Heads we take the N1, Tails the N2

Franschhoek

One sunny morn­ing, two national high­ways that lead you to Franschhoek and three reas­ons to visit; in order of appear­ance scenery, wine and food. Be warned though what starts as a happy break­fast in a little town whose name trans­lates to “French Corner” will evolve into an even hap­pier lunch and a bor­der­line ecstatic din­ner. All accom­pan­ied by the con­tinu­ous reappear­ance of the very same three reas­ons you decided to visit; the view of the Gods, the juice of the Gods and the food... oh my God!

Franschhoek is known as the gour­met cap­ital of the Cape and even has its own three sources of nat­ural spring water that is bottled in the val­ley. It is not unusual when din­ing at any of Franschhoek’s world class res­taur­ants to see framed accol­ades and reviews tak­ing res­id­ence on the walls as a mark of inter­na­tional recog­ni­tion of cuisine excel­lence. Four courses in and phrases like ‘I couldn’t pos­sibly fit another bite in’ morph them­selves along­side a bottle of deli­cious local vin­tage into ‘well you only live once’. Savour local game dishes glazed with a French sig­na­ture from eight of South Africa’s Top 100 res­taur­ants (some loc­ated on wine farms and some on the Main Street).

Franschhoek

Do not blame your­self when you wake up unplanned in the quaintest little B&B the fol­low­ing lav­ender filled morn­ing, blame the French. They are after all the mas­ters of seduc­tion, in fact the French Huguenots that settled in this par­tic­u­lar val­ley over three cen­tur­ies ago were banned from France they were so seduct­ive. There are beau­ti­ful museums that serve as monu­ments to the said French Heritage that crossed the deep blue with vin­tage and twine. The archi­tec­ture they left behind stands as proud as the moun­tain ranges that halo their val­ley of vines.

Only an hour’s drive out­side Cape Town city and tour­ists and loc­als alike flirt with the idea that this is Europe’s claim on African soil. Of course for those that prefer to des­cend into the land­scape by heli­copter there are land­ing pads avail­able at select ven­ues and you’ll save on hav­ing to tip the car guard.

This val­ley shares moun­tain ranges with Stellenbosch and Paarl and memor­ies with many new­ly­weds who chose this land­scape to cel­eb­rate their wed­ding day. Should the romance of this val­ley encour­age the spon­tan­eous... there are exclus­ive Franschhoek dia­mond deal­ers and jew­ellery design­ers at your disposal.

Over 25 wine farms engulf the region of Franschhoek most offer­ing wine tast­ing and tours. Local wine-makers pas­sions have col­lec­ted coveted Gold and Double Gold National and International awards. Gourmet pic­nics bas­kets are also avail­able at select wine farms to be enjoyed with a pur­chase from their cel­lar on a piece of their lawn. The friendly local tour­ist bur­eau will gladly provide you with a map and assist you with con­tact inform­a­tion and the rel­ev­ant hours of trade.

Franschhoek

The main street, Huguenot Road, hosts deli’s, art gal­ler­ies, boutique cloth­ing stores, gen­eral gro­cers, African curio crafters, decor shops, cof­fee shops, an oyster and Champagne bar, many fine res­taur­ants, liquor stores ripe with local wine splend­our; a Belgian chocolat­erie and even a local post office to send off a ‘wish you were here’ or two. You will use all of the above to strengthen the sud­den need you have to invest in a wine farm (or at least a cot­tage) you saw in an estate agents win­dow while strolling through the town.

For those need­ing pam­per­ing there are Spa facil­it­ies. For those need­ing to stretch their legs; a few holes on the Jack Nieklaus sig­na­ture golf course or the option of play­ing boules (Le Cochonnet). For the Historians; Drakenstein Prison, the site of Nelson Mandela’s release. For the eques­trian; wine tast­ing tours on horse­back. For the angler; fly-fishing. For the out­door adven­turer; hikes and moun­tain bik­ing trails. For the brave; paraglid­ing. For the artists; inspir­a­tion. For the lonely; a second serving of Créme Brûlée. For those who need to return home else­where... may I recom­mend at least one case of the favour­ite for good measure.

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For more des­tin­a­tion inform­a­tion see:

• Franschhoek Accommodation
• Franschhoek Hotels
• Franschhoek Attractions
• Things to Do in Franschhoek