Company's Garden sits in the heart of Cape Town at 15 Queen Victoria St, a free public park that began in 1652 as the Dutch East India Company's vegetable plot supplying passing ships. Today the six-hectare grounds run between St George's Cathedral and Government Avenue, bordered by the South African Museum, the National Gallery and Parliament. Open daily from 7:00 to 19:00, the garden's oak-lined paths, aviary and resident grey squirrels make it a natural rest stop for anyone walking between the Company's Garden precinct and Long Street. It remains one of the oldest continuously cultivated gardens in the country.
How to spend an hour in Company's Garden
Enter from Government Avenue near the cathedral and walk the central oak avenue, planted with trees dating back over a century, toward the old Company's Garden fountain. This straight, shaded corridor stays cool even at midday and is where you'll spot the descendants of squirrels introduced from North America by Cecil Rhodes in the early 1900s. Bring a handful of unsalted nuts and they'll approach within a metre, a habit that's become part of the garden's daily rhythm.
Past the fountain, the rose garden and succulent beds near the Iziko South African Museum give a slower fifteen-minute detour, especially in September and October when the roses peak. The small aviary near the Homestead restaurant houses guinea fowl, ducks and pigeons and costs nothing to view, though feeding is discouraged by posted signs. Benches line every section, so a full loop with stops rarely takes more than 45 minutes if you're not lingering at the museums.
If time is short, the most efficient route runs from the Queen Victoria St entrance straight past the fountain to the Company's Garden Restaurant, then loops back via the rose beds. This shorter version covers the garden's best-known features in about 25 minutes and suits anyone slotting a walk between the District Six Museum and the V&A Waterfront shuttle.
Company's Garden squirrels and feeding etiquette
The grey squirrels that give the garden its informal nickname among locals were brought from North America and released here around 1900, and their descendants now number in the hundreds across the grounds. They're most active in the cooler morning hours between 7:00 and 10:00, before the midday heat sends them into the oak canopy. Regular visitors often carry small bags of peanuts, and the squirrels have learned to approach benches near the central avenue without much hesitation.
Feeding is tolerated but not officially encouraged, and staff ask that visitors avoid bread or processed snacks, which don't suit the squirrels' diet. Raw, unsalted nuts or seeds are the better choice if you want a close encounter for photos. Keep food low and let them approach rather than reaching toward them, since a few have grown bold enough to jump onto laps or shoulders when they smell a snack.
Early risers get the best interactions, since school groups and tour parties tend to fill the paths by mid-morning, especially on weekdays during term time. Weekend mornings before 9:00 offer a quieter window when the paths near the fountain are mostly locals walking dogs or reading on benches, giving squirrels less competition for attention.
Museums and landmarks around Company's Garden
The Iziko South African Museum sits on the garden's eastern edge and charges around R30 for adults, covering natural history exhibits and the Planetarium next door. Across the lawn, the Iziko National Gallery holds South Africa's largest art collection, with entry priced similarly and free access on selected heritage days. Both museums keep hours close to the garden's own, generally 10:00 to 17:00, so a combined visit works well if you arrive after a morning walk.
At the garden's northern end, the South African Parliament buildings and Tuynhuys, the president's Cape Town office, mark the transition from park to government precinct; security is visible here and photography near the gates is limited. St George's Cathedral, where Archbishop Desmond Tutu once preached, borders the Government Avenue entrance and is open to visitors most afternoons outside of services. These landmarks mean the garden functions as much as a civic corridor as a leisure space.
The Slave Lodge, one of the oldest buildings in Cape Town, sits just beyond the garden's Adderley Street corner and details the city's slave history through room-by-room exhibits, with entry around R40. Because these sites cluster within a five-minute walk of each other, many people treat the garden as a base camp, ducking into one museum before returning to the shade for a break.
Best time to visit Company's Garden for fewer crowds
Weekday mornings, particularly Tuesday through Thursday between 7:00 and 9:00, are the quietest stretch, with mostly office workers cutting through and a handful of joggers. By 11:00 on weekends, tour buses parked along Queen Victoria St bring groups heading to the museums, and the central avenue near the fountain gets noticeably busier through early afternoon. If your priority is photographs without crowds, aim for opening time.
Cape Town's dry summer months, November through February, bring the longest daylight and the busiest foot traffic, since the garden stays pleasant into the evening before the 19:00 closing. Winter visits, June through August, mean fewer people but also bare branches on some deciduous trees and a chance of rain showers that clear the paths quickly. Autumn (April-May) offers a middle ground with mild temperatures and the oak canopy still full.
Lunchtime on weekdays, roughly 12:00 to 14:00, draws office workers from the surrounding government and business district who eat on benches near the fountain, filling the shaded seating fastest. If you want a bench to yourself, the far end near the Hyphen art space or the quieter succulent garden sections stay less trafficked even during this peak window.
Getting to Company's Garden in Cape Town
The main pedestrian entrance sits on Government Avenue, reachable on foot from Adderley Street in under ten minutes if you're coming from the Cape Town train station or Golden Acre precinct. MyCiTi buses stop along Wale Street and Long Street within a five-to-eight-minute walk, making the garden an easy add-on to a Bo-Kaap or Long Street outing without needing a car.
Street parking around Queen Victoria St and Roeland Street is metered and often full on weekdays before 9:00, so many visitors park at the nearby Cape Town Station parkade and walk in. Ride-hail drop-offs work smoothly at the Government Avenue gate, since it's a pedestrian-only stretch just past the drop-off point.
Because the garden connects directly to the museum district and Parliament precinct, it's common to enter from one side and exit through another rather than doubling back. If you're continuing to the V&A Waterfront afterward, the MyCiTi stop on Long Street is about a twelve-minute walk from the garden's northern gate.
