Franschhoek Things to Do

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For a champagne tasting, this is the place to go. The owner/winemaker will take you on a guided our, where local sparkling wine (bubbly) is made. After the tour there is a tasting of champagne which is imported by Colmant.
This is a great way to spend an afternoon. Sales are available from stock on the farm.
open:
every Friday from 10:00 to 17:00
every Saturday from 10:00 to 13:00
and usually also on Sunday morning (phone before!).

When visiting this small chocolate shop, you can have a ‘tour’ where the making of the chocolates are demonstrated and tasted. It is a nice experience with a well informed and knowledgeable chocolateer. All chocolates are made on the premises
Open Mon-Fri 8 - 17h30 and weekends and holidays 9h30 - 17h00.

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If you can pull yourself away from the pool, food and wine, there is a small lion rescue centre in Drakenstein which is between Franschhoek and Paarl. The lions here are taken in from zoos, wildlife shows etc from all over the world and would not be capable of surviving if returned to the wild has they have been in captivity for all their lives.

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Want to try wonderful wines in a laid back, unpretentous setting? Then Camberley is the place.

Camberley is a small family-run vineyard producing some of the Cape's best reds. Johnny Neil is a highly-acclaimed wine-maker well-used to plum accolades (such as the Double Veritas award) being lobbed his way.

They make amazing Pinotage and Syrah. Be sure to try out the Philosopher Stones (Cab/Cab franc/Merlot) and Charisma (blend of cab/cab franc/merlot and syrah).

They do not have a US distributor so we ended up buying a case and shipping it home.

The Memorial Museum neighbouring the monument elaborates on the history of the French Huguenots who settled in the Cape, and especially in the Franschhoek valley. On exhibition are the various tools they used to make wine, clothes they wore and the culture and desire for a better life that they brought with them.

Also on the site are wine cellars joined by a colonnade, which bears the words Post Tenebras Lux (lit. "after darkness [comes] light"). It was the motto of the Protestants during the Reformation, and is also inscribed on the Reformation Wall in Geneva, Switzerland.

The original trees (some are still there) were planted on the opening day by the children from the school. Each class planted a tree, I was one of the fortunate ones that was involved in it.

The Huguenot Monument is dedicated to the cultural influences that French Huguenots have brought to the Cape Colony after their immigration during the 17th and 18th centuries.

The monument was designed by J.C. Jongens, completed in 1945 and inaugurated by Dr. A.J van der Merwe on April 7th 1948.

The three high arches symbolizes the Holy Trinity, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. On top of the arches is the sun of righteousness and above that, the cross of their Christian faith.

The central female figure, created by Coert Steynberg (one of SA's top artists), personifies religious freedom with a bible in her one hand and broken chain in the other. She is casting off her cloak of oppression and her position on top of the globe shows her spiritual freedom. The fleur-de-lis on her robe represents a noble spirit and character.

The southern tip of the globe shows the symbols of their religion (the Bible), art and culture (the harp), the agriculture and viticulture (the sheaf of corn and grape vine) and industry (spinning wheel).

The water pond, reflecting the colonnade behind it, expresses the undisturbed tranquility of mind and spiritual peace the Huguenots experienced after much conflict and strife.

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Tokara was our first stop of the morning. The winery is known mainly for its spectacular views (as it is located on the Simonsig mountain) and its white wines. The owner's wife also has an olive grove on the estate and they have this year started selling olive oils too.

The Tokara Winery is owned by merchant banker and Napa Valley billionaire, GT Ferreira, and his wife. The winery was created in 2000 by combining a number of older, historic wine estates and named after their children- Tomas and Kara.

The state-of-the-art winery has some of the most spectacular views in the entire region.

For the first five years, Tokara only produced wines under the label Zondernaam. Only recently has it released wines under the Tokara label. They are known for their chardonnays and sauvignon blancs.

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If you are in Franschhoek then you are middle in the winelands of South Africa, that means that you have to taste the best wines of the world!!!
There are a lot places where you can do some wine tasting one of the most famous vineyards is Boschendal!!!
It's very pretty but also very commercial! A lot of busses with a lot of tourists, but the wine tasting is professional and the wine is good!!!
You can aslo visit the manor house at Boschendal, dating back to 1812, an outstanding example of Cape Dutch architecture.
There is also a restaurant where you can sit and enjoy the nature around Boschendal!