What’s Special About Babylonstoren Wine Estate?
Babylonstoren wine estate is one of the most visited farms in the Cape Winelands. A scenic 20-minute drive from Franschhoek, this beautiful estate combines a working farm, extensive gardens, a cellar, and restaurants that focus on seasonal produce.
For guests staying in Franschhoek, it is an easy addition to any itinerary. Pink Door Franschhoek, La Fontaine Boutique Hotel, and Avondrood Guest House, are all close enough to enjoy a leisurely visit. Most people spend a few hours wandering the gardens, enjoying a wine tasting, and browsing the farm shops before heading back to the village.
Here’s a quick guide on what Babylonstoren wine estate offers, how to plan your time, and why it remains a reliable favourite for travellers based in Franschhoek.
Exploring the Gardens at Babylonstoren Wine Estate
The gardens are the centre of the Babylonstoren wine estate and one of the main reasons people visit. Owner Karen Roos commissioned French architect Patrice Taravella to design the layout. His work at Prieuré Notre-Dame d’Orsan in France, where he rebuilt a medieval cloistered garden around a restored 12th-century monastery, strongly influenced the structured style seen at Babylonstoren today.
The result is a series of themed sections that are easy to explore. There are vegetable blocks, berry gardens, citrus groves, a prickly pear maze, medicinal plants, and shaded paths lined with aromatic herbs. The layout encourages slow movement, with clear routes that guide you through each area without needing a map.
You’ll often see gardeners working throughout the day, which gives you a direct sense of how the estate grows and uses its produce. Most guests take their time here, stopping to notice what is in season or to sit beside the water channels that run through the property.
Garden Tours
A guided garden tour is offered daily. It is relaxed and useful if you want to understand how planting is planned and how the estate’s produce moves from garden to kitchen.
The daily tour starts at 10h00 in front of the Farm Shop. An experienced gardener leads the walk and encourages guests to pick, taste, smell, and touch as they move through the garden. It is a hands-on way to understand the purpose of each section and how the farm uses its produce.
Collections Tour
From Monday to Friday at 11h30, visitors can join the Collections Tour, which focuses on specific garden areas and the expertise behind them.
- Mondays and Fridays: Succulent collection and the cycads near the stream
- Tuesdays: The Healing Garden
- Wednesdays: The vegetable gardens
- Thursdays: Bees at Babylonstoren
Each walk offers a different perspective on the estate and introduces you to gardeners who specialise in these areas.
Wine Tasting at Babylonstoren Wine Estate
Wine is a major part of the experience at Babylonstoren wine estate. The farm has about 94 hectares under vine and produces thirteen grape varieties. The highest vineyards, home to pinot noir and chardonnay, grow along the slopes of Simonsberg at roughly six hundred metres above sea level.
This range of altitude and soil gives the estate a broad spectrum of styles, which is reflected in the tasting flights. Wines are made in a state-of-the-art cellar designed to showcase the character of the vineyards.
The Tasting Room is positioned beside the cellar with clear views of the conical Babylonstoren hill, Simonsberg, and the Banghoek mountains. Guests can enjoy a tasting flight, a glass, or a bottle, with plenty of space for a quiet, relaxed tasting.
Franschhoek Wine Tram
Babylonstoren forms part of the Franschhoek Wine Tram’s orange line. Tram passengers can hop off for a tasting or join one of the scheduled cellar tours, which makes the estate an uncomplicated stop for anyone exploring the valley without driving.
Cellar Tours
There are three cellar tours each day at 10h00, 13h00, and 16h00. The two-hour walk covers the vineyards, the working cellar, and the estate’s range of vessels, from amphorae to concrete eggs. The tour ends with a master tasting paired with farm-grown snacks.
It costs R550 per person, requires advance payment, and is limited to guests over 18. Comfortable shoes are recommended. Babylonstoren won the 2022 Best Innovative Wine Tourism Experience award, which reflects the quality of the tour.
Eating at Babylonstoren Wine Estate
Food is central to the experience at Babylonstoren wine estate. Each venue has its own character, but the approach stays the same: seasonal produce, simple preparation, and meals that rely on what is growing in the garden that week.
Babel Restaurant
Housed in the old cow shed, Babel Restaurant uses Cape Dutch architecture as its base, with glass walls opening it up to the farm around it. The kitchen follows a farm-to-fork philosophy, serving seasonal dishes that reflect a “pick, clean and serve” approach.
The menu changes often and focuses on garden-led cooking rather than complicated techniques. Meals are served family-style, with freshly baked bread from the wood-fired oven, generous salads, hearty mains, and a farm-made dessert to finish.
Hours:
Breakfast: Monday to Sunday, 8h00–09h30
Lunch: Wednesday to Sunday, 12h30–15h00
Dinner: Monday to Sunday, 18h00–20h30
Booking is essential, and reservations open nine months in advance.
The Greenhouse
At the back of the garden, the Greenhouse offers a relaxed stop for anyone who has spent the morning walking the pathways. Food is picnic-style and guided by what is growing in the garden.
The scones with seasonal preserves are a favourite, often enjoyed with honeybush tea made from the farm’s own plants. The menu includes breakfast plates, salads, sandwiches, and a range of cold drinks, coffees, and teas. No reservations are needed, although there may be a waiting list during busy times.
