Babylonstoren: A Must-Visit in the Cape Winelands

Hey there, I’m Jess ✨. On The Signature, I share reflections on beauty, routines, travel, wellness, culture, and everyday life. For those drawn to a calmer, more intentional way of living, I send a free newsletter each month on the 7th. You're welcome to join.

I had heard and read about Babylonstoren for years but had failed to visit in previous trips. This time around, I planned a proper visit. After visiting, I only regret one thing: how long it took me to go there!

Babylonstoren is more than just a wine estate. It is one of the oldest Cape Dutch farms, set at the foot of the Simonsberg Mountain in the Franschhoek wine valley.

Beyond the extensive vineyards, you can visit its vast fruit and vegetable garden, as well as a wine museum, a Farm Hotel & Spa, restaurants, culture spots, bakeries and a gorgeous and rustic shopping area with its farm shop, a fromagerie, a butcher shop and a home goods area.

This precious estate is located between Franschhoek and Paarl, close to the Fairview Wine & Cheese Estate which I also love. I visited when going from Mont Rochelle to the Table Bay hotel, with the car filled with yummy Babylonstoren foods and goods to take back home.

If it is ripe, you can eat it. It's one of the rules when strolling. That is how we could eat the most amazing tangerines (or clementines? I never know which is which!).

It was amazing to just slowly stroll around the gardens and check on the workers keeping up the estate with such care, greet them and enjoy the quiet silence of farm life. It was quite a rewarding experience and you tend to forget you are surrounded by other people walking on the grounds as well.

At the end of our slow stroll, filled with pictures, listening to the water streams, appreciating the architecture and the hard work, with snippets of conversation and silence, it was time to fuel up. We stopped at the bakery for some coffee and baked goods. A flat white and a ham croissant for me. An americano and an almond croissant for the husband. We split a melktert, a traditional South African dessert that can be translated to milk tart. Quite similar to the Portuguese pastel de nata, but with more milk. It took me right back to this farm stay in Namibia, where I had a melktert for the first time.

After that delicious meal sur le pouce, it was time for some shopping. I was completely in awe with the Babylonstoren shop. We were at the premises in peak Blood Orange season so it was part of the decoration. The display of dried orange slices reminded me of the Mercado dos Lavradores, the main market in Funchal, Madeira, with its famous red peppers. We purchased some olive oil, olives and rusks at the grocery store. I wished we had a flat to cook so that we could purchase the amazing produce and meats they also had. Some other time...

Then we visited the Wine Museum, quite a small yet cute space with a comprehensive array of information about wine production in South Africa and around the world. We could also see wine packaging from different eras and countries, as well as tips on wine pairing and temperature. A quick visit is a must.

Our last stop was at the gorgeous Home Goods store, where candles and soaps are produced daily. You can see the production line as you enter and the space is filled with the most incredible scents. I wish I could convey smell through my writing! We had to limit ourselves at this point because of our luggage space but still managed to purchase a couple of candles and insect-repellent creams in small pocket size tins, very useful in our side of the world.

You leave Babylonstoren a few hours later completely reinvigorated by the experience: from the people to the gardens, from the streams to the animals, from the baked goods to the wine, from the beautiful architecture to the sense of nature.

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