For four months of the year, a sloping lawn on the eastern side of Table Mountain becomes the best music venue in Cape Town. The Kirstenbosch Summer Sunset Concerts have been running since 1992, and the format has barely changed: you arrive in the late afternoon, spread a blanket on the grass, open a picnic, and watch the light go off the mountain behind the stage while somebody plays.
It is also a bit of an operation. Tickets for the popular names sell out in hours, parking fills up, and there are rules about what you can bring in that people learn the hard way at the gate. This guide covers all of it.
What the Summer Sunset Concerts actually are
The concerts run weekly on Sunday evenings through the Cape Town summer, on a natural grass amphitheatre inside Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden. The line up mixes established South African acts, newer local names and the occasional international artist, and it is deliberately broad. In any given season you might get Afrikaans rock, jazz, indie folk, house and a symphony orchestra.
The setting is the point. The stage sits at the bottom of the lawn with the eastern slopes of Table Mountain directly behind it, and the concerts are timed so that sunset happens roughly during the second half of the set. There is no seating, no roof and no bar. You bring what you need and sit on the grass.
The 2026/27 season
The season typically opens in the last week of November and runs through to the end of March, with a concert most Sunday evenings and a few special dates including a Christmas carols evening and a New Year’s Eve event. The full line up is usually announced in September or October, one batch at a time.
Tickets: what they cost and how to get them
Tickets are sold through Webtickets and are priced per concert rather than as a season pass, with the bigger names costing more. As a guide, the 2025/26 Rotary Christmas Carols evening was priced at R175 for adults and R125 for scholars, with under sixes free. Headline acts sit higher.
Two things worth knowing. First, tickets for the well known artists genuinely do sell out, sometimes within a day of going on sale, so it pays to buy as soon as a batch is announced rather than waiting to see who else is playing. Second, a concert ticket includes garden entry for the afternoon, so you can arrive early and walk the garden before you settle on the lawn.
Gates, parking and what time to arrive
Gates for the concert typically open at 16:00 and the music usually starts at 17:15 and finishes around 19:00. Special events such as New Year’s Eve run to a different schedule.
Arriving at 16:00 sharp is not an overreaction. The lawn fills from the front and the flat middle section goes first, and by 17:00 on a sold out night you are choosing between the steep upper slope and the edges. Regulars arrive at the gate before it opens with a blanket, a cooler bag and a plan.
Kirstenbosch has three gates with free parking. On concert nights the main parking areas fill well before the music starts, and the overflow parking is a long walk from the lawn. If you are coming from town, leaving before 15:30 is sensible. E-hailing is the easier option in both directions, although the queue for a ride at 19:00 when several thousand people leave at once is its own event.
What you can and cannot take in
The picnic is not incidental to the evening, it is most of the evening. The rules are generous by South African event standards and the important ones are these:
- Picnic hampers are welcome. Bring whatever you like to eat.
- Alcohol is allowed, and no alcohol is sold at the event. Bring your own or go without.
- Picnic blankets and low deckchairs are fine. High backed chairs are only allowed on the perimeter of the lawn, because they block the view for everyone behind.
- Food is available on site from the Moyo outlets if you would rather not carry a hamper.
Beyond the official rules, the things regulars always have are a jersey, a groundsheet under the blanket, a torch for the walk back to the car, and a bin bag. The lawn is a working botanical garden and the culture is that you take your rubbish out with you.
Where to sit on the lawn
There is a genuine trade off here and it is worth understanding before you commit your blanket.
Down at the front, near the stage, you get the performance. You are close, the sound is direct and you can see faces. What you do not get is the view, because from down there the mountain is behind and above you and you spend the evening looking at the stage.
Halfway up the slope is where most people who have been before will set up. You still hear well, you can see the stage comfortably, and you get the whole picture: lawn, stage, mountain, and the light changing on the rock face through the second half.
The top of the lawn is the quietest, the easiest to get in and out of, and the best place to be with small children or anyone who wants to talk. The sound arrives a fraction late but it arrives.
