The Hop-on Hop-off Experience, allows you to do just that – hop on and off as you like, experiencing the different activities on offer, be it wine tasting, a cellar tour, lunch or just a stroll through the vineyards. And when you’re ready, simply hop-on to continue your journey!
Take your pick between eight different lines, each visiting a selection of wine estates showcasing a separate part of the Franschhoek Valley. The Hop-on Hop-off experience allows you to curate and plan your own day. You get to choose how long you spend at each spot (within the line schedule, of course), where you eat, where you drink, and the activities you partake in.
With Franschhoek being named the Culinary Capital of South Africa, many of the estates we visit boast world-famous restaurants and offer unique dining options. To avoid disappointment, be sure to make any dining bookings in advance. Choose from picnics, light lunches, to full multiple-course dining experiences.
Your experience begins at the Franschhoek Terminal where you can grab a coffee, and browse our merchandise while waiting for your journey to start. You’ll depart from the Franschhoek Terminal and be transported around your selected line’s loop of stops on a combination of double-decker tram and open-air tram-bus, allowing you to disembark when you like.
City Sightseeing now offers an all-inclusive Franschhoek Wine Tram experience. Guests depart from City Sightseeing at the V&A Waterfront and join our Hop-on Hop-off Experience.
Breathtaking scenery, warm hospitality, world-class cuisine and fine wines. These are the hallmarks of the beautiful Franschhoek Valley in the heart of the Cape Winelands!
When the Huguenots first settled in this spectacular valley over 300 years ago, they brought with them their traditions and knowledge in winemaking and viticulture from their native France, and transformed the valley they now called ‘home’. This proud heritage can be seen and felt today in the Franschhoek Village and on the surrounding farms.
Today, the Franschhoek Valley offers a variety of cellars, from small boutique wineries that cater for those in search of something unique, to large cellars that offer organised tours and tastings. Award-winning wines range from plump reds to elegant whites and delicious sparkling wines.
This longstanding tradition of winemaking is a perfect complement to the superb cuisine offered in any one of Franschhoek’s more than 40 restaurants. Franschhoek is now known as the Wine & Gourmet Capital of South Africa, and boasts many talented chefs, several who have been awarded the highest national and international culinary honours!
The tracks upon which the Franschhoek Wine Tram now runs, were originally built in 1904 to serve as an alternative to ox-drawn carts for farmers wanting to get their produce to market.
For many years, steam locomotives operated along the route until diesel locomotives took over in the 1970s, and then, in the 1990s, as the need for rail transport decreased, service along the railway line diminished. For more than a decade the railway line remained dormant until it was revived and returned to full-time service in 2012 as what we know and love today, the Franschhoek Wine Tram!
The original single-decker tram, otherwise known as the ‘Brill Tram’, was built primarily for guest comfort and taking in the views, and ultimately offered the Franschhoek visitor a brand new way to explore the Franschhoek valley. For the first time, guests were able to enjoy views that before were considered ‘off the beaten-track’. The newly constructed double-decker trams, which were introduced to the tracks in 2017, were modeled after the Blackpool Corporation Tramways Double Deck Balcony Tramcar of circa 1923. The almost five-meter tall double-decker trams give passengers a unique and unparalleled vantage point from which to survey and experience the local countryside. Each tram seats a maximum of 78 passengers on comfortable flip-over benches, allowing guests to enjoy views in both directions. The tram has a top speed of 32 km per hour, and a total weight of approximately 20 tons when fully loaded.
