Company Gardens in Cape Town

Company's Garden is a large Public Park and Botanical Garden set in the heart of Cape Town home to: a Rose Garden; Japanese Garden; Fish Pond and Aviary. Which  date back the 1650's. The Company's Garden is situated, past the back of Parliament and 'Tuynhuys', the President’s official Residence when in the Mother City. Lunch hour, in Company's Garden is generally teeming with locals, who seek out the fresh air and beautiful views of Table Mountain. The tree-lined Avenue, with its benches and resident squirrels, forms a pathway between the Suburb of Gardens and the City centre, and there are a number of other important buildings within the garden - the South African Museum, the Planetarium and the South African Art Gallery included. 

The Company's Garden is the oldest garden in the country. It has its origins in Jan van Riebeeck’s Vegetable Garden, which he grew to feed the original colony as early as 1652, but a little closer to the coast. In a bid to plant in more fertile soil, on ground sheltered from the wind, he moved his garden with its northern boundary on Wale Street, and this is where it stands today. 

The Company's Garden is intricately bound with the arts in South Africa. Not only is there an art gallery within the park, but it is also the venue of a number of festivals, including the Human Rights Concert and the Youth Festival. The likes of South Africa’s popular band: “Freshlyground”, has performed here, and there is a permanent craft market, which has invited some 20 crafters to market their products directly to the public from the gardens, stimulating job creation and attracting tourists to the city centre. Lying in the uppermost corner of Company Gardens, with their entrance on Parliament Street, it’s not unusual for locals and visitors alike to encounter Members of Parliament in coffee shops or restaurants in the surrounding areas; and journalists. The South African Museum is the oldest museum in sub-Saharan Africa! The South African Museum, has been adding to their collections for nearly 200 years and was established in 1825. Collections here range from fossils to insects and fish!

In the Company Gardens, opposite the South African Museum on Government Avenue, the South African National Gallery houses some of the most beautiful collections of South African, African, British, French, Dutch and Flemish art in the South.