Local Intel: Michael Chandler

I love Lion’s Bread in the Bo-Kaap. Jack started it in lockdown, baking bread from his father’s basement, and it has grown in a way I really admire. The bread is so good. It’s thoughtful, it’s done intentionally. The pastries are lovely. I also like that they’ve grown slowly. So many places lose what made them special once they expand too quickly. They also do Deluxe coffee, which is the only coffee I drink. I genuinely travel overseas with it because I can’t not have good coffee.

81 Rose Street, Bo-Kaap

While you’re waiting for your coffee, go to Wardia, who has the little stalletjie right outside. Her koesisters are unbelievable, but honestly, her potato samoosas are next level. I don’t often choose a vegetarian option to meat, but the potato samosas are where you want to be. When she’s sold out, usually by midday, she packs up and go.

Outside 81 Rose Street, Bo-Kaap

One of my favourite Cape Town rituals is going up Table Mountain when the disas are flowering. We do it every year around February and call it ‘Disa Minelli. This year we went up Nursery Ravine, and it was extraordinary. The left-hand side of Castle Rock was in shade, and it was dripping with red disas. I love those seasonal moments on the mountain.

Hiking trails for the disas leave from Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens. Also check out our guide to the best day hikes in Cape Town

I go up the mountain once a week, and there’s a lone oak tree on the contour path near the big waterfall near Platteklip Gorge that I call the magic tree. I go there when there are wishes to be made, or at the end of the year, or when I want to mark something quietly. Do I really believe in magic in a tree? Probably not. But I do believe that you have to make magic in life where you can. And that’s one of those places for me.

Hiking trails for Platteklip Gorge leave from Tafelberg Road

I like walking along the Camps Bay tidal pool (it's also #2 on our list of the Best tidal pools in Cape Town!) stretch. You’ve got the beach, the pool, the rocks and that whole sweep of coastline, which is just beautiful.

Victoria Road, Camps Bay

I still love the Oranjezicht City Farm Market, though it has become hectic, and I always tell people to go, but go early because it gets hectic. What they’ve created there is really special, but I think it’s best enjoyed before the crowds pile in. For visitors especially, it’s one of those places that gives you a very immediate sense of the city.

V&A Waterfront, Cape Town

Every time I walk through the Company’s Garden, I think: wow, this really is one of the most beautiful parts of Cape Town, and it’s available to everyone. It’s one of those places locals can take for granted, but it always affects me when I’m there.

Entrance off Wale or Queen Victoria Street, Cape Town

If you’re visiting Cape Town, I’d say go to the Mount Nelson for a glass of rosé or a cocktail on the terrace. What they’ve done there over the past couple of years is remarkable. Yes, it’s expensive, but you’re paying for that setting; the gardens, the furniture, the atmosphere, the whole feeling of the place. It’s very special.

Orange Street, Cape Town

My partner is obsessed with The Vineyard, and swears that they do the best Negroni in Cape Town. We’ll go there after a show at the Baxter Theatre.

Colinton Road, Claremont

I went to Enmasse recently for a 90-minute massage and it was amazing. It’s opposite the Gardens Centre by the Hope Street Post Office, and it’s the kind of place you could almost walk past without noticing. I love that it feels slightly hidden and a little old-school. Put on the white cotton pyjamas, book Gail, and do the full 90 minutes. Also, they play proper cool lounge music, not awful spa panpipes, which I really appreciate.

123 Hope Street, Gardens

If I’m leaving Cape Town for a weekend, I love the Cederberg. We usually stay at Rockwood Farm in the southern Cederberg. It’s very family-friendly, unpretentious and good value, and the views are so beautiful. Sit still, you look at the landscape, you play cards (I love bridge), you read, you slow down.