Going to Parys
When you mention that you are going to Parys, many people turn their nose up. Those are the ones who haven’t been there. It is a lovely town, set along the south bank of the Vaal River, with a well-established tourism infrastructure.
The main tourist boulevard is lined with quaint, old buildings that now house an enticing variety of antique stores, restaurants, cafés, art galleries, craft shops and homeware boutiques. The town centre, on the other hand, contains a rather drab and utilitarian collection of supermarkets and bottle stores.
Parys began life as a parish of the Kroonstad Dutch Reformed Church in 1873. In 1882 it became a town and, in 1887, it became a municipality. The place was named by its town planner, Schilbach, after the much-grander French city of the same name. It is thought that Schilbach had participated in the siege of Paris during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71, and believed that the banks of the Vaal River and the banks of the Seine had something in common.
Platteland Charm
Parys is a low-rise, sleepy kind of place with a quiet platteland (farmland) charm. Nevertheless, before you ask, yes, there is an Eiffel Tower in Parys, built in the front yard of an antique shop on the road towards Vredefort.
Even though Parys is at the centre of a prosperous farming district, it has always relied on tourism for its bread and butter. This is because Parys used to be an important stop-over on the old road from Cape Town to Johannesburg. Wagons and traders would gather here before crossing the Vaal, and the enterprising people of Parys took the opportunity to supply the travellers with food, lodging and beer.
Witwatersrand Gold Rush
After the Witwatersrand gold rush of the late 1880s, traffic increased considerably and Parys soon became one of the biggest towns in the Free State. A small bridge across the Vaal was built in 1915 to replace the old, accident-prone ferry service and the prosperity of Parys seemed to be guaranteed.
When the new N1 highway was built, however, it bypassed Parys entirely and crossed the Vaal on a big new bridge to the north of the town. Fearing a slump, Parys re-invented itself as a riverside resort for the nearby metropolis of Johannesburg, and continued to supply holiday-makers with food, lodgings and beer. Antiques also became an attraction of the town and Parys now boasts several excellent antique/junk shops.
No More a Sleepy Dorp
In the last few years, Parys has begun to gentrify. What was once considered a sleepy dorp full of retirement homes is now a top eco-tourism destination. Property prices have skyrocketed, estate agents colonised the main road and the restaurateurs moved in. Several resident artists call Parys their home and the town currently supports many river-rafting operations and team-building venues.
Parys is located 120 km from Joburg, 50 km from Potch and 15 km from Vredefort. It is an hour’s easy drive from the Gauteng metropolitan area and makes for an excellent day trip or weekend getaway. A listing of accommodation, dining and shopping options can be found below.
Did You Know? The huge meteorite impact structure (also known as an astrobleme) at Vredefort dates back an incredible 2 023 million years, making it the oldest (and largest) astrobleme found on Planet Earth so far.