Sydafrika

French Huguenots settled in this spectacular valley over 300 years ago, bringing their vines with them. Ever since, this Winelands town has clung to its French roots, and July visitors will find that Bastille Day is celebrated here. Franschhoek bills itself as the country’s gastronomic capital, and you’ll certainly have a tough time deciding where to eat. Plus, with a clutch of art galleries, wine farms and stylish guesthouses thrown in, it really is one of the loveliest towns in the Cape.

Rough and ready, smart and sophisticated, rural and rustic: there’s no doubt that KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) is eclectic. It’s a region where glassy malls touch shabby suburbs, and action-packed adventurers ooze adrenaline while laid-back beach bods drip with suntan lotion. Mountainscapes contrast with flat, dry savannahs, while the towns’ central streets, teeming with African life, markets and noise, are in stark contrast to the sedate tribal settlements in rural areas. Here, too, is traditional Zululand, whose people are fiercely proud of their culture.

Route 62 takes you through some spectacular scenery changes, from the rugged mountain passes between Montagu and Calitzdorp to the arid semidesert of the Little Karoo region around Oudtshoorn. It’s touted as the longest wine route in the world and is a great alternative to the N2 if you’re travelling from Cape Town towards the Garden Route.

If any landscape lives up to its airbrushed, publicity-shot alter ego, it is the jagged, green sweep of the Drakensberg’s tabletop peaks. This forms the boundary between South Africa and the mountain kingdom of Lesotho, and offers some of the country’s most awe-inspiring landscapes.

The iSimangaliso Wetland Park, a Unesco World Heritage site, stretches for 220 glorious kilometres from the Mozambique border to Maphelane, at the southern end of Lake St Lucia. With the Indian Ocean on one side and a series of lakes (including Lake St Lucia) on the other, the 2038-sq-mile (3280-sq-km) park protects five distinct ecosystems, offering everything from offshore reefs and beaches to lakes, wetlands, woodlands and coastal forests. Loggerhead and leatherback turtles nest along the park’s shores; whales and dolphins appear offshore and the park is occupied by numerous animals, including antelopes, hippos and zebras. The ocean beaches pull big crowds during the holiday season for everything from diving to fishing.

Hermanus is generally considered the best land-based whale-watching destination in the world. From June to December, the bay becomes the swimming grounds for a large number of southern right whales. So what might have otherwise just been a small fishing village is today a large, bustling town with an excellent range of accommodation, restaurants and shops.

Green Point’s common includes an imaginatively landscaped park and the Cape Town Stadium, built for the 2010 World Cup. There are several pleasant guesthouses and backpacker lodges to stay here too, but if it's luxe digs you're after then head to the V&A Waterfront. Known simply as the Waterfront, this shopping, entertainment and residential development is the city's most popular tourist destination and home to top sights such as the ferries to Robben Island and the new Zeitz MOCAA Museum, which opened in 2017.

Var, och hur, ska man bo i Kapstaden? Vid havet, upp mot berget, mitt i city eller lantligt? Hotell, lägenhet eller privat hem med pool? Alternativen är oändliga i en stad som är långt från platt och ensidig.

Commonly known as Jo’burg or Jozi, this is the vibrant heart of South Africa, a rapidly changing city looking optimistically towards the future.

From lush tropical forests to uninhabited desert expanses, and from easy-going hammock time to adrenaline-pumping adventures, the Eastern Cape offers a wide range of topography and experiences. Compared with the more developed Western Cape, it can feel like a different country and provides opportunities to learn about Xhosa culture. Some of South Africa's finest hiking (and slackpacking) trails wind along the province's largely undeveloped coastline and through its mountainous, waterfall-filled landscapes.