I ♥ Franschhoek because ...

Hi, I’m Chris von Ulmenstein from Whale Cottage Franschhoek in Franschhoek, in the Cape Winelands of South Africa.

FRANSCHHOEK IS BEST KNOWN FOR being the Gourmet Capital of South Africa, hav­ing an extra-ordinary selec­tion of excel­lent res­taur­ants dis­pro­por­tional to the small size of the vil­lage.   At least one of its res­taur­ants, and as many as three, have been in the Eat Out Top 10 res­taur­ant list every year, includ­ing Le Quartier Francais, Grande Provence, Reubens,  Monneaux and Bijoux.

Franschhoek is also known as the Wedding Capital of South Africa, with week­end after week­end booked out when a wed­ding or two takes place on a wine estate in the beau­ti­ful valley ...

GET YOUR PICTURE TAKEN AT the Huguenot Monument, at the end of the main road, as it sym­bol­ises and recog­nises the hard work the French Huguenots put into devel­op­ing this beau­ti­ful wine­lands area, called the “French Corner”, giv­ing Franschhoek its name (ori­gin­ally it was called Oliphantshoek, when the ele­phants roamed over the moun­tains).
THE BEST VIEW PICTURES CAN BE TAKEN from the Franschhoek Pass, La Petite Ferme and Dieu Donne, with fant­astic views over the val­ley.
OTHER HAPPY SNAPS CAN BE TAKEN in the vine­yards, espe­cially in autumn, when the leaves turn a beau­ti­ful shade of red and yel­low. In winter the snow-capped moun­tains also make for good photographs.

WHEN THE WEATHER'S GOOD, I LIKE TO sit at a pave­ment res­taur­ant, enjoy­ing a snack and a cap­puccino at Reubens or at the Salmon Bar, or I drive to Cafe BonBon.
WHEN THE WEATHER'S BAD, I LIKE TO sit inside a res­taur­ant with a roar­ing fire­place such as Reubens and Café BonBon, with a good plate of soup.

I THINK THE BEST TIME OF YEAR TO VISIT IS all year round, because each sea­son has its own charm: in sum­mer it is very hot, reach­ing 40°C, mak­ing it ideal to have a swim, and sit out­side to enjoy one’s meals at the res­taur­ants;  in spring there are lots of wed­dings in Franschhoek, and it is so excit­ing to see the bridal groups at the NG Church on the main road, or on one of the wine estates; in winter the snow on the moun­tains and cold are invig­or­at­ing, and in autumn the vine­yards are beau­ti­ful as their leaves change colour.

MY FAVOURITE BREAKFAST SPOTS IS Café BonBon – there is noth­ing to beat this beau­ti­ful small-holding (La Petite Dauphine), with a lovely view onto fruit and olive trees, and to enjoy their friendly ser­vice and scrump­tious home-cooked food.  Allee Bleue is also con­veni­ently situ­ated at the entrance of Franschhoek, oppos­ite the road lead­ing to Pniel and Stellenbosch, and serves great break­fasts, lunches, cof­fees and gour­met pic­nics.  The chef Dane Newton and the F&B Manager Desmond Spannenberg are super kind, gen­er­ous and hands-on, and noth­ing is too much trouble for them.  There is always some­thing new com­ing from Allee Bleue, and it is the largest wed­ding recep­tion venue in the area.

FOR LUNCH I SUGGEST Café BonBon, or under the tree in the court­yard at Reubens.  If you like sal­mon, go to the Salmon Bar, which offers sal­mon in almost every dish.
MY FAVOURITE RESTAURANT IS Reubens, try the calf’s liver and mash, just like mom used to make it!
MY FAVOURITE eat­ing / drink­ing / work­ing / plan­ning / relax­ing / clear-the-head SPOT IS is Café BonBon!
FOR A NIGHT OUT ON THE TOWN TRY din­ner at Reuben’s.
IF YOU WANT TO MEET LOCALS, GO TO the Station Pub, the Elephant & Barrel, Kalfies, the brand new Pick ‘n Pay, the Jazz by the Cape Dutch Connection at La Brasserie on a Friday even­ing in sum­mer, or the NG Church on Sunday morn­ing.
BEST LATE NIGHT SNACK - prob­ably rel­at­ive, in that the vil­lage is largely dead at 11 pm — try the new Station Pub or the Elephant & Barrel.

FRANSCHHOEK'S BEST KEPT SECRET IS is Café BonBon, and its good wines – they are not as well known as their coun­ter­parts in Stellenbosch.   Boekenhoutskloof has been a 5-star Platter wine guide win­ner for its Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah for the past 10 years, and Chamonix and Stony Brook are two brand new 5-star Platter wine guide win­ners (2010 edition).

