Huguenot Memorial Museum

The Huguenot Memorial Museum explains why a Cape Winelands valley carries a French name. It covers the Huguenots before and after they reached the Cape at the end of the seventeenth century, and frames them as refugees rather than founding heroes. It sits next to the Huguenot Monument in Franschhoek, so it is an easy hour or two between lunch and wine tasting.

What to expect

The main exhibition is in Saasveld, a Cape Town house designed by Louis Michel Thibault that was taken apart and rebuilt brick by brick in Franschhoek in 1967. Door frames and Robben Island slate from the original survive. Inside, a timeline runs through the house with five themed rooms off it: Flight, Sacred Texts, Home, Family and Legacy. The annex covers the town itself, fynbos, Khoisan heritage and the fruit industry. The precinct also includes the old slave lodge, a double-storey outbuilding that now houses the First South African Perfume Museum, opened in 2012.

Practical details

• Open Monday to Saturday 9am to 5pm. Sundays 9am to 5pm from October to April, closed on Sundays from May to September.
• Open on public holidays except 1 January, Good Friday and 25 December.
• Last tickets are sold at 4.15pm.
• Buy tickets at the museum shop in the annex, then cross Lambrechts Street to Saasveld.

Good to know

Pair the visit with the monument next door, which is the photo most people come for. The Family room is the one to linger in if you have a Cape surname of French origin and want the background. There is a wild flower garden in the grounds too.

Last updated 6 October 2026. Sources: Huguenot Memorial Museum, Wikipedia.