After the mountain, the V&A Waterfront is the top Cape Town attraction, enjoyed by locals and tourists alike. Shopping is just one of the many activities offered by this stunning ocean-side precinct.

Shopping at the Waterfront includes the Victoria Wharf Shopping Centre, the Red Shed Craft Centre, the Craft Market and Wellness Centre near the Aquarium, and the Clock Tower Centre near the Robben Island Ferry.
As well as international clothes brands, you'll find proudly South African designers such as Jenny Button and Kluk, and Carrol Boyes' world-famous quirky silverware.

The V&A Waterfront
• Website: www.waterfront.co.za
• Tel: 021 408 7600

Otherwise known as the Salt River Market, the Neighbour Goods Market is found in the Old Biscuit Mill in Salt River, an area between Woodstock and Observatory. It's a fairly new complex of boutiques, galleries and speciality stores, and includes a large area occupied by superb stores on Saturday mornings.

The market offers a feast of natural foods, such as all-organic fresh produce and other wholesome goodies. Work up a superior shopping list that includes organic herbs, fresh fruit and vegetables, pancakes, coffee, Cape cheese and wine, extra virgin olive oil, cured meat, shucked oysters and fresh fish, mushrooms, beautiful bread and olives, condiments, organic milk, a variety of handmade lavender, chilli and dark chocolate, and so much deliciously more ...

Once you're sated, you'll find the market's vintage clothing, super cool handmade shoes, excellent gear by top South African designers, and original jewelry by award-winning homegrown designers. You can customise your own screen-printed T-shirts, and find anything from cute plastic baubles to quality vintage belt buckles and clutch purses, as well as limited edition wrapping paper and stationery.

The rest of the complex is open during normal business hours throughout the week, and the market operates between 9am and 3pm every Saturday, come rain or shine.

A stroll down Long Street will give you a taste of Cape Town in all its unique glory. One of the oldest in the city, the street is rich with original Capetonian architecture, including old Victorian structures with "broekie lace" cast-iron balconies. It has plenty of great side streets down which you'll find anything from speciality hardware stores to retro cafés. It's a lively, colourful area crammed full of antique charm and fashionable youth.

Old bookshops and antique arcades lie happily side by side with vibrant, youthful street-fashion stores. Before you decide whether to spend your money at the rare CD and vinyl store - don't miss 134 Long Street African Music Store with great stuff from all over Africa - or the comics shop, you can have a gourmet burger at the Royale Eatery, which both exhibits contemporary art and creates burgers which are themselves works of art.
If you're less into antiques and books and more into clothes and accessories, there are loads of creative fashion boutiques that strongly distinguish themselves from mass-produced, conventional clothing stores, at a reasonable price. Most of these stores stock fashion designed and made in Cape Town. Shops not to miss are Milk, Misfit, Ska and Yin.

Kalk Bay is a winsome little fishing village dating back to the 17th century, nestled snugly in the narrow strip between the mountains and the ocean. Lying on the False Bay coast between Muizenberg and Fishhoek, it's about a 30-minute drive from the city centre. A special little place, the village offers over 20 restaurants and a wealth of beautiful old shops.

For antiques, leather furniture and a multitude of vintage treasures, you won't have far to look. Quagga Trading sells upscale and original interiors. At Aladdin's Cave (also a great restaurant - especially for breakfast) and Graciously Ancient, you'll find fantastic and affordable antique jewellery, coins and other precious things. Stacks and stacks of interesting porcelain and china can be found at China Town. Probably the most enchanting of all is the Kalk Bay Trading Post at Kalk Bay train station - you can't miss it. It is filled with innumerable precious things from all over the world; old annuals for kids and vintage board games, jewellery, vinyls and bric-a-brac of all kinds line the shelves.

The Pan African Market

The Pan African Market on Long Street is a three-storey arcade housed in a beautiful old colonial building. Here you'll find antique masks and carvings from across the continent.
As well as the impressive antiques, you can also buy cheaper contemporary art in wire, beads, paper and wood. You'll find beadwork knick-knacks and paper lights in the shapes of animals, even carvings of beloved comic character Tintin and friends ' slightly Africanised, of course. You'll also find traditional African textiles and clothes.

Greenmarket Square

Near the Pan African Market is Greenmarket Square, South Africa's oldest market ' initially, as its name suggests a place for farmers to sell their produce.

Lying just below Long Street between Shortmarket and Longmarket Streets, the square offers some fantastic craft gems - unfortunately hidden between mounds of accumulated mass-produced and overpriced curios. For its few faults the market remains a historic part of Cape Town, well worth a look.

The Parade Market

A place not to miss is the Parade Market on the Grand Parade, near the historic Cape Town City Hall - where Nelson Mandela made his first public appearance after his release from 27 years in jail. The market lies on Cape Town's original military parade, which later played host to oriental textile purveyors - there are still many fabric shops in the area.

It's now Cape Town's version of the Joburg Oriental Plaza, where you can buy kohl eyeliner and Islamic artifacts alongside stationery, leather bags, skin cream and CD cases. The Parade Market offers bargains galore, in an area of the city seldom seen by tourists.

Roadside markets

If it's markets you're after, don't miss the roadside emporiums between Camps Bay and Llandudno on the Atlantic seaboard. Here you'll find a wealth of African crafts at knock-down prices, and, again, don't be afraid to haggle. You could even go home with a zebra skin.