Clifton Beaches

Clifton is Cape Town's most exclusive beach — four sheltered coves (numbered 1st through 4th from south to north) beneath the Lion's Head and Twelve Apostles mountains, connected by stairs carved into the granite boulders and protected from the southeaster wind by the mountain behind them. The beaches are small, the water is freezing (Atlantic coast, 10-14°C), and the real estate above them is the most expensive in Africa.

Each beach has its own character: 1st Beach is the gay-friendly beach, 2nd is the young professional crowd, 3rd is for families, and 4th Beach (the largest, with the best sunset views) is the most popular all-rounder. The social coding is unofficial and fluid, but the pattern has been consistent for decades. All four beaches have powder-white sand, crystal-clear water (the cold current keeps it pristine), and the mountain backdrop that makes Clifton the most photographed beach in South Africa.

The challenge is access — the stairs down to the beaches are steep (equivalent to a 5-storey building) and carry everything you bring, which has the unintended benefit of discouraging casual visitors and keeping the beaches relatively uncrowded for their fame. The sunset from 4th Beach — with the Twelve Apostles turning pink above and the Atlantic turning gold below — is the most glamorous end-of-day experience in Cape Town, and the ritual of champagne-on-a-blanket at sunset is a Clifton institution that the mountain and the ocean have been providing free of charge for considerably longer than the champagne has been affordable.