Hello! It is us.

Hello! It is us. We are still around. We have morphed, pivoted and adapted – and we are ready to host you. After a slow start to 2024, with business nearly halting by early May, things have finally taken off in July again. We are building momentum, and our booking schedule is looking healthy again.

One brand
It has been 13 years since we first launched our tourism business. By publishing a book on Johannesburg, Gerald ended up being the accidental JoburgPlaces tour guide. Our business has grown by leaps and bounds since. By 2020 we were busy developing an events venue and restaurant in downtown Joburg with a boutique hotel also in the offing. But the Covid pandemic and its related lockdowns brought those dreams to a crashing halt.

Four years on, and many pivoting moves later, we are finally on track again. Growing and flourishing, nowadays operating in both Johannesburg and Cape Town. Along the way, we have come to realize that especially our international guests, are confused by our multiple names – JoburgPlaces, IkapaPlaces and LocalPlaces. It has also rendered search engines ineffective in locating us. Therefore, we have decided to settle on a single brand. Henceforth we are simply known as LocalPlaces. With branches in Johannesburg and Cape Town (and adding more locations soon). Our dream remains to be a Pan-African business and to expand our tourism services to other African cities and countries too… Watch this space!

Storytelling dinners take the Cape by storm
A new Cape Town initiative, that combines the most mesmerizing historical storytelling with an exquisite homecooked-style meal in an iconic space, is taking the city by storm!

LocalPlaces has partnered with Sibling – a bespoke kitchen studio in the Bo-Kaap – to host regular Thursday evening storytelling dinners. Here brother and sister Louw and Lou are producing culinary delights in a historic industrial building, dating to 1903. Wedged between the Bo-Kaap, the city and the Waterkant, this was once a cobbler factory, and later a pharmacy for nearly a century. Before being renovated as a city home, a furniture showroom, a corporate office and nowadays a kitchen studio.

Every Thursday, LocalPlaces presents its famous Cape Town storytelling dinner here. It is a combination of the most exquisite meal and mesmerizing storytelling, making for an extraordinary sensory experience. An evening of learning, being challenged, and leaving inspired by new perspectives.

Gerald Garner’s storytelling unpacks the remarkable, complex and contested story of Cape Town, the reluctant city. ‘From Ancient Times to 1902’, the storytelling places Cape Town within the context of international relations that shaped the world. From ancient African empires to international seafaring trade. From local conflict to controlling the world’s most lucrative trade route. From international competition to the industrial revolution and the subsequent Scramble for Africa. It is the story of how Cape Town developed and grew from wide open grazing planes to a vegetable garden, an agricultural abode and eventually a significant city.

From the Khoe and the San, the Portuguese seafarers and the Dutch East India Company. From Xhosa Chiefs and Zulu Kings to a Dash for Diamonds and a War of Gold. It is the complex and contested story of the formation of Cape Town, and therefore South Africa.

Hear it all at a LocalPlaces storytelling dinner at Sibling. Every Thursday evening in August, seating 20 people for the most sought-after dinner in Cape Town.

  • Per person bookings open for Thursday evenings.
  • Private group bookings welcome on all other days.
  • A second storytelling dinner theme, covering 1902 to 2024 will be added later in the year.

For more info, go to: www.localplaces.co.za/cape-town-storytelling-dinners/

One stop solution for group experiences
We are super busy this July and August! Hosting several sizable groups for exciting tours, storytelling dinners and experiences in Johannesburg and Cape Town. These include Joburg, Soweto and Cape Peninsula tours for an international orchestra travelling the country, as well as an exceptional dinner at the old Johannesburg stock exchange for a prominent worldwide business organization. Plus, a full day Johannesburg foodie tour for guests of an international cultural organization.

Now is the time to start planning your own group functions as the end-of year events season is nearly upon us. Whether it is a corporate year-end function, a family celebration or a student learning experience, let LocalPlaces host you for the most memorable event. Be in touch and let us plan your event together.

Here are some ideas for group get togethers to inspire you:

Viewpoints & Watering Holes tours
What can be more fun than a day hopping between the best pubs, bars and rooftops in Johannesburg or Cape Town? Combining storytelling, drinks and even lunch or dinner for a day of laughter and inspiration.

Eat, eat, eat and learn
The best way to discover the history and contemporary culture of a city is by devouring its smorgasbord of cuisines. LocalPlaces offers a variety of food tour options.

Southwest, we go
Nothing can be more captivating than a day out in Soweto, a place of inspiration that has overcome so much. From the Soweto Uprising of 1976 to the best contemporary restaurants, our Soweto tour will leave you astonished.

From the Winelands to Cape Point
In Cape Town, we do not only focus on the inner-city, we also explore the wider region. A full day Cape Winelands Tour or Peninsula Overview Tour provide you with the chance of visiting some of the most iconic places in the splendorous Western Cape Province.

Walk, walk and walk!
Don’t forget that our walking tours remain our most popular offering. And simply the best way in which to truly experience a city.

More Joburg storytelling lunches coming soon!
While we can host private groups for bespoke storytelling dinners either in a Maboneng penthouse or at the historic JSE Newtown Red Room, we will soon also announce a new series of public, Sunday afternoon storytelling lunches in Johannesburg. Watch this space for more info!

 

 

We are looking forward to hosting you soon. Be in touch!

Charlie & Gerald
LocalPlaces – Johannesburg & Cape Town
www.localplaces.co.za

Contact us on WhatsApp +27 82 894 5216 or email gerald@localplaces.co.za

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