A South African residential estate in the Cape Winelands has been recognised as one of the world’s leading wellness communities!
Paarl, South Africa (31 May 2026) – Val de Vie Estate in Paarl has been named Top of Class for Africa in the 2026 Wellness Real Estate Atlas, a global report that benchmarks the world’s most forward-thinking residential developments against a comprehensive six-pillar wellness framework.
The atlas was developed as a companion to the Global Wellness Summit’s fifth annual Wellness Real Estate & Communities Symposium, held on 12 May 2026.
Using the Global Wellness Institute’s six-pillar framework – social, physical, mental, environmental, economic and civic wellbeing – the Atlas evaluates residential developments around the world to understand how holistically wellness is being woven into the places people call home.
Each development is reviewed against all six wellness pillars using publicly available information and materials submitted by the projects themselves. Only the most intentional, ambitious developments make it in.
South Africa’s Val de Vie in Paarl stood out.
“Val de Vie Estate has been named one of the top 15 wellness real estate developments globally in the Global Wellness Institute 2026 Wellness Real Estate Atlas and is the only residential estate in Africa on the list.” shares the estate.
The 917-hectare master-planned estate, developed from a former wine farm in the Paarl-Franschhoek Valley, received its highest scores for physical wellness and social design.
The estate is home to a 1,000m² wellness centre with a 50-metre Olympic pool, a Jack Nicklaus Signature golf course, polo fields, an equestrian club with 100 stables, 42km of trails, a spa, three gyms, and a retirement village that sits alongside family neighbourhoods, making it multigenerational in design.
The report also highlights the Val de Vie Foundation, which has raised over R40 million for surrounding Paarl-Franschhoek communities, supporting more than 59 organisations and over 47,000 beneficiaries through education and entrepreneurship programmes!
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“Val de Vie Estate is one of the most comprehensive private wellness estates in Africa, distinguished by its explicit six-pillar wellness philosophy, extraordinary physical infrastructure, multigenerational design, and genuine community philanthropy via the Val de Vie Foundation.” the report shares.
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