The House of Braganza

Forty kilometres south of Cape Town, The House of Braganza occupies 2 Pelican Place in Simon's Town, the old Royal Navy base turned heritage village on False Bay's western shore. The name nods to the Portuguese royal house whose ships called at the Cape for centuries.

Boulders Beach penguin colony sits a ten-minute walk along the coastal path; southern right whales move through the bay between July and November, visible from elevated points along the village. The Victorian-era main street, lined with naval-era facades, begins two blocks from the address.

Rated 9.8 from 289 guest reviews, the property draws visitors who prefer Simon's Town's unhurried pace over the Atlantic seaboard's busier beach strips.