice creams
- Sandwich ice cream
- Cakes and pastries
- Fresh coffee
- Salads
- Fresh fruit juices
- Muffins
Live music is also on during the night.
-
Hout Bay Cape Town Night Market
The Hout Bay Market is another day and night market that is located on a waterfront. Hout Bay market sells more of local foods and juices than imported gourmet goods that you saw in the video of the V&A Waterfront market.
I read ‘smoothies’ made of local seasonal fruits sell like ‘hot cakes’. Is it wise enough to say juices selling like ‘cakes’?
There are 100+ shops in this seaside shopping area that favors the local village goods and handicrafts. Yes, you can eat hot meat topped with an amazing varieties of sauces, buy jewelry made of glass, wool, and beads.
I think is a weekend market that opens to the public from Friday evening onwards but closes on Sunday late night.
You can’t miss spotting the ‘bagel’ that seems ubiquitous in the food stalls of Hout Bay.
Have you ever seen a bunch of African tourists roaming in your city? They used to wear pure cotton dress printed with flowers and plants. Those cotton dresses are cool, bright, and long-lasting.
You can buy such African cotton dress materials from most of the Cape Town’s night markets.
An additional attraction of Hout Bay Cape Town Night Market shopping is a visit to the infamous ‘dungeons’, a surfing spot actually but it is also a place where seals are fed by by the tourists.
-
Victoria Wharf shopping center
Oh, yes! One more waterfront shopping that gets really busy in night. Here, the dining experience will pinch your wallet because of high-end restaurants and trendy bars.
The Victoria Wharf shopping mall is mainly visited late in the evening because only then the restaurants and cafes go all out in serving international food including the ‘sushi’ the pride of Japan.
-
Woodstock, Cape Town
If you want to look at authentic African antiques, the Woodstock must be your destination. For anything African, be it food, dress or even furniture, Woodstock shopping district is the complete solution.
The Woodstock shopping area is where you find several ‘hipster cafes’ that sell coffee.
Places of importance in Woodstock, Cape Town
- Old biscuit mill
- Old Castle Brewery
-
Cape Town Night Market: Blue Bird Market
Since a plane’s hangar is transformed into a night market, this is called a ‘garage market’.
Muizenberg is a suburban area of Cape Town that is known for several night markets, the famous being the Blue Bird Garage Market haunted by compulsive nocturnal shoppers who are touring Cape Town.
Of course, there is food and drink, abundance of them but also goods made by the local artisans who display their wares that include porcelain cutlery, even ceramic jewelry, books, and clothes.
The vibe is a relaxed tone, the drinks are as colorful as the South Africans, and the food is very local assuring you of purity and unforgettable taste.
Of these 6 Cape Town Night Market, Woodstock captured my attention more. It is going to be my first visit to Cape Town.
