The Tygervalley Shopping Centre, a massive monolith and a “shop ’til you drop” destination in the northern suburbs, is essentially what Capetonians mean when they speak to Tygervalley. Tygervalley is conveniently located just off the N1 and 20 minutes from Cape Town; it has a ton of shops, is easy to get to, and, during the wet season, is the top destination for most of Northern Cape Town. However, Tygervalley, a Bellville suburb, is also a quickly expanding commercial and retail area that delivers modern – leading furniture stores, healthcare facilities, multinational corporations, hip restaurants, and large corporations – to the centre of the northern suburbs.
Durban Road is home to glitzy auto shops, eateries, and significant accountancy and legal offices. It resembles Sandton in Cape Town in some ways, but without the negative aspects of impolite drivers, persistent crime, and an overabundance of billboards. The Tyger Valley Waterfront, which is headquartered in Durbanville and furthers the confusion, is another option. Built around an old quarry that no longer offends with its gaping ugliness, this complex of business and residential properties on Carl Cronje Drive also features a 4 ha man-made lake and a true stormwater cascade that shines in the winter. With contemporary structures hugging the water canals and evoking Cape Town’s “actual” waterfront, the development is quickly becoming into a major draw.