The Cape Winelands are a haven for wine tasting and delicious cuisine.
South Africa has become fairly recently one of the main countries in the world for wine production. And if in terms of quantity it cannot compete with world leaders like Italy and France, quality wise the ranking is excellent.
For those who want to allow one day of their trip to wine tasting and fine cuisine, to reach the Winelands from Cape Town is just a matter of an hour by car. But if you want to catch the real glimpse of the Winelands, do not hesitate to spend at least 2 nights in the region.
Stellensbosch
Beautiful town, one of the oldest in South Africa. Indulge in walking along the central avenues, where you can find lots of coffee shops, art galleries, and restaurants. Moreover, you can pass by impressive churches and the oldest hotel of South Africa: D’Ouwe Werf, founded in 1802. Stellenbosch has also one of the best universities of the country. Amongst the most famous wine farms of the area, we recommend Asara, Neethligshof and Simonsig.
Franschhoek
Nice little town about 25 km from Stellenbosch. Its name literally means “corner of France”. Many farms still keep their old French name and quite a few houses and villas show a clear Occitan style. Here the Huguenots came in numbers, escaping from the religious prosecutions occurring in France and Belgium in the end of the 17th century. As one quits the main road, may get lost in bucolic valleys with picturesque farms. The Franschhoek Country Villa House is a boutique hotel, made of villas in Occitan style. Moreover, you can find here one of the best restaurants of the Cape Winelands, if not of the entire country. In fact, it seems that, out of the 100 best restaurants of South Africa, 8 have their home in Franschhoek. Among the wine farms of the areas, we recommend Porcupine Ridge (great value for money red wines) and Glenwood (excellent white wines).
Paarl
One of the largest town of the Cape Winelands, located in a beautiful valley. From the surroundings, one can do horse-back riding. The main road is the longest of South Africa (12 km) and offers a parade of beautiful houses of different styles: Victorian, Cape Dutch, Art Deco. To see stunning landscapes, go to Seidelberg,
Wellington
Perhaps the least know town of the Cape Winelands, probably also due to being further away from Cape Town (75 km). Here we are in close proximity to the Little Karoo. The Diemersfontein Pinotage is to our opinion one of the best South African wines, with an aftertaste of coffee and chocolate. Just try to believe it!
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