[2] Bordered by Mowbray to the south and Salt River to the northwest, the area is best known as a student neighbourhood associated with the nearby University of Cape Town and Groote Schuur Hospital.

The original buildings now serve as the headquarters of the South African Astronomical Observatory, with an on-site museum exhibiting various historic instruments and telescopes.

On the evening of 30 December 1993, three men entered a popular student venue on Station Road, called the Heidelberg Tavern and opened fire, killing four people and injuring five.

The three APLA operatives – Humphrey Luyanda Gqomfa, Vuyisile Brian Madasi and Zola Prince Mabala – were convicted in November 1994[8] for what became known as the Heidelberg Massacre.

[12] The suburb's proximity to the University of Cape Town (UCT) and its medical school in particular, has always made it popular with both students and faculty.

Most restaurants and retail shops are located along Lower Main road with a 95-year-old bottle store, Observatory Liquors, situated in the middle.

The longest serving is the Observatory Civics Association (OCA) that liaises between the local residents, NGOs, businesses and the City of Cape Town.

[13] The OCA worked with the City of Cape Town to upgrade the Village Green and relocate the World War II memorial from the N2.

Beyond the astronomical observatory is Valkenberg psychiatric hospital, a Victorian heritage building[15] that has recently undergone extensive renovations.

In 2021, Amazon announced that it would be the main tenant and investor in a 15 hectares (37 acres) site in Cape Town along the Salt, Black and Liesbeek Rivers that is being turned into an expansive complex with residences, shops, a hotel, conference centre and a business park.

However, in May 2022, a court in Cape Town upheld a judgment in March which stopped work on the sprawling complex until further consultations had taken place with groups representing Indigenous Khoisan communities, who object to building on a site they consider sacred.