Franschhoek

A tram runs an old rail line in a loop between the estates. One ticket allows getting on and off anywhere for the day.

A white arch stands in memory of those who came from France. The museum beside it holds the bibles and family trees they brought.

Restaurants and galleries sit close together along one street. Oaks roof it, so the walk stays in shade even in summer.

Hundreds of old cars stand in order of date inside a vineyard. Four halls divide them by period.

Several trails climb the mountains that ring the valley. The higher the path goes, the smaller the vineyards look and the scrub takes over.

A second fermentation, carried out in the bottle, is where the bubbles come from. Each bottle is turned by degrees so the sediment collects in the neck, and that is demonstrated.

Dirt tracks between the rows link several estates by bicycle. The climbs stay gentle, so a beginner manages it.

Molten glass is blown down a pipe into a vessel while visitors watch. The workshop runs hot, so the door stays open and the viewing happens from outside.

Partway up the pass out of the valley a viewing place is cut. From it the vineyards filling the valley floor show all at once.

Valley farms bring what they grew and open in the morning. Cheese, bread and honey are tasted on the spot before buying.

A farm going back to 1692, whose walled garden is laid out in beds of fruit trees, vegetables and herbs. Guided walks with a gardener let you pick and taste leaves on the way. The restaurant cooks from the garden and fills early, so reserve ahead.

A wine farm that began on land granted to a Huguenot settler in 1685. The Cape Dutch manor house of 1812 is furnished in period style and opens as a museum. Picnic baskets are laid out on the lawns under the oaks, facing mountains beyond the vines.

A wine farm where the valley opens out, with a gallery for the landscape painter Pierneef. His plateaus and rock mountains, flattened into simple planes, hang together in one place. A heritage walk on the farm passes the old mill and cellar.

A statue at the prison gate Mandela walked out of on 11 February 1990, after 27 years behind bars. His raised fist copies the photographs from that day. Prisoners are still held there, so viewing happens from outside the gate.

A concrete monument raised on the slopes of Paarl Mountain in 1975 to honour Afrikaans. Columns of different heights stand for the European, African and Asian strands woven into the language. From the hill you look over Paarl town and its valley of vines.