--- title: "Most walkable neighbourhoods in Cape Town (2026)" description: "20 neighbourhoods of Cape Town ranked by walkability score, from De Waterkant (98) to Clifton (12), with each one's distance from the centre." url: https://howwalkable.com/cities/south-africa/cape-town/neighbourhoods updated: 2026-10-22 license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ --- 1. [Cities](https://howwalkable.com/cities) 2. [South Africa](https://howwalkable.com/cities/south-africa) 3. [Cape Town](https://howwalkable.com/cities/south-africa/cape-town) 4. Neighbourhoods # The most walkable neighbourhoods in Cape Town By [Oscar Higson-Spence](https://howwalkable.com/about#author). Updated 22 October 2026 20 neighbourhoods of Cape Town ranked by walkability, each scored across the area around its own centre. De Waterkant leads with 98/100, then Bo-Kaap (94) and Gardens (93). 16 of the 20 score 70 or more, where most errands can be done on foot, and the lowest we rank is Clifton (12). | # | Neighbourhood | From the centre | Area scoring 70+ | Score | | -- | --------------------------------------------------------- | --------------- | ---------------- | ----- | | 1 | De Waterkant | 400 m | 100% | 98 | | 2 | [Bo-Kaap](https://howwalkable.com/cities/south-africa/cape-town/bo-kaap) | 550 m | 100% | 94 | | 3 | Gardens | 1.8 km | 100% | 93 | | 4 | Three Anchor Bay | 2.3 km | 100% | 92 | | 4 | [Sea Point](https://howwalkable.com/cities/south-africa/cape-town/sea-point) | 2.4 km | 100% | 92 | | 6 | Salt River | 4.3 km | 94% | 91 | | 7 | Foreshore | 2 km | 92% | 89 | | 8 | Tamboerskloof | 1.6 km | 82% | 87 | | 9 | Zonnebloem | 2.3 km | 81% | 82 | | 10 | [Green Point](https://howwalkable.com/cities/south-africa/cape-town/green-point) | 1.9 km | 78% | 80 | | 11 | Fresnaye | 2.9 km | 70% | 77 | | 12 | University Estate | 3.8 km | 67% | 76 | | 13 | Newlands | 7.2 km | 61% | 75 | | 14 | Ruyterwacht | 12.4 km | 62% | 72 | | 15 | Vredehoek | 2.6 km | 60% | 70 | | 15 | Walmer Estate | 3.2 km | 59% | 70 | | 17 | Mouille Point | 2.4 km | 25% | 60 | | 18 | Bantry Bay | 3.8 km | 30% | 53 | | 19 | [Oranjezicht](https://howwalkable.com/cities/south-africa/cape-town/oranjezicht) | 2.9 km | 22% | 52 | | 20 | [Clifton](https://howwalkable.com/cities/south-africa/cape-town/clifton) | 4.1 km | 0% | 12 | "From the centre" is the distance from Cape Town's busiest point to the neighbourhood's centre. "Area scoring 70+" is the share of points across the neighbourhood where most errands can be done on foot. ## The top 5 up close ### De Waterkant De Waterkant is the most central of these five, 400 m north-east of Cape Town's busiest point, and scores 98/100. It has the most cultural venues of the five: 62 within a 30 minute walk, the nearest The Galloway Theatre, about 3 minutes away. ### Bo-Kaap Bo-Kaap scores 94/100, 550 m south-west of Cape Town's busiest point. None of the others has as many banks, with 42 in a 30 minute walk; TymeBank Kiosk PNP Bo-Kaap is the nearest, about 9 minutes away. [More on Bo-Kaap](https://howwalkable.com/cities/south-africa/cape-town/bo-kaap). ### Gardens Gardens scores 93/100, 1.8 km south-west of Cape Town's busiest point. Parks are where it leads the others, 156 of them within a 30 minute walk, starting with Lower De Waal Park, about 4 minutes away. ### Three Anchor Bay Three Anchor Bay scores 92/100, 2.3 km north-west of Cape Town's busiest point. 450 everyday places are mapped within a 30 minute walk of its middle, the nearest grocery about a minute away. Its thinnest category against the others is libraries and bookshops, with 8. ### Sea Point Sea Point lies the furthest out of these five, 2.4 km west of Cape Town's busiest point, and scores 92/100. 420 everyday places are mapped within a 30 minute walk of its middle, the nearest grocery about a minute away. It has the fewest cultural venues of the five, 2. [More on Sea Point](https://howwalkable.com/cities/south-africa/cape-town/sea-point). ## Centre and outskirts The 13 neighbourhoods within 3 km of Cape Town's centre average 82, and the 7 further out average 64, so walkability falls away from the centre. The nearest to the centre, De Waterkant, 400 m away, scores 98, and the farthest, Ruyterwacht, 12.4 km out, scores 72. ![Map of Cape Town's 20 ranked neighbourhoods around its centre, numbered by rank and coloured by score, with rings every 5 km. The most walkable is De Waterkant, 400 m to the north-east; the least, Clifton, 4.1 km to the south-west.](https://howwalkable.com/maps/south-africa/cape-town/neighbourhoods.svg?v=c5443f620d53) Each dot is a ranked neighbourhood, numbered by rank and coloured by score, placed by its distance and direction from the centre of Cape Town. Cape Town as a whole scores [74 out of 100](https://howwalkable.com/cities/south-africa/cape-town) across the 5 km around its centre. Other cities in South Africa with ranked neighbourhoods: [Durban](https://howwalkable.com/cities/south-africa/durban/neighbourhoods), [Johannesburg](https://howwalkable.com/cities/south-africa/johannesburg/neighbourhoods), [Pretoria](https://howwalkable.com/cities/south-africa/pretoria/neighbourhoods). ## Questions about Cape Town's neighbourhoods ### What is the most walkable neighbourhood in Cape Town? De Waterkant is the most walkable of the 20 neighbourhoods we rank in Cape Town, with a walkability score of 98 out of 100 (Walker's Paradise). It is followed by Bo-Kaap (94) and Gardens (93). ### Which neighbourhoods of Cape Town are least walkable? Of the 20 neighbourhoods we rank, the lowest scoring are Clifton (12), Oranjezicht (52) and Bantry Bay (53). These are the best-known neighbourhoods with their own Wikipedia articles, so less walkable outer suburbs that are not ranked may score lower still. ### How are Cape Town's neighbourhoods ranked? Each neighbourhood is scored at points 100 m to 500 m apart across a circle around its centre, sized to its area, and its score is the mean of those points. Each point's score counts the groceries, restaurants, shops, schools, parks and other everyday places within a 30 minute walk, as described in the methodology. Cape Town scores 74 across the 5 km around its centre. This page is generated from open map data with a published walkability method, explained in the [methodology](https://howwalkable.com/methodology). Places from Overture Maps release 2026-09-23.1. Neighbourhoods and where they lie from Overture Maps and Wikidata. Scores, rankings and text by How Walkable (https://howwalkable.com), licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/); credit How Walkable and link to this page when reusing them.