Market shopping
Greenmarket Square is probably Cape Town's best-known market. Photo courtesy DanieVDM
Cape Town is renowned for its markets – Greenmarket Square and Milnerton Flea Market are two of the most popular.
Other markets in Cape Town include:
- Alphen Antiques and Collectables Fair
- Kirstenbosch Craft Market
- Church Street Antiques Market
- Hout Bay Craft Market
- Nitida Food Market
- Porter Estate Produce Market
- Willowbridge Slow Market
- The Neighbourgoods Market, Woodstock
Greenmarket Square
In the heart of Cape Town’s business district, you’ll find Greenmarket Square. The square has quite a reputation – it has been a slave market, a fruit and vegetable market and, during the 1950s, a humble parking lot.
These days it’s just the place to look for clothing, glassware, hand-painted fabrics, footwear, music, sunglasses and curios from all over Cape Town and Africa.
Greenmarket Square is the ultimate flea market – not only will you find a wide range of goods to buy, there is also entertainment in the form of buskers, mime artists and jugglers, especially on Saturday mornings and other busy times.
The market is a big success and as a result surrounding businesses continue to prosper – there are loads of coffee shops and restaurants in the vicinity – so take time out to sit at a sidewalk table and watch the world go by.
Monday to Saturday between 09h00 and 16h00, in the square that dissects Burg Street and between Longmarket and Shortmarket streets
Milnerton Flea Market
Milnerton Flea Market is great for bric-a-brac. Photo supplied by Milnerton Flea Market
While Milnerton Flea Market started in the Cape Town suburb of Milnerton many years ago, today it takes place on Marine Drive (R27) opposite the Metro Industrial Park in Paarden Eiland, a stone’s throw away from Lagoon Beach in Milnerton.
At 07h00 on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays (with the exception of Christmas and Easter) over 200 stalls spring up, weather permitting, and turn the open tract of land just off the R27 – equivalent to four rugby fields – into a hive of activity.
The market’s biggest attraction, and what it became famous for, is the wide variety of used items on sale, ranging from humble domestic tools and utensils to bric-a-brac, collectables, militaria and antiques at bargain prices. Many a dusty or unloved painting or piece of porcelain has resurfaced here, and now graces a more caring home somewhere in South Africa or abroad. You can also browse the mobile food stalls catering to every taste, enjoying the day’s fare with Table Mountain as your backdrop.
The market is child- and animal-friendly. Not only is the open-air trading area surrounded by a safety fence, but, after 08h00, no vehicles or bikes of any sort are allowed into the trading area. There are also seating facilities at most of the food stalls and broad walkways suitable for prams and wheelchairs. Toilets are plentiful and clean.
For public convenience, the extensive parking areas on the north and south sides of the market are constantly supervised by parking attendants. Trading and all other market-related activities are monitored and supervised by committee officials and designated groundsmen. Entrance to the market and its parking facilities are free of charge to the visiting public.
MITA, the Milnerton Informal Traders’ Association and the market’s governing body, is a registered non-profit organisation and prides itself on what is arguably Cape Town’s most diverse outdoor market and famous landmark for bargain hunters.
Hours: The market is open on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays (excluding Christmas and Easter) from 07h00 to 15h00, weather permitting.
Directions: To reach the Milnerton Flea Market, take the N1 from Cape Town and turn left at the Exit 4 off-ramp onto the R27. About three kilometres after the turn-off, the market will become visible on the left-hand side of the road.
Contact details: Enquiries can be addressed to info@milnertonfleamarket.co.za or PO Box 341, Paarden Eiland, 7420.
Contact any Cape Town Tourism Visitor Information Centre to find out more about local, organic, holistic, antique, african and other markets. There are excellent regular and ad hoc markets in local communities across Cape Town.
- Phone: +27 21 487 6800
- Physical Address: Greenmarket Square: Between Longmarket and Shortmarket Streets, city centre
Milnerton Flea Market: On Marine Drive (R27) opposite Metro Industrial Park, Paarden Eiland
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