The picturesque university town of Stellenbosch is the city’s second oldest town, and much has been done to preserve its 19th century charm and grace. Cape Dutch houses, old oak trees, and cobble stones form part of the beauty, and to really appreciate it, walking around is definitely best. Museums, arts and crafts shops, art galleries, and restaurants abound, and of course, stops at some of the wine farms will complete your visit. There are well over 80 wine farms, with lots of them offering lunch or dinner, hikes, cellar tours, picnics, as well as wine sales. Most of them also offer disabled facilities and access. Activities that can be close by include mountain biking, horse riding, quad biking, hiking, strawberry picking - the second biggest (wine being the first, naturally) export product from Stellenbosch, and with 6 magnificent golf courses to choose from, the reason to stay longer in the area becomes apparent.

Franschhoek (French corner), with the French Huguenot monument at the top of the main road, is a lovely fairy lit town at night, with most of the restaurants having outdoor as well as indoor dining areas. French flavours and influences are apparent, with most of the names of farms and roads being French. The charming neatness and pure prettiness of the village, and the surrounding mountains, really make you feel peaceful. A much smaller wine region, the farms nevertheless produce some of the finest wines the Cape has to offer. For outdoor activities, playing tennis (even at night), walking tours, bicycle hire, fly fishing, playing golf, or visiting a chocolate factory are just some of the reasons to prolong your stay. With guest houses, self-catering cottages and hotels offering accommodation, this is the ideal place to relax and unwind.

A tranquil valley at the foot of awe-inspiring granite domes, Paarl is also an important agriculture and commerce centre. The well preserved architecture of early Cape Dutch, Victorian and Georgian buildings are definitely worth seeing, with  2kms of the main road offering you visual delights, starting at the Strooidak Kerk (thatched roof church), and ending at the Afrikaans Language Museum and the Paarl museum, which reflects the rich cultural and developmental diversity of this town. This little town also has one of only three examples of Egyptian architecture in South Africa. With a small wine region, Paarl is known for producing the best wines in the country, and many of the wine farms offer cellar tours, and wine sales, with some of them having restaurants as well. Attractions in the area include the Taal Monument, ancient rock formations in the Paarl Mountain Nature Reserve, Le Bonheur crocodile farm, Butterfly World, the Drakenstein Lion Park, snake and reptile park, as well as the Wiesenhof Wild Park. The Paarl Bird Sanctuary is home to 140 different bird species.  For outdoor fun, go for a horse ride,  spoil yourself with a hot air balloon ride over the Berg River, , there are biking, hiking,   and 4x4 mountain trails, as well as fly-fishing also available in the area., and of course a magnificent golf course.

Other smaller wine routes worth visiting are the Durbanville Hills, Helderberg wine route, and the Constantia wine route, with the oldest wine farm in the Cape, Groot Constantia offering fruity delightful white wines. There are so many wine routes in this, the fairest Cape, all set in pretty valleys, with majestic mountains protecting them, choosing which one to go on, is not an easy task.

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