About the neighborhood
Part of Cape Town, in Western Cape, South Africa
De Waterkant is a historic suburb in Cape Town, South Africa, and is well-known for being Cape Town's gay village.
The neighborhood is located in the City Bowl region of Cape Town, adjacent to the central business district (CBD), on the southeastern end of Somerset Road. To the south, it is neighbored by the historically Cape Malay neighborhood of Bo-Kaap.
It contains many vibrantly-colored buildings, lining its sometimes still cobbled streets. creating a very distinct and enjoyable atmosphere.
De Waterkant is popular among young professionals and tourists, and contains numerous niche restaurants and retailers. The area is also home to the Cape Quarter shopping mall and tertiary education institution Vega's Cape Town campus.
Cape Town's Gayborhood
De Waterkant is a gay village, and a neighborhood, destination, and tourist attraction, for members of the LGBTQIA+ community, as well as those interested in supporting the community.
Cape Town is a historically very friendly and welcoming city for members of the community, and is known as the Gay Capital of Africa, being a popular LGBTQIA+ tourist destination.
De Waterkant contains Cape Town's first rainbow crosswalk, installed in 2022 to celebrate the LGBTQIA+ community, as well as the Pink Route, which is a painted, pink line along the pavements of various streets in the area. The Route is a way for visitors to the suburb to take a guided walk around the area, taking them past numerous community-related establishments, in order to get to know it better.
The annual Cape Town Pride parade starts in De Waterkant, with a ribbon cutting ceremony at the rainbow crossing in Somerset Road, followed by a march to the Green Point Track grounds, for Pride-related festivities.
References
Further reading
Rink, Bradley Michael (2008). Village People: Quartering De Waterkant in discourse and bricks (Ph.D. thesis). University of Cape Town. Retrieved 30 June 2014.
Media related to De Waterkant at Wikimedia Commons
City Bowl Bo-Kaap
Cape Town CBD
De Waterkant
Devil's Peak Estate
District Six
Foreshore
Gardens
Higgovale
Lower Vrede
Oranjezicht
Robben Island
Schotsche Kloof
Tamboerskloof
University Estate
Vredehoek
Walmer Estate
Woodstock
Zonnebloem
Helderberg Eerste River
Faure
Firgrove
Gordon's Bay
Macassar
Sir Lowry's Pass Village
Somerset West Parel Vallei
Strand Lwandle
Nomzamo
Northern Suburbs Acacia Park
Belhar
Bellville Boston
Eversdal
Kenridge
Stellenberg
Blue Downs
Bonteheuwel
Bothasig
Brackenfell
Delft Blikkiesdorp
Durbanville
Edgemead
Elsie's River
Fisantekraal
Goodwood
Joostenbergvlakte
Kensington
Kraaifontein
Kuils River
Loevenstein
Maitland
Mfuleni
Monte Vista
Ndabeni
Norwood
Panorama
Parow
Philadelphia
Plattekloof
Ravensmead
Richwood
Scottsdene
Sonnestraal
Tygerberg
Tyger Valley
Wallacedene
Southern Suburbs Bergvliet Kreupelbosch
Bishopscourt
Claremont Harfield Village
Constantia
Diep River
Epping
Grassy Park Pelican Park
Heathfield
Kenilworth
Kirstenhof
Langa Joe Slovo
Lakeside
Lotus River
Marina da Gama
Meadowridge
Mowbray
Muizenberg
Newlands
Observatory
Pinelands
Plumstead
Retreat
Rondebosch
Rosebank
Salt River
Southfield
Steenberg
Thornton
Tokai
Westlake
Wetton
Wynberg
South Peninsula Capri Village
Clovelly
Da Gama Park
Fish Hoek
Glencairn
Hangberg
Hout Bay
Imizamo Yethu
Kalk Bay
Kommetjie
Masiphumelele
Noordhoek
Ocean View
Scarborough
Simon's Town
St James
Sunnydale
Sun Valley
Vrygrond
Neighbourhoods Victoria & Alfred Waterfront
Public art Statues Nelson Mandela
Cecil Rhodes
Nobel Square
George Grey
Jan Hendrik Hofmeyer
Jan van Riebeeck
Maria van Riebeeck
Bartolomeu Dias
Religion Anglican Diocese of Cape Town
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cape Town
Religious buildings Auwal Mosque
Gardens Shul
Greek Orthodox Cathedral of St George
Groote Kerk
Lutheran Church in Strand Street
Nurul Islam Mosque
Palm Tree Mosque
Queen Victoria Mosque
St. George's Cathedral
St. James Church
St. Mary's Cathedral
Secular architecture Cape Dutch architecture
Tallest buildings in Cape Town
Athlone Power Station
Atterbury House
Bertram House
Boshofpoort
Cape Town City Hall
Cape Town Civic Centre
Castle of Good Hope
Centre for the Book
Coornhoop
Disa Park
Egyptian Building
Genadendal Residence
Hawthorndon House
Houses of Parliament
Huguenot Memorial Building
Leeuwenhof
Mandela Rhodes Building
Metlife Centre
Mutual Building
Naspers Centre
Portside Tower
Rhodes Memorial
Royal Observatory
Triangle House
Media Newspapers Cape Times
The Cape Messenger
Radio and television Bush Radio
CapeTalk
Cape Town TV
Fine Music Radio
Good Hope FM
Kfm 94.5
UCT Radio
Voice of the Cape
Outline
People Zackie Achmat
Edwin Cameron
Pierre de Vos
Simon Nkoli
Pieter-Dirk Uys
Beverley Palesa Ditsie
Somizi Mhlongo
Caster Semenya
Portia Modise
Gert-Johan Coetzee
Zanele Muholi
Zakhele Mbhele
Lynne Brown
Mike Waters
Ian Ollis
Organisations Lesbian and Gay Equality Project
Organisation of Lesbian and Gay Activists
SistaazHood
Triangle Project
SportJozi CatsLanguages Gayle language
IsiNgqumo
Gay villages De Waterkant
Melville
Events Mr Gay South Africa
Out In Africa Film Festival
Pride parades Cape Town Pride
Media Wrapped (magazine)
IssuesCorrective rapeOther Timeline
LGBTQ tourism in Cape Town
Pride flag
Category:LGBTQ in South Africa
Encyclopedic content adapted from the Wikipedia article on De Waterkant, used under CC BY-SA 4.0.
