Cape Town & the Winelands

The Real Relaxer: Cape Town & Environs in 1 Week

You've chosen to stay put in one region and relax. Sensible, really: You're in one of the most beautiful cities in the world, surrounded by vineyard-carpeted valleys and a whale nursery off the coast -- why rush off?

Day 1: Cape Town

Having arranged for an airport transfer with your lodgings (where you have booked for 4 nights), spend the first day sleeping late and book a spa treatment for the afternoon. Then take a stroll around the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront in the late afternoon before dining at Den Anker (for delicious Belgian-inspired cuisine) or the more flashy Baia (for seafood) -- make sure to book ahead for either (in the summer, even before you leave home), and request a table with a view of iconic Table Mountain. Alternatively, if you want to watch Capetonians at play, head for the tiny piazza at Cape Quarter and grab an outside table at one of the surrounding eateries there.

Day 2: Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens & Southern Suburbs

Hopefully you're now feeling fully recovered on day 2, as your car should be delivered to you this morning. Spend the morning on the eastern slopes of Table Mountain exploring Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens (or, if you're a beach lover, take a book to Camps Bay, where you can simply cross the road when it's time to lunch). From Kirstenbosch, make your way farther south to lunch at the manor house at Constantia Uitsig, for pastoral vineyard views and old-style elegance. Or skip lunch altogether and take high tea at the Mount Nelson, Africa's grandest and most colonial hotel. If you have the energy, ascend Table Mountain in the late afternoon to watch as the sun sinks into the western horizon and the city lights come twinkling on.

Day 3: Cape Peninsula

The third day should see you complete the peninsula, where the highlights are getting off the beaten track in the Cape Point Nature Reserve and cruising the awesome Chapman's Peak Drive when the sun starts to set. Lunch at Harbor House in Kalk Bay; then stop for supper -- a plate of fresh, tender calamari -- at the Chapman's Peak Restaurant.

Days 4 & 5: Franschhoek & the Winelands

The next day, set off for Franschhoek, 79km (49 miles) from Cape Town, where you should spend 2 nights, preferably at La Petite Ferme. Once there, arrange for a personal wine guide to take you to a few wine estates in Stellenbosch to sample the Cape's best. While you're there, consider lunching at Tokara (the views are beautiful), or Terroir and try to leave enough time to sleep off the possible effects of imbibing such delicious fare before tackling the nearly impossible: choosing where to have dinner in this gourmet heaven. After a leisurely start, ascend the Franschhoek Pass the next day for lunch at Le Petite Ferme; reserve a window seat on the terrace well in advance.

Day 6: Whale-Watching in Hermanus

You could easily spend another night in Franschhoek (for the multiple restaurants options alone!) but if it's whale-watching season (June-Nov), keep heading south, traversing the Franschhoek and Viljoens passes before joining the N2 at Grabouw (where there is a delightful farm stall, Peregrine, if you're feeling peckish), which will take you to Hermanus, "whale-watching capital of the world," approximately 112km (69 miles) from Cape Town. Spend the night here (preferably at the Marine) before returning to Cape Town, this time taking the magnificent Coastal Road to rejoin the N2 at Gordon's Bay.

Day 7: Cape Town

Celebrate your last night in Cape Town with a meal at Aubergine or The Showroom if you're a foodie, or back at Den Anker if you're sentimental.