Cape Winelands

The Cape Winelands are South Africa’s wine country, and the easiest day or two to add to a Cape Town trip. Under an hour east of the city, the suburbs give way to vineyards, oak-lined streets and white Cape Dutch gables, with three old towns, Stellenbosch, Franschhoek and Paarl, set among mountains and hundreds of wine estates. The wine is world-class and the setting hard to beat.

Each town has its own character. Stellenbosch is the oldest and liveliest, a student town with the most estates on its doorstep and the best food for the money. Franschhoek is the prettiest and most upmarket, a single street of restaurants and tasting rooms in a mountain-ringed valley, and the home of the Wine Tram. Paarl is the biggest and most down-to-earth, under the granite domes of Paarl Rock, with large cellars and the gardens of Babylonstoren close by.

The signature way to taste is the Franschhoek Wine Tram, a hop-on hop-off tram and tram-bus that loops between the estates so nobody has to drive. Otherwise hire a driver or join a guided tour, because the one rule here is never to drink and drive. Come in the February-to-April harvest for the most atmosphere, or in winter for green vines, cellar fires and lower prices. Cape Town has vineyards of its own out in Constantia, covered with the city, but the Winelands proper begin here.