The Cape Winelands:
Wine lover or not, a visit to the Cape Winelands is an absolute must as the region is one of breathtaking vistas and majestic mountain backdrops while being steeped in rich culture and history. Rolling vineyards and quaint Cape Dutch homesteads await you, as well as award- wining wine farms offering some of the country’s best wines. The winelands are divided into various different regions, each offering their own ‘wine route’. The most popular and well-known are Stellenbosch, Franschhoek, Wellington and Paarl. Stellenbosch The wine farms of Stellenbosch are the closest in distance to Cape Town and are within a 45-minute drive of the city centre. This is the most well known wine region and is home to a variety of cellars-producing some of the country’s most acclaimed wines.
Stellenbosch & Franschhoek
The town of Stellenbosch is a university town and the oak-lined Dorp Street is home to museums and galleries as well as many student cafes and restaurants.
Franschhoek and Huguenot Memorial: The theme of the Huguenot Memorial Museum in Franschhoek is the history of the French Huguenots before and after their arrival at the Cape of Good Hope. The French Huguenots were a group of people who fled France in the 1660s due to religious conflicts. After Martin Luther published his 95 theses against the corruption of the Roman Catholic Church in 1517, many people felt that what Luther had said was true and he soon had a large following who became known as Protestants. Within 20 years, large groups of protestants could be found in Switzerland, France, the Netherlands and Scotland and it was the people who later became known as Huguenots. As The Catholic Church was the only official Christian church in Europe at that time, the Huguenots were in a constant state of persecution and fled there homelands. Some of those who fled to the Netherlands ended up setting sail for the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa. Please the our day tours to the Cape winelands here.