Pretoria is a small version of Johannesburg, and despite being less than 1 hour from it, it has more than 700,000 inhabitants (not counting the metropolitan area).
It is the executive capital of the country (South Africa is a unique case in the world, with a capital for each power), and therefore is where the government is based. It is also the most popular university city in South Africa.
Easily accessible from Johannesburg, it also has its own airport. For us, it was just the first stop on a journey that would end almost 2 weeks later in Cape Town after driving 4000 km. These are the most interesting places to visit in one day.
Date of the visit: October 2019.
Union Buildings
It is the very seat of the South African government, in addition to the office of the President. It is an English monumental style building on top of a hill known as “Meintjieskop”. Visitors are not allowed inside the building, but it is worth taking a walk around.
There is a statue of Nelson Mandela, in honour of the first president after apartheid, who has become another icon of the city. The adjoining park is a very nice area to walk if the weather is good. There is a beautiful view of Pretoria from the top.
It is interesting to mention that Pretoria is known as the “jacaranda city” due to the large number of this type of trees present in the city. We were lucky, and on the day of our visit, in the middle of the southern spring, they were in bloom, adding to the city a fabulous view.
Church Square
The very center of the city. In the square there are several buildings of interest, such as the Palace of Justice, or the old parliament (Ou Raadsaal).
On the other hand, in the center there is a statue of Paul Kruger, one of the presidents of South Africa from the beginning of the last century.
The surroundings of the square have a large number of street markets, where it is possible to buy anything, from food to any other type of accessory (we bought an adaptor for the socket).
Voortrekker Monument
It is a granite building located on top of a hill on the outskirts of the city, commemorating the migratory effect of Afrikaner farmers (white people Descendants of the Dutch colonists) in the early 19th century known as Voortrekker.
It was a process that involved relocation from the Cape Town province to the interior (what is now South Africa).
It takes about 25 minutes by car from the center of Pretoria, and, after paying the entrance (without getting out of the car itself), you enter the site, where the traveler can find a map to locate the attractions of the site.
The interior of the building itself is austere, but still impressive. There is information related to the migration process.
In the surroundings, there is also a leisure area, where visitors are offered a bar, restaurant, souvenir shop, theater, and also an excellent place to walk. It is worth to stare to the city skyline for a while.
With the sunset behind us, we decided to go back to the car, and travel the 300 km that still separated us from our next stop, Lydenburg. We spent the night in a bungalow on the outskirts of the town, on a country estate.
The following day would be one of my best traveling days in my life.
Related links
Pretoria Tourism Information
https://www.gauteng.net/neighbourhoods/pretoria
Information about the Union Buildings (from the Gauteng and the Presidency sites, respectively):
https://www.gauteng.net/attractions/union_buildings
http://www.thepresidency.gov.za/content/union-buildings
Voortrekker Monument Official Site
Useful Information
It takes about 1 hour from Johannesburg by car. There are also a lot of daily trains and buses.
https://www.southafricanrailways.co.za/
One day is more than enough to visit the main attractions in the city.
Map of Locations
Credits
Photos taken with Motorola One Vision.
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