Babylonstoren

The most beautiful garden in the Western Cape of South Africa!

Babylonstoren - Cape Winelands - South Africa Safari

The Cape’s most beloved garden

While South Africa’s Western Cape is famed for its historic Cape Dutch farms, there is one that stands out for its garden of other-worldly beauty and scope.

Set at the foot of the Simonsberg Mountain, between Paarl and Franschhoek, Babylonstoren boasts a magnificent 8-acre garden that has become renowned across the globe.

Expect to be overwhelmed by multi-sensorial pleasure as you feast on the vibrant colours of the fruit and vegetables, listen to the gentle buzzing of the bees, breathe in the fragrant laws, and enjoy the antics of the ducks, chickens and other farm animals.

The indigenous plants are as awe-inspiring for locals as they are for out-of-towners being introduced to the species for the first time. The landscaping of the 15 different sections is an inspiration to even the most adept gardener, and the secluded paths and majestic trees make for delightfully romantic explorations.

Mother Earth

Whether it’s the trickling of a gentle stream or the angelic little face of a sleeping hedgehog that connects you most deeply to Mother Earth, you’re bound to find your fix in the Babylonstoren garden.

Exploring 8 acres of the enchanting landscape can build up quite the appetite. Babylonstoren has become somewhat of a culinary institution in the Cape, with its Babel Restaurant attracting discerning fine diners, and its Greenhouse Restaurant delighting alfresco enthusiasts.

Housed in an old cow shed of the original 1692 farmhouse, Babel is uncompromising in its offering of fresh, sustainable, farm-to-fork produce. The menu is dictated to by what’s available in the garden and offers a wonderful way of fully embracing a typical South African season.

Babylonstoren - Cape Winelands - South Africa Safari
Babylonstoren - Cape Winelands - South Africa Safari

The Greenhouse Restaurant

The Greenhouse Restaurant is housed in a beautiful vintage conservatory, and follows the same sustainable eating principles. We love that the wholesome food is served picnic-style, from wooden crates. It’s so quaint to see the preserves and salads presented in weck jars, and to enjoy the bread fresh from the wood-fired oven and wrapped in blue-and-white paper.

For an Italian-inspired family affair, the bakery at Babylonstoren offers not only freshly baked loaves of bread and local cheeses, but also hearty dinners the likes of salads and antipasti followed by the farm’s famous wood-fired pizza.

Regardless of which dining option you choose, be sure to wash it down with one of the farm’s elegant wines. The state-of-the-art Babylonstoren cellar crafts wines that showcase the unique soil and climate from which the grapes originate.  Simplicity is prioritised throughout the winemaking process, and the result is wines that are beautifully balanced and as natural as possible. You can also enjoy these with some tasty tapas in the eye-catching steel-and-glass tasting room next to the cellar.

the Babylonstoren oasis

There’s a very good chance you’re going to want to stay in the Babylonstoren oasis for as long as possible. Luckily, there’s a stylish Farm Hotel to welcome you for a night of cosy, authentic, farm-stay fun. Choose between one-bedroom suites and two-bedroom cottages, and enjoy the charm of the lovingly restored farmhouse buildings.

If you’re not staying over but have an afternoon at leisure, we’d highly recommend a visit to the Babylonstoren Garden Spa, where nature’s little healers are brought in from the garden in the form of beautiful botanical elixirs for a naturally nourishing pamper.

You may even want to top off your spa treatment with a visit to Babylonstoren’s Healing Garden, where you can let time stand still as you enjoy freshly blended herbal teas straight from the garden.

Whether you’re a gardening fanatic, a fine dining enthusiast, or a natural health-seeker, you are sure to be delighted by your visit to Babylonstoren.  

Babylonstoren South-Africa Cape Wine