Cape Winelands – Paarl, Franschhoek and Stellenbosch

Go on a Cape Town wine tour and explore South Africa’s winelands on this excursion. Take a trip to Stellenbosch, South Africa’s second oldest town (after Cape Town) and stroll around the award winning Nelsons wine estate and see beautifully restored Cape Dutch buildings and numerous wine cellars.

Enjoy the scenery as you drive over Helshoogte Mountain Pass to the village of Franschhoek. The region was inhabited by French Huguenots 300 years ago and still retains its charm. You will also see Cape Dutch furniture displayed at the memorial museum.

At the scenic town of Paarl, stroll along lanes lined with Cape Dutch architecture and sample some of the finest wines of this region.

Download the tour route map

Itinerary

In the morning, you will be picked up in an air-conditioned vehicle from your hotel in Cape Town. Accompanied by an English-speaking guide, you will be taken on a tour of Cape Winelands.

Drive to Cape Town and head north to Paarlarea and visit the Nelsons Creek Estate. The Wine Centre is housed in a gabled barn dating back to 1692 and it’s where wines from many local wine estates are stocked. Nelsons offers a selection of formal wine tastings to suit casual drinkers and connoisseurs. After a tour through their cellars, a chance to sample some of their local wines as well as a cheese tasting.

A brief city tour of Paarl follows, before we make our way to Franschhoek where French Huguenots settled 300 years ago and which still retains its French atmosphere. Stop to see the Huguenot Memorial Museum. The theme of the museum is to preserve and promote the heritage of the Huguenots. In the museum, you will come across a collection of furniture, silver ware, kitchen utensils, documents, bibles, relics and artefacts illustrating the life of Huguenots at the Cape of Good Hope. This little village nestled amongst the mountains can easily be mistaken as being in Switzerland.

After a short tour of the village, a wine tasting at La Couronne Estate with the option of lunch on the estate (optional – for own account). Drive to the Stellenbosch area and visit the Spier wine estate. The Wine Centre is housed in an original Dutch gabled barn dating back to 1750 and it’s where wines from over 175 local wine estates are stocked. Spier offers a selection of formal wine tastings to suit casual drinkers and connoisseurs. It is a great chance to sample some fine wines at the estate. You can take an optional visit to the Spier Cheetah Breeding Project. The tour continues to the famous Spier Wine Estate for an afternoon tasting of their wines and an optional cheetah experience before we reach Stellenbosch. It is easy to understand why Simon van der Stel decided to settle a village amongst the mountains. The backdrop of the Hottentots Holland mountains, the white gabled Cape Dutch homesteads and the oak lined streets and lanes all blend in to give this place a charm that will not be quickly forgotten.

We return to Cape Town late afternoon. Late in the afternoon, you will be dropped back to your hotel in Cape Town.

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Go on a Cape Town wine tour and explore South Africa’s winelands on this excursion. Take a trip to Stellenbosch, South Africa’s second oldest town (after Cape Town) and stroll around the award winning Nelsons wine estate and see beautifully restored Cape Dutch buildings and numerous wine cellars.

Enjoy the scenery as you drive over Helshoogte Mountain Pass to the village of Franschhoek. The region was inhabited by French Huguenots 300 years ago and still retains its charm. You will also see Cape Dutch furniture displayed at the memorial museum.

At the scenic town of Paarl, stroll along lanes lined with Cape Dutch architecture and sample some of the finest wines of this region.

Hotel and Room Amenities