Photo: Randy OHC

There are few places to while away an afternoon as serene and peaceful as the Kirstenbosch Gardens in Cape Town.

It may be true that every city has a botanical gardens, but there’s something very special about this one. The Kirstenbosch Gardens are vast, for starters, with different areas for succulents, flowers, trees, forest and open lawns. In fact, they’re so vast that you might well get lost the first time you go there. There’s a lovely tea garden / restaurant where you can have a bite to eat or a pot of tea while you look out over the sweepi.jpgng lawns. There are hundreds and thousands of interesting plants and birds and perfect spots to lie down in the shade and read till you fall asleep.

But most of all, there are the Summer Sunset Concerts. Every summer, from November to April, the gardens are opened up at sunset on Sunday afternoons to hordes of music lovers who descend on the stretch of lawn facing the stage to pi.jpgcnic, drink wine, catch up with friends and generally lounge around in the warm evening air while listening to music. Rock, pop, classical, fusion – you name it, you’ll find it at the Summer Sunset Concerts. Probably one of the top 5 best things about Cape Town (and a great excuse to stick around until November!)