Cape Town | The Best Franschhoek Wine Tram Route

The Winelands of South Africa lie less than an hour from Cape Town in the beautiful rolling hills. Stellenbosch, with its charming tree-lined streets, may be more well-known but the quaint colonial town of Franschhoek is where you’ll find Cape Town’s best wine experience. The historic town centre is made up of one small but happening street. Beautiful, white Cape Dutch buildings intermingle with lush greenery and lavish restaurants. Smack dab in the middle is the ticket booth for the Franschhoek Wine Tram and the boarding point for four routes reaching out into the magnificent vineyards of South Africa. 

While surely the best way to experience the Franschhoek Wine Tram is to do every route (wouldn’t that be nice?) most people don’t have the time to spend four or more days in the Winelands. So we put together a guide for the best Franschhoek Wine Tram route to help you make the most of a single day on board.

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A Guide to the Best Franschhoek Wine Tram Route

Why we love it: Top reasons to experience the Winelands on the tram
The best route: Why we vote for the orange or purple lines
Itinerary: One day on the orange line
Budget: Overview of expected costs
Top Tips: Helpful hints for your Franschhoek Wine Tram day

Why we Love the Franschhoek Wine Tram

• A Charming Ride – Wine tours are tough to get right. No one wants to be the designated driver and hopping on a coach bus can kill the mood. We love bicycling around to wineries, walking and small tours, but riding an old-timey wine tram through the countryside is a whole new experience that adds a level of charm (and convenience) that really can’t be beat.
• Wine Storage – There’s no carting around your wine haul from winery to winery. When you board at each stop they label your purchases and place them securely in storage for you to pick up at the end of the day. (Though perhaps we would have bought less if it was weighing us down.)
• Safety – The Winelands aren’t far from Cape Town’s surrounding townships and car-jackings are known to happen. Travelling in a group on the wine tram is a safer option than driving around in a snazzy car, especially as you load up on wine throughout the day. Plus, riding the tram rules out drinking and driving.
• Quality Winery Options – Arguably the best thing about the Franschhoek Wine Tram is the range of wonderful wineries en route, from boutique to family-run. It doesn’t just hit up the commercialized mass wineries. And, with eight line options, there is bound to be something for everyone.
• The Welcome Bevy – The Franschhoek Wine Tram knows how to start the day off right. As you settle into your chosen seat and get a quick briefing on the logistics of the route they pour you a cold glass of sparkling to sip along the way.

Related // Our favourite things to do in Cape Town

Which Route is the Best? 

The wine tram lines can be a bit confusing at first. There are four routes, and a different colour code for each. You can also do each route in either direction, which is why you see eight lines. We think that the orange and purple lines are the best Franschhoek wine tram route. Here’s why:

• A Beautiful Backdrop – These lines take you out of the valley and up into the scenic hills around Paarl. Rolling hills, fields of grazing cattle and distant mountains become the backdrop for the day. 
• Gourmet Eats – The restaurants on this route are destinations all their own. Babel at Babylonstoren is renowned for farm to table seasonal food, beautifully prepared. Just down the road, Lust Bistro & Bakery elevates humble dishes that pair perfectly with the region’s wines. And Allée Bleue and Solms Delta both offer gourmet picnic baskets.
• Flexible Schedule – One of the best things about the orange and purple lines is that the tram comes every 35 minutes. The shorter time frame (most routes are one hour) allows for more flexibility. If you love a place you can opt to stay longer without having to cut another stop.
• The Wine – But of course! The wine offerings on this route are phenomenal. Whether you’re after a crisp Chenin Blanc or a complex Cab Sauv you’ll find it all along the orange and purple lines, from big name wineries down to boutique charmers.
• Accessibility – The orange and purple lines are the only Franschhoek Wine Tram lines that you can join if you’re coming from Cape Town via the CitySightseeing transfer. They’re also the only lines that have two starting point options: the ticket booth in town where all the lines start from, or Groot Drakenstein Station in Paarl.

Related // A Day on Cape Town’s Hop on-Hop off Bus

Note: The Purple Line is the reverse of the Orange Line.

A Day on the Best Franschhoek Wine Tram Route

Each route as 8-11 stops where you can choose to hop off or skip. You can squeeze a lot in if you skip tours and focus on tastings but we’d recommend prioritizing 3-5 to give you a more relaxed day. Below we’ve broken down the wine tram’s orange line.

