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All aboard the Franschhoek wine tram!

The Kitchen at Maison in Franschhoek

A tram that’s a hop-on hop-off tour of wine farms. Need I say more? If you’re visiting Cape Town, then the Franschhhoek wine tram is a must!

We were staying in Franschhoek for three nights so it was very easy for us to get the tram, however they do offer an exclusive and direct transfer from Cape Town and surrounding areas (including the airport). Franschhoek is roughly just under an hour away from Cape Town so it makes a great day out to experience the beautiful winelands. Also, return transfers start at only R550 per person.

There are four lines to choose from (Blue, Red, Yellow and Green), which offer different drop-off and pick-up times and the wine farms and their offers vary. We opted for the yellow line as it had later pick up times, which suited us better. Tickets can be bought online or at the office and cost only R200 per person – the price includes the tram, tram-bus and two complimentary wine tastings.

The Franschhoek Wine Tram

The tour starts from the ticket office in Franschhoek’s main street, where you board a tram bus which takes you to the tram (pictured above). The tram itself only stops at two wine farms – Rickety Bridge and Grande Provence. We decided to do our first wine tasting at Rickety Bridge and we were greeted by a tractor pulling a tram-like wagon to take us from the station to the farm. It was rather bumpy! And the Rickety Bridge? Luckily, no longer rickety!

Rickety Bridge

After our wine tasting we were off on the tram again to Grande Provence – a 300 year old Heritage wine estate where we had booked to have lunch. Again, we were picked up at the station and taken on a wagon to the estate – not as bumpy a ride as Rickety Bridge, luckily.

The setting at Grande Provence is just stunning. We enjoyed a wonderful, relaxing lunch with fabulous food and, of course, excellent wine. They also have an art gallery as well as sculptures throughout the garden.

Lunch at Grande Provence in Franschhoek

As I’d had quite a bit of meat the day before at Pierneef à La Motte, I opted for fish.

Lunch and wine at Grande Provence in Franschhoek

Lunch at Grande Provence

The dessert, which was a sort of tapioca coconut pudding, was sublime!

Dessert from Grande Provence

After lunch, we got the tram-bus to Dieu Donne, which is located on the slopes of Franschhoek’s mountains. Again, as with all the wine estates, the views are just wonderful. We tasted eight wines (a variety of red, white, rose and sparkling) and had a cheese board to accompany our tasting.

Wine tasting at Dieu Donne

Wine tasting at Dieu Donne

We were then picked up and taken back to Franschhoek’s main street, where we then headed back to our lovely cottage – with full bellies, happy hearts and just a little bit merry!

The wine estates are not in walking distance from the centre of Franschhhoek or even in walking distance of each other, which means a taxi or a car (not recommended of course if you’re drinking) so the Wine Tram is a good, safe option.

If you’re looking for a unique, fun and well organised tour of Franschhoek’s wine estates then I highly recommend booking the Wine Tram.

Kirsty Marrins

Reader, writer, occasional runner, travel lover.

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2 COMMENTS

  • Jennifer

    This looks like such good fun – it’s making me excited for my upcoming trip to South Africa! Will have to look into this perhaps.
    Jennifer x
    Ginevrella | Lifestyle Blog

    • londonkirsty

      If you are going to Cape Town, you should check out some of my other posts, Jennifer. Enjoy! It’s such a beautiful country…

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