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Kirstenbosch National Botanical Gardens

The Cape Peninsula is one of the world's six Floral Kingdoms, home to thousands of plants found nowhere else in the world—and this 1,300-acre indigenous garden that rises up Table Mountain's lower slope is an amazing place to see them. Easy ambling paths cut across mountain streams and between lushly landscaped plant beds; there's an amphitheater of rare palmlike cycads, for example, and a collection of pineconey protea flowers and their prickly-looking relatives, the pincushions. The season when you visit, of course, dictates the floral show: spring (September to October) is marked by brilliant purple, orange, and yellow daisy patches; summer (November to mid-March) brings the blue and white pom-pom blossoms of long-stemmed agapanthus; autumn (mid-March to May) welcomes the pink March lily; and winter (June to August) brings the splendid bird-of-paradise.

Insider Tip: Summer sunset concerts are held Sundays on the lawn, from December through March—the performers range from African drummers to jazz combos to local rock bands. Bring a blanket and a picnic.