The M4 is a long metropolitan route in the

City of Cape Town Metropolitan Municipality The City of Cape Town (; ) is a metropolitan municipality that forms the local government of Cape Town and surrounding areas. As of 2022 it has a population of 4,772,846. History Cape Town first received local self-government in 1839, wit ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

. It connects the

Cape Town CBD Cape Town CBD (sometimes referred to as Cape Town Central City or City Centre) is the central business district of Cape Town, and the economic centre of the city. The CBD sits beneath Table Mountain, and alongside the Port of Cape Town. It is ...

with the

Cape of Good Hope The Cape of Good Hope ( ) is a rocky headland on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula in South Africa. A List of common misconceptions#Geography, common misconception is that the Cape of Good Hope is the southern tip of Afri ...

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 spo ...

and

Fish Hoek Fish Hoek (, meaning either Fish Corner or Fish Glen) is a coastal suburb of Cape 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, Fi ...

. Originally, it was the main route connecting the Cape Town CBD with the Southern Suburbs and is thus named ''Main Road'' for much of its length. 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 residential neighborhood in Cape Town, South Africa, located next to the city's Cape Town CBD, CBD. In 1959, people of color were banned from the area and most of them were resettled in Gugulet ...

(

Zonnebloem Zonnebloem (Dutch language, Dutch for sunflower) is a suburb in the 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, ...

; east of the Cape Town 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 ...

and just east of the

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

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

N2 highway N, or n, is the fourteenth letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages, and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''en'' (pronounced ), plural ''ens''. History ...

(Nelson Mandela Boulevard) and enter the

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

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 (Cape Town), Devil's Peak in the city of Cape Town, South Africa. It was founded in 1938 and is famous for being the institution where ...

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

, where it once again flies over the

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

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 ...

Newlands Newlands may refer to: Places Australia * Newlands, Queensland, a locality in the Whitsunday Region * Newlands, Western Australia, a town in the Shire of Donnybrook–Balingup Ireland * Newlands Cross, Dublin, named after the former Newlands ...

Claremont Claremont may refer to: Places Australia *Claremont, Ipswich, a heritage-listed house in Queensland * Claremont, Tasmania, a suburb of Hobart * Claremont, Western Australia, a suburb of Perth * Town of Claremont, Perth * Claremont Airbase, an ...

Kenilworth Kenilworth ( ) is a market town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Warwick (district), Warwick District of Warwickshire, England, southwest of Coventry and north of both Warwick and Leamington Spa. Situated at the centre of t ...

, Wynberg,

Plumstead Plumstead is an area in southeast London, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich, England. It is located east of Woolwich. History Plumstead has been settled since ancient times, and London's earliest timber structure has been found here. ...

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 Re ...

Bergvliet Bergvliet is a large, affluent residential suburb in the Southern Suburbs region of Cape Town, South Africa. Bergvliet, which means "Mountain Streamlet" in Afrikaans, is located on former farmland, and comprises mostly large, detached homes ...

, 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 demarc ...

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 (), 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 Simon's Bay in False Bay, on the eastern s ...

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

Cape Peninsula The Cape Peninsula () of South Africa 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 Good ...

, at the entrance of the

References

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