Hours:
September to April: 9h00–18h00
May to August: 9h00–17h00
The Old Bakery
Evenings at the Old Bakery have a lively atmosphere and focus on shared Italian-inspired meals. Dinner is served family-style from wooden boards, beginning with antipasti and salads, followed by homemade pasta and wood-fired pizza. Dessert closes the meal. These dinners are held on Monday, Tuesday, and Friday evenings, and reservations are essential.
On Wednesdays and Sundays, the Old Bakery turns into a long-table braai experience. The estate’s braai masters prepare a five-course meal built around their farm-reared Chianina beef, known for its natural marbling and aged for 28 to 42 days in their Himalayan salt room. The evening includes live folk music and ends with a traditional South African dessert.
Shopping at Babylonstoren Wine Estate
Babylonstoren wine estate has several small shops that give visitors a closer look at how the farm works. Each space focuses on a specific part of the estate, from fresh produce to homeware, fragrances, cheese, meat, and baked goods. It is a useful stop before heading back to Franschhoek, especially if you want to take home ingredients used in the restaurants.
- Farm Shop: A wide selection of produce used across the estate’s restaurants, along with oils, preserves, bread, and seasonal ingredients. Items are also available online.
- Scented Room: A quiet space showcasing fragrances created from farm botanicals. Guests can watch essential oil extraction or mix a scrub or mask. Olive oil soap is made from seventy percent estate-grown olive oil.
- Homeware: Linens, ceramics, and home essentials inspired by the garden’s seasonal patterns.
- Milk Room: Fresh cheeses made daily with Jersey milk and water buffalo milk from the farm’s own herd. Known for water buffalo gelato and ‘hang op’ yoghurt cheese.
- Meat Room: South African and Italian curing traditions sit side by side. Biltong, droëwors, charcuterie, smoked bacon, and aged Chianina beef are available.
- Bakery: Fresh loaves, sourdough, croissants, and pastries baked daily for Babel, the Greenhouse, and the Farm Shop.
- Lekker Room: Roasted nuts, chocolates, granola, rusks, vegan fudge, and coffee, housed in an 18th century building once used as a blacksmith’s workshop and wagon house.
Garden Spa
The Garden Spa at Babylonstoren wine estate follows the same philosophy as the rest of the farm. It is closely tied to the garden and shifts with the seasons. The space is set within a bamboo thicket, surrounded by greenery and the sound of leiwater channels moving through the area, which gives it a calm, grounded atmosphere.
The spa is housed in a bamboo pavilion and includes a hammam, chill room, hot spa, and a small gym. Treatments use ingredients sourced from the farm, and many guests pair a visit to the spa with time in the gardens or lunch at one of the restaurants. It is a peaceful addition to a full day on the estate.
Practical Information for Visiting Babylonstoren Wine Estate
Babylonstoren wine estate is easy to navigate once you have a sense of how the day flows. Most visits last two to four hours, depending on how much you want to do.
Location: Situated between Franschhoek and Simondium, about twenty minutes from Franschhoek village. Guests staying at Pink Door Franschhoek, La Fontaine Boutique Hotel, and Avondrood Guest House, or can reach the estate without much planning.
Opening Hours: The estate opens daily, but hours differ for the gardens, restaurants, shops, and the spa. Checking the times before you go is helpful, especially for Babel and the Old Bakery dinners.
Bookings
- Babel Restaurant: essential
- Old Bakery dinners and Carnivore Evenings: essential
- Garden Spa: essential
- Greenhouse: no booking required
- Wine tastings: recommended during peak periods
- Cellar tours: booking and prepayment required
Best Time to Visit: Late mornings suit the gardens. Afternoons work well for tastings and relaxed lunches. Weekdays are quieter than weekends.
What to Bring: Comfortable walking shoes, sun protection in summer, and a light jacket in winter. The farm paths include gravel and uneven ground.
Accessibility: Most areas are easy to access, though some garden pathways and the cellar tour involve uneven surfaces.
Getting Around: The estate is well signposted. You can walk everywhere at your own pace, and there is plenty of parking near the entrance.
A Reliable Addition to Any Franschhoek Itinerary
Babylonstoren wine estate is a reliable favourite for travellers spending time in Franschhoek. The gardens, restaurants, wine tastings, farm shops, and spa give visitors plenty to enjoy without needing to rush. It works for short, spontaneous visits as well as planned lunches or cellar tours, and the estate’s focus on produce and farming keeps the experience grounded.
For guests based at Pink Door Franschhoek, La Fontaine Boutique Hotel, or Avondrood Guest House, it is one of the easiest estates to include in a stay. Most people spend a few hours walking, tasting, eating, and exploring before returning to the village with bread, cheese, or wine for later.
FAQ
How far is Babylonstoren wine estate from Franschhoek?
About twenty minutes by car.
Do I need to book ahead?
Yes for Babel, the Old Bakery dinners, Carnivore Evenings, the spa, and the cellar tour. Wine tastings and the Greenhouse are more flexible, though tastings can get busy in peak season.
How long should I plan to spend at the estate?
Two to four hours works for most guests, depending on whether you include lunch or a wine tasting.
Is Babylonstoren suitable for children?
Yes. The gardens, farm spaces, and Greenhouse are family friendly, though certain activities, such as the cellar tour, are limited to adults.
Which restaurants are open without a booking?
The Greenhouse allocates tables on arrival. Other venues require reservations.
Can I buy produce to take home?
Yes. The Farm Shop, Scented Room, Bakery, Milk Room, Meat Room, and Lekker Room all sell farm-made or farm-sourced goods.