Traveling with intention takes us farther than just arriving at a destination. It rewards us with new shared memories. It gives us the sense of truly getting to know a place. It’s an invitation to build personal relationships. With this series, produced in collaboration with KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, we invite you to make every trip something special. After Bangkok, in our second installment today we head to Cape Town, South Africa.
At the foot of Table Mountain, where two oceans meet, a fascinating metropolis unfolds that is constantly reinventing itself. Cape Town is rugged and beautiful, contradictory and vibrant — and for many queer people in Africa a place where life suddenly feels easier.
Here you can see what remains hidden, indeed nearly unthinkable in other parts of the continent. Two men or two women embracing or kissing on the beach. A flamboyantly dressed drag queen crossing a street in the sunset. An understanding of self that no longer needs explanation.
Progress with a South African Accent
South Africa has one of the most progressive constitutions in the world. Since 1996 it explicitly protects the rights of sexual minorities, and since 2006 — that is long before Germany — same-sex couples may marry. These achievements are not abstract paragraphs; they have changed the lived reality of many people.
Cape Town is viewed as a showcase of this progress. Of course, equality remains incomplete in South Africa, especially outside urban areas. Yet in the Mother City, an atmosphere emerges that is less about drawing lines and more about curiosity. “Cape Town isn’t perfect,” says Thabo, an artist and activist. “But it’s a place where you can breathe.”
De Waterkant — Living Normality
The small neighborhood De Waterkant, between City Bowl and Signal Hill, is the heart of the queer scene. Cobblestones, Victorian facades, cafés with open terraces. Here, teachers and DJs, tourists and drag stars meet — a very colorful mix.
In “Café Manhattan” couples sit who have just come from the gallery across the street; in “Beefcakes” drag queens sing Motown hits; in “Club Zer021” young people dance, resistant to being boxed into categories.
Between the Beach and the Everyday
Clifton 3rd Beach, beloved by queer Capetonians, is more than a pretty place. It is a symbol — of visibility, but also of ease. On windless days the bay glows in the light like a promise. People of all genders laugh, kiss, drink wine, listen to music. The energy is relaxed, not excessive. No one looks twice, and that alone is noteworthy.
Of course, the contradiction remains visible here as well: queer freedom in Cape Town is often linked to social wealth. Yet it exists — tangible, everyday, visible. And for many people from the country itself, it is an anchor, a vision of what South Africa could be.
Art as a Resonance Space
Hardly any place reflects the country’s ambivalence as wisely as art. In Zeitz MOCAA, the Museum of Contemporary African Art, a must-visit, works hang that renegotiate bodies, identity, and belonging. Among them are Zanele Muholi’s legendary portraits of Black queer South Africans. They are radical, but never cynical. Their strength lies in dignity, not provocation.
Beyond institutions in Cape Town, in small galleries and Off-Spaces, a younger generation experiments with forms of queer aesthetics. People talk, paint, perform — not to shock, but to show themselves.
The Cape Town Pride Is Celebrated in February
When Cape Town Pride begins in February, the city hums with energy. Streets are closed, parades march through Green Point, music echoes between mountains and sea. By European standards, Cape Town Pride is surprisingly political. “Pride here isn’t self-glorification,” says Liza, an activist and social worker. “It’s an invitation — to the country, to ourselves.”
Discussions about representation, about racism and inclusion within the community are present. But they are conducted — openly, lively, sometimes painful, yet remarkably productive.
A Laboratory for Diversity
As the sun sinks behind the Atlantic, a quiet, warm light settles over the city. Below, the lights of bars glow, the last wave breaks on the shore. Two people hold hands and look out to sea in silence.
Cape Town is not a utopia, but perhaps the closest thing to one: a laboratory for diversity. The contradictions — between rich and poor, between Western street aesthetics and African reality — persist. Yet they are not pushed away, but negotiated with optimism. This unique mood at the Cape of Good Hope is contagious: even visitors from Europe can see in Cape Town what freedom can look like.
KLM flies daily from Amsterdam to Cape Town in about eleven-and-a-half hours, nonstop. Connecting flights are available from nine German airports. Additional daily connections exist with the KLM partner Air France via Paris. Book now
