[4][5] It is an alternative route to the M4 for travel between Cape Town CBD and Glencairn, with the M6 passing west of Table Mountain and through Chapman's Peak.

The M6 begins at a junction with the M62 (Buitengracht Street) in the Cape Town CBD, at the location of the Foreshore Freeway Bridge.

It begins by heading west-north-west as Helen Suzman Boulevard into Green Point, bypassing the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront and the Cape Town Stadium.

Immediately after Green Point, the M6 reaches the West Coast (Atlantic) and turns southwards as Beach Road to follow the coast, passing through Sea Point and bypassing Table Mountain and its National Park to the west.

It meets the M61 at a roundabout before returning to facing southwards as Victoria Road to resume following the coast.