Little French Corner (Franschhoek)

Member Name: genmil

Product:	Franschhoek
Date:	09/01/09 (120 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Lots of wine tasting

Disadvantages: none

Francshheok or French corner as it is also called is a small town nestled in the wineland of South Africa. Lying in the valley surrounded by the majestic Franschheok and Drakenstein mountains, the white washed houses with it beautiful gardens and interesting shops does give a European flavour that is different from the surrounding area.

Franschheok was not in our list of place to visit. In fact, we didn't know about the existence of this place. We were staying in a guesthouse called Aan De Doorns Guest House which is 7 km from the town of Worcester. The guest house is a lovely thatched Cape Dutch cottage run by a lovely English couple, Wendy and Ian. The cottage lies in the mountainous background and in the evening, the colours of sunset, a blend of red, orange and yellow is simply breathtaking.

On our day of departure, we decide to go back to Cape Town and Ian recommend that we take the scenic route which will bring us pass a town called Franschheok.

The drive towards Franschheok brought us into a nature reserve. The reserve is filled with meadows of orange flowers (wish I know what they are called) and heathers. As we drove up the winding road to the top of the mountain, we could see a picturesque view of a village down the cliff. The anticipation of reaching the town was further enforced by a couple of tourist who raved about the beauty of Franschheok and the wine tasting experience.

Franschheok as the name implies was the place of the first French settlers in the Cape. The French Huguenots came to the Cape after fleeing religious persecution in their own country and brought with them the wine growing culture. Though the inhabitants speak little French now, the original farmhouses of the settlers can still be found and French names are all over the streets and places of interest.

One of the main highlight of Franchheok is the vineyards and wine cellars. You can have a field day visiting vineyard and wine tasting. Some of the vineyards are located in beautiful location around the valleys and on the mountains. Some vineyard also offer guest house services with guided tours around the region.

Franschheok also host several festivities such as The Cap Classique and Champagne festival which present some of the celebrated Cap Classique producers and showcase some of the finest French champagne houses. Cap Classic is the association of South Africa's producers of sparkling wine.

We were in Franschheok for only a few hours, we had a cheese platter that is accompanied by some pickled figs which enhanced the cheese flavour. We wonder around the quaint little shops and did our fair share on wine tasting.

I left Franschheok wishing that I have more days here. It would be lovely to stay here for a few days and explore the wine lands from here. In fact, it would be a good idea to use Franchheok as a base, rent a car and explore Cape Town and the surrounding areas from here.

Summary: A good base to explore the wine lands