What happens if it rains
The concerts go ahead regardless of weather and no refunds are issued. Cape Town summer evenings are mostly dry, but the south easter can send cloud over the mountain with very little warning and the temperature on that lawn drops quickly once the sun is off it. A rain jacket and a jersey take up almost no space in the basket and there is a reasonable chance you will want both.
The open air cinema season
Running alongside the concerts, The Galileo Open Air Cinema screens films on the same lawn on selected weeknights through summer. Same principle: blanket, picnic, mountain behind the screen. Tickets are separate from the concerts and it is a considerably quieter evening, which for some people is the entire appeal.
Kirstenbosch entry fees on a normal day
If you are visiting the garden outside a concert, standard entry applied at the time of writing as follows:
Visitor | Entry fee |
|---|---|
Adults | R70 |
South African students with a valid card | R40 |
Scholars aged 6 to 17 | R20 |
Children under 6 | Free |
The garden is open from 08:00 to 19:00 in summer, September to March, and 08:00 to 18:00 in winter. The Boomslang canopy walkway, the Conservatory and the fragrance garden are all worth the walk, and a couple of hours before a concert is a good way to use the ticket you have already paid for.
Eating before or after the concert
The concert ends at around 19:00, which in Cape Town terms is early. Most people go on somewhere afterwards, and the drive back into town takes roughly twenty minutes once the parking has cleared.
If you are staying in the City Bowl, the Mountain Club rooftop bistro at Cloud 9 is a straightforward answer to the question of where to eat afterwards. It sits five floors up on Kloof Street with a 360 degree view over the city and Table Mountain, which is a reasonable way to extend an evening that has already been about a view.
Getting there from the City Bowl, and where to stay
Kirstenbosch is roughly fifteen minutes from Gardens by car outside of traffic, up the M3 and along Rhodes Drive. From the Atlantic Seaboard it is closer to half an hour, and from the V&A Waterfront longer again on a Sunday afternoon.
That short run is the practical argument for staying in the City Bowl over the summer season. Cloud 9 Boutique Hotel & Spa sits in Gardens at the foot of Table Mountain, on the town side of the mountain from Kirstenbosch, which puts the garden, the city centre and Kloof Street all within a fifteen minute radius.
Making a day of it
A concert starts at 17:15, which leaves the whole day free. Kirstenbosch itself will absorb two hours easily. Beyond that, the eastern slopes of the mountain are on your way in and out, and the city is twenty minutes away. If you are building a full itinerary, our guide to the top attractions in Cape Town is a useful starting point.
The concert season runs from late November to the end of March, which is also the busiest stretch of the Cape Town year for accommodation. See our current offers and book while there is still availability on the Sunday nights you want.
Frequently asked questions
When do the Kirstenbosch summer concerts start?
The season usually opens in the last week of November and runs weekly on Sunday evenings until the end of March. The 2025/26 season ran from 23 November to 29 March. The 2026/27 dates are listed above and updated as SANBI announces them.
How much are Kirstenbosch concert tickets?
Prices are set per concert rather than per season and vary with the artist. As a guide, the 2025/26 Christmas carols evening was R175 for adults and R125 for scholars, with under sixes free. Tickets are sold through Webtickets.
Can you take your own food and wine to a Kirstenbosch concert?
Yes. Picnic hampers are welcome and alcohol is permitted. No alcohol is sold at the event, so bring your own. Food is available on site from the Moyo outlets.
Can you take chairs to Kirstenbosch concerts?
Low deckchairs and picnic blankets are allowed anywhere on the lawn. High backed chairs are only permitted on the perimeter, so that they do not block the view.
What time do the gates open?
Gates usually open at 16:00, with the music starting at around 17:15 and ending by about 19:00. Arriving as the gates open is worth it on a sold out night, because the flat middle of the lawn goes first.
What happens if it rains?
Concerts go ahead in all weather and no refunds are issued. Bring a rain jacket and a jersey.
How far is Kirstenbosch from the Cape Town city centre?
About fifteen minutes by car from Gardens and the City Bowl outside of peak traffic. Allow longer on a Sunday afternoon in season, and consider leaving before 15:30 if you want a close parking bay.
