The Company's Garden in the Cape Town city centre – which was established in 1652, making it one of the oldest gardens in the country – now has a Visitor's Centre to help residents and tourists navigate its extensive grounds.

The Visitor's Centre is housed in the renovated Victorian House near the restaurant, and has been designed to be of educational and informational benefit to visitors.

The centre was opened in time for the 2010 FIFA World Cup™, and is expected to cater for the influx of tourists to the city over this period. Pathways in the garden have also been redeveloped and the aviary is being renovated.

Executive Deputy Mayor, Alderman Ian Neilson, officially opened the Visitor's Centre on Wednesday 26 May 2010.

Rory Phelan, Manager: Company's Garden, said the centre was established after a need was identified for an interpretation centre for the garden, for both residents and tourists. "The guides that accompany tourist groups visiting the garden explain some of its features, but invariably do not give the complete picture of the historical, social and cultural significance of the historic garden."

Two buildings on the grounds were renovated according to heritage specifications over the space of three years, as funds became available from the City Parks budget, Phelan said.

One of these was the Victorian House, and this was chosen to host the Visitor's Centre. The City's Communications Department and City Parks then collaborated on the design and the display, spending many months researching and commissioning the work.

The display in the Visitor's Centre gives a comprehensive overview of the early history of the garden, which is unique in that it is the only example of how two different landscape styles - the Dutch 'produce garden' grid pattern and the 'Victorian Romantic' informal style – were overlaid to produce the garden as it exists today.

A self-guided walking trail map will be on sale at the Visitor's Centre for R10.

Phelan hopes that the Visitor's Centre will become the central focus within the garden, and is also aiming at establishing public/private partnerships to fund other projects in the garden.

"We hope that with this new Visitor's Centre, we will be better able to market the garden, especially for tourists and tour guides to get an idea of the history and background of the garden," Phelan said.