They call it “Cape Doctor”: the strong southeasterly that every so often surges through town, blowing out the bad air and bringing in the rain. Cooling and cleansing, it’s a welcome wind in South Africa’s sun-baked “Mother City,” where, almost four centuries ago, slavery and seaborne trade forged an urban outpost on a parched peninsula at the oceanic divide.

Today, that outpost is a bustling boomtown, one of the continent’s most cosmopolitan, and South Africa’s top tourist draw. Not long after 1994, when the wall of apartheid came crumbling down and open elections vaulted Nelson Mandela to the presidency, visitors began pouring in by the millions — in part, of course, for the postcard views, but also to pay witness to the wonders of a city so long off-limits and so unlike any other on the planet.

Indeed, for all of the pain of Cape Town’s past, the African National Congress triumph and the resulting societal transformation have rendered, on the whole, a rather positive present, characterized as much by the city’s rich cultural blend as by the rise of new resorts and chic shopping malls. It’s true that South Africa’s wealth gap is one of the widest in the world. But while striking economic disparities persist, racial harmony is, as never before, the rule.

As South Africa prepares to host the 2010 Soccer World Cup, Cape Town is turning into a veritable hotel factory in advance of the visitor influx. Anchoring the building bonanza is a $1 billion upgrade planned for the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront, already the centerpiece of the city’s new wealth. Of the four new hotels on the planning board, two will be 3-star properties aimed at the domestic market. The other two — including one by luxury brand One&Only situated on a private island on the V&A Waterfront — will be 5-star hotels.

Another 5-star property slated for development on Blouberg Beach in the northern suburbs will become the city’s first luxury resort to incorporate eco-friendly principles into its overall design. The 200-room hotel by Realcor Cape, set to open in 2009, will feature solar-powered water heaters, tinted windows and low-flow showerheads.

Other new properties include the year-old Adderly Hotel, a stylish, 28-suite boutique hotel in Cape Town’s parliamentary precinct; and the 130-room Extreme Hotel Cape Town situated at the foot of Table Mountain — the perfect location for adventure-seekers and climbers.

The most significant change World Cup soccer will make to the local landscape, however, is the construction of a 70,000-seat stadium in the Green Point district, which will be the venue for several rounds of play including a semifinal match. Afterwards, it will be used for sporting events and concerts.

Yet visitors who arrive in Cape Town for the soccer could well come away more charmed by what the city offers to all its visitors: the bright colors of Bo-Kaap (formerly the Malay Quarter), the stony charm of St. George’s Mall, the natural scenery and the seemingly endless array of adrenaline-pumping activities in the area: surfing and sand-boarding, sailing and skydiving, kayaking and canyoning and climbing the steep, craggy cliffs that run the length of this rocky peninsula where the waves can seem as big as mountains and the mountains abound.

Perhaps no endeavor better embodies Cape Town’s capacity for oversized thrills or its utterly edge-of-the-world feel than an encounter with a great white shark in the deep blue waters off its coast. Lowered like a lobster trap into the Atlantic, a steel cage is all that keeps the gaping jaws of the ocean’s king carnivore from being the last thing you ever see.

Oddly, that experience proves especially life-affirming because being in Cape Town reminds you how much there is to see back on land — like the stunning sunset over Camps Bay or the blooming brilliance of the Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens or the African penguins strutting on Boulders Beach, oblivious to the onlookers all around.

And then, of course, there’s Table Mountain, which, more than a sight in itself, is the breathtaking backdrop for all others, the canvas on which Cape Town is daily drawn. At more than 3,500 feet high and two miles wide at its famously flat top, “Hoeri Kwaggo” (Sea Mountain), as the native Khoikhoi peoples called it long before the Portuguese ever arrived, is one of the oldest and most distinctive rock formations in the world. It’s also one of the more accessible, with hundreds of hiking routes ranging from light strolls to serious scaling, all within minutes of the city center.

