Franschhoek Sunset Drive

Winelands Drive

The fam­ous gour­met cap­ital of the Western Cape is the wine val­ley of Franschhoek. As a val­ley it is cradled between moun­tain ranges that dis­play a spec­tac­u­lar view over the lus­cious vine­yard region. Pack a pic­nic with your favour­ite bottle of wine and take a drive to watch the sun set over this beau­ti­ful val­ley. Its so romantic and beau­ti­ful, it makes a per­fect spot for pop­ping sig­ni­fic­ant questions!

As you drive into Franschhoek on the R45, the Main Road namely Huguenot Rd (named after the village's French set­tlers) leads you to a T-Junction at the the land­mark Hugenot Monument. At the T-Junction turn left onto Lambrecht Road (which is still clas­si­fied on a map as the R45) and scoop your way along the moun­tain road wind­ing up moun­tain curves singing 'We'll be com­ing round the moun­tain, when we come ...'.

You will pass two world rated French res­taur­ants and winer­ies, Haute Cabriere comes up first on your left and then Le Petite Ferme appears on your right. Continue to wind along this road which, as a tarred regional road, is suit­able for all types of cars. This moun­tain route is known as The Franchoek Pass and links the vil­lage of Franschhoek to the town of Villiersdorp on the other side of the moun­tain. As you climb the moun­tain you will dis­cover a spec­tac­u­lar view over the val­ley and across the sur­round­ing moun­tain ranges.

Winelands Drive

There are sev­eral small gravel clear­ings on the Franschhoek side of the road where you can pull over and take mag­ni­fi­cent pho­tos from the nat­ural elev­a­tion as if you were in a heli­copter hov­er­ing over the valley.

Check the local weather report for the daily sun­set time and estim­ate that the sun appears to sink behind Franschhoek about 20 minutes earlier than the offi­cial sun­set time. You can take a little pic­nic up with you and / or a bottle of your favour­ite wine and enjoy the mag­ni­fi­cent patch­work of vine­yards in the sun­light fol­lowed by the chan­ging col­ours of the clouds and the twink­ling of the first Franschhoek lights under the stars.

* Note as you get to almost the max­imum height of the moun­tain pass the oppor­tun­it­ies to turn are lim­ited so make sure you pull over at a clear­ing before you end up in Villiersdorp.

Where:
Franschhoek Pass, R45 , Between Franschhoek and Villiersdorp, Cape Winelands.

When:
Always open with great day views but best view­ing time is just before sunset.

Useful Links:
Franschhoek Accommodation
Cape Winelands Accommodation
Things to Do in the Cape Winelands