Stop One // Noble Hill – Sadly closed for renovations when we visited. 

Stop Two // Babylonstoren – This estate could easily consume your whole day if you let it. The lush gardens are perfect for a morning stroll. There are multiple restaurants on site as well as a bakery, spa and boutique shop selling goods like soap and lotions made on site. We popped into the airy glass-walled tasting room and shared a flight to start our day. Keep an eye on the clock to be sure you don’t miss your boarding time walking back from the gardens. 

Stop Three // Backsberg – One wine tasting down and we were famished. So, we skipped Backsberg to get to lunch.

Stop Four // Vrede en Lust – Lunch – We got here before the lunch rush (thankfully, because we didn’t make a reservation) and settled right into a table at Lust Bistro & Bakery. After sampling a few wines with our scrumptious (and filling) meal we made a quick trip to the wine shop and scenic tasting room before hopping back on the tram.

Stop Five // Plaisir de Merle – Also closed during our visit, the down side of travelling in low season.

Stop Six // Allée Bleue – By now you’ll have the idea – sipping world-class wines overlooking gorgeous vineyards is what the orange line is all about. Allée Bleue is no exception. It’s also where we (finally) tried South Africa’s famous Pinotage for the first time.

Wine Nerd Fun Fact: Pinotage is South Africa’s unique red varietal. The grape was cultivated by crossing Pinot Noir and Hermitage (which is what they called Cinsault) almost a century ago. It’s ease of growing (like Cinsault) made it popular for mass production. These wines met harsh criticism and the grape was nearly lost until quality producers began to focus on bringing out the best in the grape. Now wineries like Allée Bleue serve up the tannic red proudly.

Stop Seven // Solms Delta – We had actually planned to skip this winery but ended up having time for it and we’re so glad we did. It’s smaller than many others and seems to get overlooked, but it should be at the top of your list. For one, the wine was incredible (and not just because we had already had a few). The bottle we purchased lived up to our fond memories a few days later. The prices were on the lower end on of others on the tour. The vineyard is breathtaking and there is a small production feel to the whole experience. There were only a few other visitors which meant we had a lovely, personalized experience.

Hot Tip: If you don’t do the orange/purple route consider a trip to Solms Delta on its own. They offer unique experiences like foraging in the forest that would make for a great day outing. 

Stop Eight // Boschendal –  The tasting patio at Boschendal sits in a courtyard surrounded by the iconic white Cape Dutch buildings of the area. They offer up flights of wine, premium tastings and cheese or chocolate pairings. A perfect way to wrap up the day. 

Our Wine Tram Budget | Orange Line

The cost of your Franschhoek wine tram experience is very dependant on your choices. Tastings range from R20-R150 depending on how many varietals and the quality of the wine. However, the biggest variance will be in how much wine you choose to purchase. For reference, we’ve broken out what we spent on tastings, pairings and food below. It is calculated per person even though in some instances we shared a flight. 

The Tram – R260 / $18 USD

Babylonstoren Tasting* – R50 / $3.5 USD

Lust Bistro & Bakery Lunch – R250 / $18 USD

Allee Bleue Tasting – R100 // $7 USD (choice of three wines with cheese pairing)

Somms Delta Tasting – R45 / $3 USD (the wine tram express tasting of three varietals)

Total Per Person (excluding wine purchases) = R705 / $48.5 USD

*At Babylonstoren we shared the tasting of 6 wines (R60) and 1 premium wine (R30). You can also do an express tasting of three wines for R30.

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Franschhoek Wine Tram | Top Tips

• Start early – While the prospect of sampling wine bright and early might preempt the next day’s headache, it’s worth an early start. Getting to the first winery, especially on the orange and purple route can take some time. And these vineyards are beautiful and well worth taking the time to stroll around. 
• Pre-Book Lunch – This isn’t mandatory on slow days but if you’re visiting on a weekend, at high season or are dying to eat at Babel, call ahead to make a reservation. 
• Prioritize – Take a peak at the timetable before your trip and pick your top 3 wineries. There’s a good chance you’ll have time for more but it will help you decide when to hop off, or not, after a few glasses.

Have you been to the Winelands? What do you think is the best Franschhoek wine tram route?