Why Cape Town is Africa's gem

Houses in Cape Town with a view of Table Mountain and the Atlantic Ocean    PHOTO  ;  COURTESY

South Africa: The Barnards, Irishman Andrew Barnard and his Scottish wife Lady Anne Lindsay, moved into their new home in February 1800. This was the Vineyard.

According to the history of the Vineyard written by Jill Baikoff around this time, George III sat precariously on the throne of England: “Napoleon was on his way to glory and Beethoven had completed his first symphony.” Today, more than 200 years later, the house is still called the Vineyard, but it is a hotel. It is a quaint place, seated quietly amidst the whistling leaves of a lush garden under the patient gaze of Table Mountain.