In a nutshell
- Stellenbosch is the best-known town in the Cape Winelands and, in our opinion, the best base for exploring the region. We’ll show you what to expect and everything you need to know before visiting Stellenbosch.
- This small university town is located about 45 minutes east of Cape Town by car.
- What to expect: a lively little town full of art, wine, great food, culture, and beautiful wine estates — each one a little world of its own.
- You can either take a day trip to the wine region or spend a few days there as part of your road trip along the Garden Route.
Cool Facts About Stellenbosch
- Stellenbosch is the second-oldest city founded by Europeans in South Africa, after Cape Town.
- The city sits right in the heart of Cape Town’s wine region, surrounded by green valleys, abundant nature, and vineyards. No surprise there — the area is best known for its wine.
- High-quality wine is exported from more than 150 wine estates.
- Since 1918, Stellenbosch has been a university town. Twenty percent of residents are students, and you can feel that energy throughout the city center.
The Best Things to Do in Stellenbosch
Stopping by Stellenbosch for some sightseeing is absolutely worth it. We especially loved the historic center and the art galleries. We’ll walk you through all of them one by one.
By the way, it’s also totally worth taking day trips from Stellenbosch to Paarl, Franschhoek, and Tulbagh.
Stellenbosch Old Town
The old quarter is full of little houses built in the Cape Dutch style. It’s genuinely lovely to stroll along the oak-lined avenues and admire the charming homes. A few are also in the Victorian and Georgian styles. The mix is really beautiful and makes the historic center itself a highlight worth exploring.
Here are the most beautiful spots in the old town.
Dorp Street
Dorp Street is the oldest street in the city. Lining it are old colonial houses that today are home to cafés, boutiques, and museums — perfect for a stroll with a real time-travel feel.
A few streets away you’ll find the Dorp Museum, featuring four old houses furnished the way people used to live. The name is a little misleading — it’s not specifically about houses from Dorp Street, but about beautiful old homes from Stellenbosch across different eras.
Besides Dorp Street, we also wandered through a few other streets that are well worth a walk: Church Street, Andringa Street, and Ryneveld Street.
Oom Samie Se Winkel
Also on Dorp Street is Oom Samie Se Winkel — the name roughly translates to Uncle Samie’s Shop.
It’s one of the most famous and oldest shops in Stellenbosch. With its abundance of knickknacks and old signs, it really does look like it just stepped out of the 19th century.
You can browse local delicacies, wines, gifts, traditional South African crafts, and souvenirs.
Die Braak
From a historical standpoint, the Die Braak square is significant — it’s the central square of Stellenbosch, and in the past it served as a training ground for the citizen militia.
The green square sits right behind the town’s large mall. A few of Stellenbosch’s most well-known buildings stand here, including the Burgerhuis and the Powder House.
Honestly, though, the square isn’t a must-see. You can swing by if you’re passing, but don’t go out of your way.
De Nieuwe Molen
Between the Die Braak square and Church Street stands De Nieuwe Molen — you’ll inevitably pass by it.
It’s a large replica iron wheel dating from 1749, depicting the wheel of Stellenbosch’s third wheat mill.
Moederkerk
At the other end of Church Street you’ll find the Moederkerk — the oldest church in Stellenbosch.
The first version burned down in 1710, and the second was built shortly afterward with a thatched roof. The current version, with its distinctive tower, dates from 1863.
That brilliantly white façade is totally typical of the Western Cape.
Mandela’s Tennis Shoes
Another point of interest on Church Street: in the window of the Hi-Tec store, you’ll find Nelson Mandela’s original tennis shoes.
Mandela was one of the most iconic figures in South African history. His long imprisonment left a lasting mark on the country. During his time on Robben Island, he wore these shoes to play tennis — they later became iconic, a symbol of his journey to freedom.
Stellenbosch University & Botanical Garden
A little away from the old quarter lies the University of Stellenbosch. The campus buildings are also designed in the Cape Dutch style — a truly beautiful place to study!
Okay, a university isn’t exactly a classic tourist attraction, but it’s still worth a visit. Alongside the many beautiful buildings, there’s a botanical garden with a garden restaurant and a University Museum.
The museum primarily displays paintings, sculptures, and ceramics by local artists. Admission is free.
Art & Galleries in Stellenbosch
During our walks through the city, we kept stumbling across seriously cool art galleries. If you’re exploring the city center on foot, you really can’t miss them. Make sure to step inside — they genuinely impressed us.
Here are our favorites:
GUS Gallery
The Gallery of the University of Stellenbosch (GUS) is housed in a former church. It features rotating exhibitions, live music, poetry slams, workshops, lectures, and panel discussions.
For more information about the exhibitions, visit the official GUS Gallery website.