Table Mountain may be Cape Town’s most striking icon, but the world-class wines produced in the valleys below are renowned in their own right. From Stellenbosch to Constantia, Franschhoek to Tulbagh, and Swartland to Paarl to Walker Bay, the region is home to more than 200 wineries, some of which have been in operation since the 17th century. But it wasn’t until apartheid ended that the industry began to grow in earnest. Now business is booming — South Africa’s wine industry is the seventh largest in the world. Even if you don’t know the difference between a pinot noir and a pinotage, you’ll enjoy learning the ins and outs of fine wines.

Still, nature isn’t the only show in town; from the fire dancers to the jazz bands, the cabaret and the comedy and the classical concerts, there’s entertainment for every taste. For if Cape Town is anything, it is diverse, a mishmash of myriad ingredients — Dutch, British, French, Indian, Malaysian, Xhosa, American, Afrikaans and even Cuban – sprinkled over the centuries into a single, seaside bowl.

LODGING

CAPE GRACE HOTEL

Even if it didn’t occupy of one of Cape Town’s most enviable pieces of real estate, this 5-star marvel of modern luxury would still fill with visitors in search of its understated elegance and impressive array of personalized services. But the fact that the 122-room hotel is located on a private quay overlooking a yacht-filled marina backed by a majestic mountain — well, that doesn’t hurt. Nor does the fact that it’s walking distance from the shops and restaurants of the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront.$$$$
CAPE GRACE HOTEL
West Quay V&A Waterfront
tel 27 21 410 7121
http://www.capegrace.com

THE ELLERMAN HOUSE

With just 11 stunning guestrooms, this beautiful boutique hotel in Cape Town’s tranquil Bantry Bay promises utmost privacy and luxury on a scale seldom encountered. As well it should; its namesake, Sir John Ellerman, a shipowner and investor, was one of the most successful entrepreneurs in British history and the lone Briton of his time to rival in riches the robber barons of America’s gilded age. So it’s only fitting that his house should serve as a refuge of refined living. The walls are adorned with original works of South African art; the floors are heated underneath; and wraparound balconies offer jaw-dropping views of the Atlantic Ocean.$$$$
THE ELLERMAN HOUSE
180 Kloof Road, Bantry Bay
tel 27 21 430 3200
http://www.ellerman.co.za

MOUNT NELSON HOTEL

This century-old estate set on nine acres of gardens in the heart of Cape Town is the finest, and most famous, large resort in the land. What it lacks in waterfront it more than makes up for in the sublimity of its botanical surroundings, the smoothness with which it operates and the quality of its every fiber. Even if you don’t stay the night here, you should come for a look — for tea on the garden terrace or a stroll down the palm-lined lanes. A new 6,000-square-foot spa styled on an English conservatory room and offering dual treatments for partners opened in December 2007. The Planet Champagne Bar, with its fiber-optic Milky Way twinkling overhead, remains a Friday-night favorite for visiting celebrities.$$$$
MOUNT NELSON HOTEL
76 Orange St.
tel 27 21 483 1737
http://www.mountnelson.co.za

DINING

MANOLO

Dashing, dramatic, and decidedly hip with a DJ spinning tunes while diners sip sorbet cocktails in a century-old Victorian mansion, this is Cape Town at its decadent best. It’s also home to Richard Carstens, widely regarded as one of South Africa’s best chefs, whose elaborate creations blend Europe and Africa in dazzling dishes like the Italian-influenced carpaccio of gemsbok with lentils, garlic and parmesan cheese. The house is divided into three very different dining rooms, with a bar at the center and a window revealing the kitchen at work.$$$$
MANOLO
30 Kloof St.
tel 27 21 422 4747
http://www.manolo.co.za

ONEWATERFRONT

That’s the address, but it might as well be the ranking. Long recognized as one of the city’s all-star establishments, this palate pleaser housed in the Cape Grace hotel serves up coastal classics such as seafood risotto, kingklip kedgeree and steamed oysters with flair and fancy and the sort of peculiar pairings that only the most expert tastemakers could pull off. Enjoy harbor views, speedy service and a wine list as long and lovely as the roads to the local vineyards where many of the best were bottled.$$
ONEWATERFRONT
West Quay Road
tel 27 21 418 0520
http://www.onewaterfront.co.za

