There is a large walking trail in Port Elizabeth where you can spend a whole day, or even several days, choosing objects of interest. The Donkin Heritage Trail is a walking trail that links 51 historical sites. The trail is named after Lieutenant General Rufane Shaw Donkin, acting governor of the Cape Colony in the mid-XIX century.

Here are some iconic places on the Donkin Heritage Trail
• The Market Square: the trail begins at this site. The central point of the square is the historical City Hall (1858).
• The Main Library: the Victorian Gothic building of the city's book collection on the corner of the Market Square.
• The Prester John Memorial – a Coptic Cross with two figures inside it. It symbolizes the Portuguese explorers who discovered South Africa and also reminds of a far older mythical figure of Prester John, a powerful ruler from Central Asia and patron of Christian.
• The Campanile is a 170-foot bell tower (from ground level to the highest point on the roof). It was built in 1923 to commemorate the arrival of the settlers in 1820. It offers excellent views of the city (at an altitude of 136 feet). The structure is reminiscent of the famous St Mark's Campanile in Venice.
• 7, 10 & 12 Castle Hill – the oldest surviving settler cottages in the city.
• Fort Fredrick – one of the oldest defensive structures in Port Elizabeth. It was built at the mouth of the Baakens River in 1799 to defend against French invasions during the Napoleonic Wars.
• The Old Post Office is situated at the top of Flemming Street just behind the City Hall. The Post Office was opened in 1900. It was built in the style of the late Victorian era.
• The Mannville Open Air Theatre is located on the South-Western side of St George's Park. It hosts the Summer Shakespearean Festival annually. 
• The Donkin Reserve, Pyramid and Lighthouse is another starting point where you can get a trail map. The old lighthouse houses the Tourism Information Center named after Nelson Mandela. The pyramid was built in memory of Sir Rufane Donkin's wife Elizabeth.