> THE VILLAGE :: Franschhoek

In 1685, Governor Simon van der Stel allocated farms in the Franschhoek valley to Dutch and German farmers and newly arrived French Huguenots. But as the Huguenot farms were placed between Dutch and German farms and the use of French in schools was forbidden, within a few generations French language, culture and traditions (except wine making) withered and died. Now, there is little left of Franschhoek’s French connection except for its name (French Corner in Afrikaans), the names of the valley’s old Huguenot families and some farm and street names. However, as the most beautiful place settled by the Huguenots, in 1938 it was chosen as the site for the Huguenot Monument and in 1954 became home to the very interesting Huguenot Museum.

Until the end of the 19th century Franschhoek was just another little village serving a local farming community. Phylloxera (fungus) then destroyed the vineyards in the valley and many were bought up by Cecil Rhodes. He turned them into fruit farms and a railway line was built to connect Franschhoek to the Cape Town market. And so, in that pre-motor age, Franschhoek became a holiday destination for Capetonians.

A century later, and particularly since 1994, Franschhoek has become the culinary capital of South Africa and one of its most visited tourist destinations. But there are many more reasons to stay in Franschhoek than to just wine and dine – 21 are on the next page.

And Franschhoek is also ideal as a touring base for the Western Cape. Visitors often stay for a week or more. You can drive to Stellenbosch in less than 30 minutes, Cape Town and Table Mountain in an hour and Cape Point in around two hours. Darling, Riebeck Kasteel, Tulbagh, Ceres, Greyton, Swellendam, Montagu, Hermanus (for whale watching in season), Elgin, Spier, Vergelegen and many other places of scenic or historic interest are within a radius of 100km and you can usually drive to most of them in around one and a half hours.