The M4 is a long metropolitan route in the

City of Cape Town Metropolitan Municipality The City of Cape Town ( af, Stad Kaapstad; xh, IsiXeko saseKapa) is the metropolitan municipality which governs the city of Cape Town, South Africa and its suburbs and exurbs. As of the 2011 census, it had a population of 3,740,026. The rem ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

. It connects the

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

CBD with the

Cape Peninsula The Cape Peninsula ( af, Kaapse Skiereiland) is a generally mountainous peninsula that juts out into the Atlantic Ocean at the south-western extremity of the African continent. At the southern end of the peninsula are Cape Point and the Cape of ...

via Wynberg,

Muizenberg Muizenberg ( , Dutch for "mice mountain") is a beach-side town in the Western Cape, South Africa. It is situated where the shore of the Cape Peninsula curves round to the east on the False Bay coast. It is considered to be the main surfing spot i ...

and

Fish Hoek Fish Hoek ( af, Vishoek, meaning either Fish Corner or Fish Glen) is a coastal town at the eastern end of the Fish Hoek Valley on the False Bay side of the Cape Peninsula in the Western Cape, South Africa. Previously a separate municipality, Fish ...

. Originally, it was the main route connecting the Cape Town CBD with the Southern Suburbs. From the CBD to Kirstenhof, it is parallel to the M3 Freeway.

Route

The M4 begins at a junction with the M59 Route (Buitenkant Street) in

District Six District Six (Afrikaans ''Distrik Ses'') is a former inner-city residential area in Cape Town, South Africa. Over 60,000 of its inhabitants were History of South Africa in the Apartheid era#Forced removal, forcibly removed during the 1970s ...

(

Zonnebloem Zonnebloem (Dutch language, Dutch for sunflower) is a suburb in City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality in the Western Cape province of South Africa, previously part of District Six. It was a farming estate until the early 19th century, whe ...

; east of the

City Centre), just north of the

District Six Museum District Six Museum is a museum in the former inner-city residential area and, District Six, in Cape Town, South Africa in an old Methodist church. District Six Foundation was founded in 1989 and the museum in 1994, as a memorial to the forced mo ...

and just east of the

Cape Town City Hall Cape Town City Hall is a large Edwardian building in Cape Town city centre which was built in 1905. It is located on the Grand Parade to the west of the Castle and is built from honey-coloured oolitic limestone imported from Bath in England. ...

. It begins by heading eastwards as Sir Lowry Road to fly over the

N2 Highway The N2 is a national route in South Africa that runs from Cape Town through George, Gqeberha, East London, Mthatha and Durban to Ermelo. It is the main highway along the Indian Ocean coast of the country. Its current length of makes it ...

(Nelson Mandela Boulevard) and enter the

Woodstock Woodstock Music and Art Fair, commonly referred to as Woodstock, was a music festival held during August 15–18, 1969, on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, New York, United States, southwest of the town of Woodstock, New York, Woodstock. ...

suburb. In Woodstock, it slowly turns towards the south and reaches the Cape Town Science Centre and

Groote Schuur Hospital Groote Schuur Hospital is a large, government-funded, teaching hospital situated on the slopes of Devil's Peak in the city of Cape Town, South Africa. It was founded in 1938 and is famous for being the institution where the first human-to-huma ...

Observatory An observatory is a location used for observing terrestrial, marine, or celestial events. Astronomy, climatology/meteorology, geophysical, oceanography and volcanology are examples of disciplines for which observatories have been constructed. His ...

, where it once again flies over the

(Settlers Way). It continues southwards as Main Road from the N2 overbridge for 18 kilometres, through

Rondebosch Rondebosch is one of the Southern Suburbs of Cape Town, South Africa. It is primarily a residential suburb, with shopping and business districts as well as the main campus of the University of Cape Town. History Four years after the first Dutch s ...

Newlands Newlands may refer to: Places Australia * Newlands, Queensland, a locality in the Whitsunday Region New Zealand * Newlands, Wellington, a suburb of Wellington South Africa * Newlands, Cape Town, a suburb of Cape Town * Newlands, Johannesbur ...

, Claremont,

Kenilworth Kenilworth ( ) is a market town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Warwick (district), Warwick District in Warwickshire, England, south-west of Coventry, north of Warwick and north-west of London. It lies on Finham Brook, a ...

, Wynberg,

Plumstead Plumstead is an area in southeast London, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich, England. It is located east of Woolwich. History Until 1965, Plumstead was in the historic counties of England, historic county of Kent and the detail of mu ...

Diep River Diep River (Afrikaans ''Dieprivier''), drains the area between the Kasteel Mountain (north of Malmesbury) and the northern slopes of the Durbanville Hills, in the Western Cape, a province of South Africa South Africa, officially the Repu ...

Bergvliet Bergvliet is a suburb of Cape Town, South Africa. Bergvliet, which means "Mountain Streamlet" in Afrikaans, is bordered by Retreat, Meadowridge, Tokai, and Heathfield. Bergvliet is home to three schools: Bergvliet High School, Bergvliet Pri ...

, Retreat and Kirstenhof, to bypass the Muizenberg Mountains and enter

, where it meets the south-western terminus of the R310 Route (Baden Powell Drive). The M4 continues southwards with the

False Bay False Bay (Afrikaans ''Valsbaai'') is a body of water in the Atlantic Ocean between the mountainous Cape Peninsula and the Hottentots Holland Mountains in the extreme south-west of South Africa. The mouth of the bay faces south and is demarcat ...

coast to its east for 6 kilometres (still named Main Road) to reach

, where it meets the M65 Route at a roundabout. The M4 continues following the coast southwards to reach Glencairn, where it meets the southern terminus of the M6 Route (an alternative route from the Cape Town CBD). The M4 proceeds southwards for 18 kilometres, through

Simon's Town Simon's Town ( af, Simonstad), sometimes spelled Simonstown, is a town in the Western Cape, South Africa and is home to Naval Base Simon's Town, the South African Navy's largest base. It is located on the shores of False Bay, on the eastern sid ...

, to reach its end at another junction with the M65 Route in the

, at the entrance of the

Cape of Good Hope The Cape of Good Hope ( af, Kaap die Goeie Hoop ) ;''Kaap'' in isolation: pt, Cabo da Boa Esperança is a rocky headland on the Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula in South Africa. A common misconception is that the Cape of Good Hope is t ...

References

Roads in Cape Town Metropolitan routes in Cape Town {{SouthAfrica-road-stub