MY FAVOURITE THING TO DO WITH FRIENDS IS to attend the won­der­ful clas­sical music con­certs at La Motte, and the Classic Music fest­ivals which Christopher Duigan organ­ises in Franschhoek twice a year, with non-stop con­certs over the week­end.
FOR SOME CULTURE I LIKE TO go to the art gal­lery at Grande Provence, as they exhibit the work of South Africa’s lead­ing artists.
TO RELAX AND RESTORE MY SOUL, I LIKE TO sleep at my guest house in Franschhoek – it is so peace­ful in Franschhoek, and one seems to sleep deeper and bet­ter.
IF YOU'RE FEELING ADVENTUROUS, TRY a walk in the Franschhoek moun­tains – get a per­mit from the Tourism Bureau, with a map, and do take water and a hat, rent a bike from Manic Cycles, or do winetast­ing on horse­back.

MY FAVOURITE DRIVE IS com­ing down the Franschhoek Pass, with an excel­lent view over the val­ley, or drive to Grabouw along­side the Theewaterskloof Dam, and along­side the fruit farms to Grabouw.
MY FAVOURITE décor SHOPS ARE are La Grange, Mystique and Ebony.
MY FAVOURITE TOURIST SPOT IS is at the Salmon Bar’s court­yard, as one can see a col­lec­tion of loc­als and tourists.

IF YOU ARE HERE IN May, join in the fun at the Literary Festival, which invites a col­lec­tion of local and inter­na­tional writers to talk about their books.   In July, on the week­end closest to 14 July, the well-known Bastille Festival takes place, with lots of wine-tasting and food-tasting on offer.  In October Franschhoek Uncorked takes place, when the wine estates tempt one to their farms, to exper­i­ence their wines as well as tasty food attrac­tions.   The high­light is the Champagne Festival, on the first week­end in December, but it always man­ages to reach close to 40°C over this weekend!

MY FAVOURITE MUSEUM IS at Solms Delta, where the arche­olo­gical arte­facts which were found whilst the farm build­ings were ren­ov­ated are dis­played, in an informal man­ner.   One of the farm res­id­ents explains each item, and the pride is evid­ent.  Their res­taur­ant Fyndraai is excel­lent for a his­toric over­view of food at the Cape many years ago. Check out the mead made from honey, a com­pli­ment­ary drink offered with the meal
MY FAVOURITE BUILDING IS the NG Church, for its beau­ti­ful thatched roof and ser­i­ous size, mak­ing a dra­matic state­ment on the main road.  The acous­tics are excel­lent, and the church makes a lovely venue for clas­sical concerts.

TRAVELLING WITH CHILDREN? A FUN OUTING IS A fun out­ing is a pizza at Col’cacchio or at Allora, both hav­ing jungle gyms for the kids.
BEST CHEAP AND CHEERFUL OUTING IS Allora and Col’cacchio, or Kalfies.
WHEN MONEY'S NO OBJECT, I LIKE TO I LIKE TO go Bosman’s in Paarl, and Delaire Graff in the Helshoogte Pass, on the way to Stellenbosch.
MY FAVOURITE WEEKEND GETAWAY IS our Whale Cottage Franschhoek!
WE GIVE BACK TO THE COMMUNITY by buy­ing all our guest chocol­ates for turndowns from Huguenot Fine Chocolates, an empower­ment pro­ject run by local Franschhoek res­id­ents from Groendal, who are in a part­ner­ship with Penny Gordon.

I ♥ FRANSCHHOEK BECAUSE of its beauty, its peace and quiet, and its fab­ulous res­taur­ants – one is spoilt for choice.

Whale Cottage Franschhoek

Whale Cottage Franschhoek is a beau­ti­ful Country House set in a col­our­ful coun­try garden, with its own bab­bling brook in Franschhoek, the heart of the Cape Winelands, South Africa. Whale Cottage Franschhoek has a spark­ling pool, and offers secure park­ing. It is in walk­ing dis­tance to the res­taur­ants and shops. All rooms have a bath­room en suite, tele­vi­sion, hairdry­ers, heated towel rails, air­con­di­tion­ing and ...

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Desirable Digits

Whale Cottage Franschhoek +27 (0)21 433‑2100
Le Quartier Francais +27 (0)21 876‑2151
Grande Provence +27 (0)21 876‑8600
Reubens Restaurant +27 (0)21 876‑3772
Monneaux Restaurant +27 (0)21 876‑3386
Cafe BonBon (at La Petite Dauphine) +27 (0)21 876‑3936
Allèe Bleue +27 (0)21 874‑1021
Salmon Bar at The Yard +27 (0)21 876‑4591}
The Elephant & Barrel Pub +27 (0)21 876 4127
La Brassiere +27 (0)21 876‑3420
La Motte +27 (0)21 876‑3119
Franschhoek Tourism Bureau +27 (0)21 876‑3603
Manic Cycles +27 (0)21 876‑4956
La Grange Interiors +27 (0)21 876‑2155
Ebony +27 (0)21 876‑4477
Allora Franschhoek +27 (0)21 876‑4375
Col' Cacchio +27 (0)876‑4222
Huguenot Fine Chocolates +27 (0)21 876‑4096
Huguenot Memorial Museum +27 (0)83 279‑7960
The Solms Delta Museum Van de Caab +27 (0)21 874‑3937

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