page_title: George, Western Cape
section_title: Attractions
hierarchical_section_title: George, Western Cape / Attractions
caption_attribution_description: Breaching Southern Right whale with tanker
context_page_description: George is the second largest city in the Western Cape province of South Africa. The city is a popular holiday and conference centre and the administrative and commercial hub and the capital city of the Garden Route.
  The city is situated roughly halfway between Cape Town and Port Elizabeth on the Garden Route. It is situated on a 10-kilometre plateau between the Outeniqua Mountains to the north and the Indian Ocean to the south. The former township of Pacaltsdorp, now a fully incorporated suburb, lies to the south.
context_section_description: George has a sophisticated infrastructure with banks, conference facilities, businesses and shopping centres including the Garden Route Mall and Eden Meander, transport and sporting facilities, yet retains its small town atmosphere. The city is also a major accommodation centre.
  George has numerous world-class golf courses, some designed by famous golfers. The most well-known is Fancourt Golf Estate, which hosted the Presidents Cup in 2003 and is often the host to high-profile golf tournaments.
  Every December through 2010, top national rugby sevens teams from around the world came to Outeniqua Park for the South Africa Sevens, one of the tournaments in the IRB Sevens World Series. However, the tournament was moved to Port Elizabeth. December 2015 the Tournament was moved to the Green Point stadium in Cape Town.
  George has many historical landmarks:
  The Slave Tree, an ancient English oak planted by Landdrost (magistrate) van Kervel, known as the Slave Tree because of the very large chain and lock embedded in the trunk, has been declared a national monument.
  The King Edward VII Library building, said to be the best example of Edwardian architecture in George.
  The First Class School for girls was started by Miss Christina Petronella van Niekerk, a "New Age" young lady with visions for the future which were very different from those ideas held by the conservative population of George.
  George is often used a base to explore Tsitsikamma National Park.
  The Outeniqua Choo Tjoe was South Africa's last scheduled mixed steam train service and operated on the Outeniqualand Preserved Railway between George and Knysna on the Garden Route. Opened in 1928 and declared a preserved line in July 1993, this train winds its way through picturesque scenery. However, after a landslide disrupted operations in 2007 service was maintained on the section between George, Hartenbos and Mossel Bay. In 2010 Transnet, the South African railway authority, decided to discontinue all operations of the Choo-Tjoe train.
  The Outeniqua Transport Museum houses a large collection of steam locomotives and carriages.
  The Garden Route Botanical Garden is situated the top of Caledon Street.The Garden Route boasts the largest continuous natural forest area in South Africa, covering some 650 km². Marketable timber is harvested from 20% of the State forest. Stinkwood, named for its unmistakable odour when freshly cut, is highly prized by the furniture industry, as are white pear, hard pear, ironwood and assegaai. The most sought after timber is the outeniqua yellowwood (Podocarpus falcatus).
caption: Southern right whale breaches off the coast
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