The fertile Franschhoek Valley has become recognized for top-quality wine and food since the first French Huguenot settlers planted their vines more than 300 years ago.
Part of the famous Cape Winelands, Franschhoek is around 80 km away from Cape Town city center and it takes from 1 to 1.5 hours to drive there. The views on the way are stunning and it’s so nice to leave the city and start an adventure full of nature.
Whether it is summer or winter, Franschhoek is a place that you shouldn’t miss! My most recent visit was during winter, but as you can see on my outfits on the following pictures, the temperature was not that low (only around 16-23ºC).
Now, I’m going to share with you my favorite indoor activities. Doing them, you’ll get a real sense of history and day to day life in this beautiful city. Also, at the end of the post you’ll find the 2-day itinerary I followed to visit all the places.
- Wine tasting
- Beer tasting
- Eat at restaurants and coffee shops
- Shop at boutique stores
- Visit museums
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The Ultimate Cape Town Guide: 10 places you must visit in this city in South Africa
1. Wine tasting
a. Terra del Capo Antipasti Bar at Anthonij Rupert Estate
Anthonij Rupert Estate offers several exclusive activities. It has restaurants, tasting rooms, the Motor Museum, and more.
Terra del Capo is an indoor restaurant that was designed to showcase the company’s Italian-inspired range. It is very elegant and you are able to eat delicious food while seeing the activity in the cellar through a glass wall.
You can see the menu HERE.
Contact
- Website: www.rupertwines.com
- Social Media: Instagram / Facebook / Twitter
b. Country Kitchen at Mont Rochelle
What an amazing location is the Country Kitchen at the luxurious Mont Rochelle Hotel which boasts exquisite views of the Franschhoek Valley!
You can choose to eat inside or outside the restaurant (but if you choose a table on the terrace you will see incredible views of the mountains).
You can see the menu HERE.
Contact
- Website: www.virginlimitededition.com
- Social Media: Instagram / Facebook / Twitter
c. Paulina’s Restaurant at Rickety Bridge Winery
The restaurant counts with a cozy indoor area and also decks with views over the Rickety Bridge vineyards and mountains.
The food is scrumptious and the wine so delicious that I had to take home a couple of bottles.
You can see the menu HERE.
Contact
- Website: www.ricketybridge.com
- Social Media: Instagram / Facebook / Twitter
2. Beer tasting
a. Franschhoek Beer Co.
Franschhoek Beer Co. offers handcrafted world-class beer, and what a great selection of beer they have… craft lager, Belgian style, American pale ale, Orange pale ale, Stout and German-style!
They also offer handcrafted gin and exquisite food at the Taproom, a tasting room with amazing views of the brewery.
You can see the menu HERE.
Contact
- Website: www.franschhoekbeerco.co.za
- Social Media: Instagram / Facebook / Twitter
3. Eat at restaurants and coffee shops
a. Bovine Restaurant
The restaurant follows the highest quality standards, everything they serve is made from scratch even the mayonnaise on the burger bun.
As you’d expect from the name, meat is very important in this restaurant. All of their beef is from Bovelder Cattle being hormone-free, 100% traceable, and grass-fed.
You can see the menu HERE.
Contact
- Website: www.bovinerestaurant.co.za
- Social Media: Instagram / Facebook
b. Big Dog Cafe
Big Dog Café has excellent coffee and interesting menu options, all set back in a laid-back café environment. Furthermore, it’s a dog and cat-friendly coffee shop and has a big garden, perfect for your furry friends to play!
Its style and design are amazing and you have several options to enjoy your coffee: four-seater tables, bar stools at the bar counter, a large communal-style table, private nook with a garden view or leather sofas in a lounge arrangement.
You can see the menu HERE.
- Website: www.bigdogcafe.co.za
- Social Media: Instagram / Facebook / Twitter
4. Shop at boutique stores
a. Indian Summer
Indian Summer showcases European and South African clothes and accessories. Over 13 years it has developed 100% pure cashmere knitwear, gold plated semi-precious stone jewelry, cotton, and silk kaftans and occasional wear line.
Contact
- Website: www.indiansummer.co.za
- Social Media: Instagram / Facebook
b. Masquerade
Masquerade offers unique home decor and homeware for stylish home-lovers and those in search of things ‘less ordinary’. You can find here the rare, the beautiful and the unexpected!
Contact
- Website: www.masquerade.co.za
- Social Media: Instagram / Facebook
5. Visit museums
a. The Huguenot Monument Museum
I enjoyed learning history at the Huguenot Monument Museum. But, what is a Huguenot? they were French Protestants who were members of the Calvinist Reformed Church. They fled to different countries including South Africa when they were persecuted for their religious beliefs.
The museum opened in 1967 and has four buildings: Main Building, Annex Building, Perfume Museum, and Memorial Monument.
Entrance Fees
- Adult: 80 ZAR (5.7 USD)
- Student & Children: 40 ZAR (2.8 USD)
Contact
- Website: www.museum.co.za/
- Social Media: Facebook
b. Franschhoek Motor Museum
If you want to make the most of your visit to Anthonij Rupert Wyne, after tasting wine at Terra del Capo Bar you should definitely visit the Franschhoek Motor Museum. It has a collection of vehicles, motorcycles, and bicycles dating back over 100 years.
Entrance Fees
- Adult: 80 ZAR (5.7 USD)
- Children (3-12 years): 40 ZAR (2.8 USD)
Contact
- Website: www.fmm.co.za
- Social Media: Facebook
2-Day Itinerary
The following is the 2-day itinerary I followed to visit the sites mentioned before:
Day 1
- 12:00 pm – Lunch and wine tasting at the Country Kitchen at the Mont Rochelle Hotel
- 2:30 pm – Indian Summer and Masquerade boutique stores visits in town
- 4:00 pm – Beer tasting at Franschhoek Beer Co.
- 7:00 pm – Dinner at Bovine Restaurant
- 9:00 pm – Stay at Rickety Bridge Winery Manor House
Day 2
- 9:30 am – Breakfast at the Big Dog Cafe
- 11:00 am – Huguenot Monument Museum visit
- 12:30 pm – Lunch at Terra del Capo Antipasti Bar on Anthonij Rupert Estate
- 2:30 pm – Visit the Franschhoek Motor Museum
More information
For more information, visit the official Franschhoek Wine Valley website and social media.
- Website: https://franschhoek.org.za
Social Media
- Instagram: @Franschhoek_sa
- Facebook: @Franschhoekwinevalley
- Twitter: @Franschhoek_SA
*Disclosure: this is a sponsored blog post, but all opinions are my own
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You surely enjoyed the winter in Franschhoek a lot. The post is certainly giving some travel goals for next winter to travel to this part of the world.
I would love to taste wine as a lover of good winesounds nice trying everything out.
I’d love to see the views of the mountains in person, how incredible! I love landscape views, they’re so peaceful! I’ll keep these 5 activities in mind for future reference.