Grand Parade, Cape Town

Coordinates: -33.5649, 18.3142
Updated: 20 Jul 2026

The Parade is inseparably associated with the Castle and was used by its garrison as a training ground. Despite this, however, for many years it remained a grassy meadow dissected by meandering streams. In 1763 the burgers of Cape Town planted a number of oaks around this area, and in 1806 the city treasury voted money for the erection of a fountain and the planting of more trees. The fountain was never completed and, by 1814, all traces of it had disappeared. Despite its value as a civic open ground, over the years a number of buildings have built on its fringes, and today it has shrunk to about one half of its original area. It was declared a National Monument under old NMC legislation on 31 August 1962.

Location Map

Grand Parade, Cape Town

Cite this entry

South African History Online. (2011, July 14). Grand Parade, Cape Town. South African History Online. https://sahistory.org.za/nso/ref/P-0065751

South African History Online (2011) 'Grand Parade, Cape Town', South African History Online, 14 July. Available at: https://sahistory.org.za/nso/ref/P-0065751 (Accessed: 23 July 2026).

South African History Online, Grand Parade, Cape Town [website], https://sahistory.org.za/nso/ref/P-0065751, (accessed 23 July 2026).

"Grand Parade, Cape Town." South African History Online, 14 July 2011, https://sahistory.org.za/nso/ref/P-0065751. Accessed 23 July 2026.

South African History Online. "Grand Parade, Cape Town." South African History Online. July 14, 2011. https://sahistory.org.za/nso/ref/P-0065751.