Best time to visit Cape Town

It is a generally accepted fact that Cape Town is best in summer, between January and March. But think carefully about that. Cape Town has a Mediterranean climate, which means rain in winter. And no rain in summer. But Mediterranean is only half the story. The city is also close to a number of arid regions and, if you believe the prophets -  as you should - getting warmer and more arid every year. That all means January, February and March are incredibly hot, and getting hotter. Days are often in the high 30 degree Cs, and evenings stay hot for the most part. The winelands can be a lot hotter still - mid 40s are not uncommon. That may sound great to a pale northerner starved of sun, but speak to any traveller who has experienced it and it's not lekker, really, as we locals would say. The weather patterns are also shifting, meaning winters begin later and summers too, obviously.

So, after all that, when to visit?

Choose the two border seasons, October and November, and May and June. Late spring is the absolute bomb in Cape Town, late October my favourite time of year. Fruit picking rocks at this time of year (try Mooiberg near Stellenbosch for strawberries or the Slanghoek Valley near Worcester for berries). But with the changing climate, last year it was still wet in October and mid November was perfect. June may sound late for the end of summer, but remember that this year's temperatures in May were still well into the low 30s.

And if you're really brave, real winter has its own charms. The West Coast wheat fields are green as the Sussex Downs (pic) and it is often still cold during the famous West Coast flower season in late August and September. It's much cheaper too in July, and Cape Town's naturally European vibe lends itself well to warm fires and glistening cobbles in the Bo-Kaap. The southern right whales have arrived by June too, a spectacle indeed, best seen from the Peninsula hamlets of St James or down the coast at Hermanus.