Franschhoeck

Huguenots established this tiny, beautiful town 300 years ago. They did not bring much with them, but they definitely brought their vines and the art of making good wine, which they taught to the Dutch. The city is the gastronomical capital of the country and choosing a restaurant in the evening can be a difficult entreprise.
But of course you have not come that far for food! You most probably came for the wine, and wine there is in this beautiful valley! Your experience can start at 09.40 in the morning, by taking the hop on hop off wine tram on Huguenot road, the central and unique artery of the village where everything starts and ends. There are many routes you can choose, each one with a different colour. Some wineries are in all itineraries, some are better than others, but one thing you can be sure of is, you are going to be pissed before noon!
The experience is quite amazing. The tram and/or the bus will leave you at the entrance of a wine estate, where a private bus will bring you in the premises for tasting. In most wineries you will have to pay a modest sum, that is real value for money: beware that a “tasting” glass in the estates is almost as a normal glass of wine in Europe! The wines are excellent! You will be offered 3 reds and 2 whites in EACH winery, with little or nothing to eat. Thus it is not such a bad idea to be driven around by tram, bus or taxi rather than driving your own car… You can complete the experience with eating of course. Or with a coffee, a fresh lemonade, an ice cream… It was 42 degrees Celsius when we were there, and as not experienced drinkers by 11.00 we were (mildly put) already very blissful! We had lunch at 13.00 and after my daughter almost fell asleep on her plate we decided to call it a day and return to our hotel… So if you want to make this lovely experience last, drink moderately! And of course, you can visit next day!
We visited Vredelust, Plaisir de merle, Allée bleue and Babylonstoren. They were all amazing, but Vredelust and Babylonstoren were grand.
Had it been a little less warm we might have visited another 3 or 4 wine estates. Beware that you get one hour for each visit if you want to make the 8 wineries foreseen on each route. If you want to have lunch in one of them, you need to stay at least two hours, and miss on one winery.
Our hotel was our haven after the hot days. Because apart from wining and dining, there is not so much to do or see in Franschhoeck. You can have a walking or a bicycle tour of the city and some nearby wineries. But if you are there in summer, an open air cinema evening in Franschhoeck or one of the other venues in the winelands is an amazing experience. Galileo organizes film projections in many venues in the Cape, the winelands included (on selected Saturdays in 2018).  Although the films are not very recent, the experience is huge. The starry sky as well…