A working farm, three centuries old
Founded in 1692, Babylonstoren is one of the best-preserved Cape Dutch farmyards in the country — a cluster of whitewashed, gabled buildings set beneath the Simonsberg, in the valley between Paarl and Franschhoek. For most of its long life it was simply a farm. Then it was reimagined into one of the Cape's most celebrated destinations, without ever losing the feeling of a real, working farm.
The historic Cape Dutch werf — whitewashed gables under the Simonsberg.
The garden everyone comes for
At the heart of it all is the garden — and it's the reason people travel from all over the world. Laid out in formal beds, hedged avenues and geometric paths, it takes its inspiration from the historic Company's Garden that supplied ships in Cape Town's earliest days. The guiding idea is simple and wonderful: almost every plant here is edible, medicinal or useful. Hundreds of varieties of fruit, vegetables, herbs and berries grow in beautiful, deliberate order.
The clivia tunnel ablaze with orange — one of the garden's magical moments.
You wander through prickly-pear mazes and citrus groves, past beehives and berry bushes, over streams and along shaded walkways. In spring the wildflower meadows and lavender beds hum with bees; in every season there's colour, scent and something ripening.
Lavender beds and wildflower meadows — beautiful, and every bit of it purposeful.
Under glass
The garden's glasshouses are destinations in themselves — soaring structures of timber and glass where citrus, succulents and tender plants flourish. Stepping inside one on a cool morning, into the warm green quiet, is one of the loveliest moments of a visit.
The glasshouses — citrus, succulents and warm green light.
From garden to table
What grows in the garden ends up on the plate. Babylonstoren's restaurants are properly farm-to-table — the celebrated Babel, in a converted old cowshed, and the light-filled Greenhouse restaurant, where you can eat surrounded by glass and greenery. The food is fresh, seasonal and beautiful, and it tastes of the place it came from.
Eating under glass at the Greenhouse — the garden, quite literally, on your plate.
Shop, cellar and apothecary
There's far more than the garden. The farm shop and bakery sell just-baked bread, cheeses, preserves and produce; the tasting room pours Babylonstoren's own wines and estate olive oil; and the Healing Garden apothecary turns garden botanicals into teas, tinctures and skincare. There's also a Cape Dutch hotel and a spa for those who want to stay and slow right down.
The apothecary — the garden distilled into bottles.
Visiting Babylonstoren with Cheryl
Babylonstoren is understandably popular, so a visit rewards a little planning: garden entry and the restaurants are best pre-booked, especially in season and on weekends. It sits perfectly on a Winelands day — pair a morning garden stroll and farm-to-table lunch with a tasting at one of the historic estates nearby, like Muratie or the farms in our four-estate Winelands guide.
Babylonstoren — a whole day's wonder in one farm.
Cheryl handles the booking, the drive and the timing, and shapes the rest of the day around what you love — garden, food, wine, or all three. Tell her you'd like to include Babylonstoren, and she'll build the perfect Winelands day around it.