THE SHOWROOM

If the end of apartheid gave way to the mixing of cultures, it also fused flavors long left all alone. Nowadays, culinary creativity is at its peak, and fusion dishes are the hallmark of a uniquely Capetonian haute cuisine. Blazing the way is this stylish new restaurant where a passion for the spice and sweetness of Cape Malay cooking has helped give ages-old recipes — most from Bo-Kaap, where the majority of Cape Malays live — an edgy new appeal. Ten minutes from the city center, it’s located in the vibrant Green Point suburb, home to the high-end Cape Quarter shopping mall.$$
THE SHOWROOM
10 Hospital St.
tel 27 21 421 4682
http://www.theshowroomrestaurant.co.za

DIVERSIONS

Nobody has done more to shape Cape Town’s history, or set it on its path to success, than the man they call “Madiba,” South Africa’s former president Nelson Mandela. While his legacy lives on throughout the city, there are several sites no visitor should miss.

The first is Robben Island, eight miles off the mainland in Table Bay, where Mandela spent 19 of his 27 years in captivity. Tours of the prison, now a museum and UNESCO World Heritage site, are guided by former inmates. Free ferries to the island (about 30 minutes each way) leave hourly from the Nelson Mandela Gateway (tel 27 21 413 4220) on the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront.

Another is the District Six Museum (tel 27 21 466 7200), dedicated to revealing the apartheid policies that moved Nelson Mandela and others to action. The museum is located in the District Six area of town, which was originally established as a mixed community of freed slaves, merchants, laborers and immigrants before the forced removal of the non-white populations in 1966 tore it apart.

It’s also worth paying a visit to City Hall (tel 27 21 467 1567), where, upon his release from prison on Feb. 11, 1990, Mandela made his historic first speech before a massive crowd in Grand Parade square.

Almost two decades since that day, Cape Town is a changed place — a global vacation destination with world-class cuisine and luxury stores. And when you wander an area like the once-downtrodden a href=“http://www.waterfront.co.za” target=“_blank”>Waterfront, its 400-plus shops buzzing with European tourists, the transformation is on full display. It’s evident in the panoply of posh eateries — everything from sushi bars to Cuban cafés — and the rich mix of live music offerings.

There’s marimba at Mama Africa, a perennial tourist hot spot on a raucous strip of Long Street, and plenty of jazz all over town, including Dizzy’s Jazz Café (tel 27 21 438 2686) in the upscale area of Camps Bay. On Sunday afternoons, bring a blanket and a bottle of wine to the Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens (tel 27 21 799 8783) for a classical concert in the open air.

Oenophiles will want to spend a least a day cruising the crus in Stellenbosch and Constantia, two of the oldest wine-growing regions in the country. Vineyard tours — whether on foot or on bike — wind through grand estates amid the marvelous scenery of mountain slopes. Stephen Flesch’s Gourmet Wine Tours (tel 27 21 705 4317) is a good bet. Wineries and tasting rooms abound, but Groot Constantia (tel 27 21 794 5128) is a must. One of the best examples of Cape Dutch architecture and among the largest vineyards in the land, the homestead is a museum (tel 27 21 795 5140).

Finally, for the quintessential — and obligatory — tourist experience, make your way up Table Mountain (tel 27 21 701 8692) and soak up the scenery of the Cape Floral Kingdom, named a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2004. Stretching the length of the peninsula, it’s the smallest and most biologically diverse of the planet’s six such regions, with more plant species (about 1,400) on the mountain alone than in the whole of the British Isles. If the two- to three-hour trek is too much, a cable car runs every half-hour, leaving from Lower Cableway Station on Buitengracht Street.

INFO TO GO

While the majority of routes to Cape Town International Airport (CPT) (tel 27 21 937 1200) include a stop in Johannesburg, flights between the two cities run almost every hour. One of the best airports in Africa and recently renovated, Cape Town International is about 14 miles from the city center on the N2 highway. Metered taxis from Touch Down Taxis (tel 27 21 919 4659), the official airport taxi company, are available for about $30, however door-to-door shuttle buses can also be arranged in the airport.