IS Art Gallery
During our South Africa road trip, the IS Art Gallery was right next to the GUS Gallery.
Unfortunately, it’s no longer located in downtown Stellenbosch.
After our visit, it moved to the Blaauwklippen wine estate, just outside Stellenbosch — one of our favorite wine estates near Stellenbosch. We thought the selection of artists and works was truly excellent, so we still wanted to recommend it to you.
You can find all the details on the official IS Art Gallery website.
AOC Gallery
The Art on Church Gallery impressed us as well. It features mostly sculptures by local artists — and they’re genuinely cool, even though we’re not really big sculpture fans ourselves.
For all exhibition details, visit the Art on Church Gallery website.
Our Hotel Tips for Stellenbosch
We stayed at an Airbnb on the outskirts of Stellenbosch. Along with our Airbnb in Paternoster, it was by far our best accommodation in South Africa! The location is perfect and the place is incredibly cool, with two houses you can book either separately or together.
We spent a week there. If you’re only spending one or two days in the wine region, though, we’d recommend staying at a hotel in Stellenbosch. That way, everything you need is close by. Here are our picks — places we’d happily stay ourselves:
Hotel Krige: very central, and excellent value for the price! It’s not a classic Winelands-style property, but a modern hotel at a fair price.
Eendracht Hotel: also super central. The hotel has family rooms with a double bed plus bunk bed for around €180 per night including breakfast. A clear recommendation for families!
River Manor Boutique Hotel: right in Stellenbosch — the location is fantastic. It’s a charming boutique property that offers great value for what it provides.
All our tips for where to stay in Stellenbosch are here:
Our Restaurant Tips for Stellenbosch
The Cape Winelands are a mecca for foodies. You’ll find some of the best food in South Africa here — and Stellenbosch is no exception.
De Eetkamer
About the food at De Eetkamer, we have just one thing to say: absolutely amazing.
We went for lunch and only got a table because we were willing to sit outside, even though the weather wasn’t great. Inside was completely packed. Book ahead — seriously.
NY Slice Pizza
NY Slice Pizza is more of a casual spot. That might sound like a strange recommendation, and it can’t culinarily compare to the many fantastic restaurants in and around Stellenbosch. But for a pizza in South Africa, it was really good — we just had to mention it.
Bonus points: the value for money is excellent, and it’s located right next to the mall.
Kristen’s Kick-Ass Ice Cream Stellenbosch
Something sweet is always a good idea, and in Stellenbosch we recommend Kristen’s Kick-Ass Ice Cream. The shop serves incredibly delicious ice cream in generous portions at a fair price.
They also have plenty of vegan flavors.
More Restaurants in Stellenbosch
We had even more restaurants on our list, but unfortunately didn’t manage to try them all.
They’re all well-reviewed, so we’ll share them with you anyway. If you’ve been to any of them, let us know what you thought in the comments!
- Post & Pepper Restaurant: creative, regionally inspired dishes. Every plate is a little work of art.
- Hudsons – The Bruger Joint: delicious burgers on Dorp Street.
- Spek & Bone: South African cuisine in tapas style, set in a lovely courtyard.
The Best Wine Estates In and Around Stellenbosch
One of the main reasons you’re heading to Stellenbosch is probably the wine, right? Stellenbosch wine is world-famous — and for good reason.
In and around Stellenbosch there are more than 150 wine estates.
When we were preparing for our time in the Cape Winelands, we had so many questions: Which wine estate should we visit? What can you actually do there? Which estates are family-friendly?
Now that we’ve been there ourselves, we’re much wiser — and we want to give you the information we couldn’t find before our trip. We wrote a dedicated article covering all of this in detail. But to get you started, here are the top wine estates in and around Stellenbosch:
- Tokara Wine Estate
- Blaauwklippen
- Spier Wine Farm
- Delaire Graff Estate
Our detailed guide to the wineries can be found here:
Frequently Asked Questions About Stellenbosch
Is Stellenbosch worth visiting?
Absolutely! Stellenbosch is, in our opinion, the most beautiful town in the Cape Winelands — and that’s exactly why we recommend it as your base for exploring the region.
The town has a great energy and so much to discover. We were completely won over by it.
Stellenbosch or Franschhoek — which is better?
We’d choose Stellenbosch every time. There’s so much to discover, the vibe is great, and there are tons of beautiful wine estates around Stellenbosch.
Franschhoek is lovely too, but think of it as the slightly snobbier sister of Stellenbosch. That’s why we simply like Stellenbosch better.
Is Stellenbosch safe?
We visited Stellenbosch with two young children and always felt safe.
The wine region, along with the Garden Route and the West Coast of South Africa, is one of the safest areas in the country. That said, it’s always worth following general safety guidelines — we’ve outlined them for you here:
