Pretoria

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General Information

The city of Pretoria is located in the northern part of Gauteng. It is one of South Africa’s three capital cities, serving as the administrative capital of the country. Andries Pretorius, the Voortrekker leader after whom it was named, could hardly have inmagined the small Highveld town, set up in the Apies River Valley as the pride of the Boer Republic would grow more than 900 sqaure kilometers of residential tranquillity, commercial vivacity and political authority.

Graceful, its land surveyed with care by the stalwarts of the Great Trek, the city has housed four governments, weathered controversy and cradled revolution. The residents enjoy its hilly highfield landscape and sweltering summer afternoons. They take pride in their city reflected in the many manicured lawn and gardens of clean, safe suburbs.

50km North of Johannesburg, Pretoria represents a more laidback lifestyle of urban Gauteng but still a crucial centre of embassies, sonsulates and official buildings.

Pretoria has a moderate with similar temperatures to Johannesburg but usually one or tree degrees higher. The warm pleasant climate makes it a great place to stay all year round.

Activities and Attractions

Pretoria offers visitors a wide range of things to do, from malls and shopping to museums, music, restaurants, clubs and even game drives.

A list of malls in Pretoria can be seen below:

Atterbury Boulevard
Atterbury Value Mart
Brooklyn Mall
Brooklyn Design Square
Centurion Mall
Hatfield Plaza
Irene Village Mall
Kolonnade Centre
Mall @ Reds
Menlyn Retail Park
Menlyn Park
Parkview Centre
Sammy Marks Shopping Centre
Sancardia Shopping Centre
Sterland Mall
Sunny Park
The Grove Shopping Centre
Woodlands Boulevard
Wonderboom Junction Shopping Centre
Wonderpark Shopping Centre

A list of the city’s nature reserves can be seen below:

Groenkloof Nature Reserve
Rietvlei Nature Reserve
Moreletaspruit Nature Reserve
Faerie Glen Nature Reserve
Wonderboom Nature Reserve

Musems and other places of interest in the area include:

African Window
Freedom Park
Kruger House
Mapungubwe Museum
Melrose
Pretoria Forts
Transvaal Museum
Van Wouw Museum
Voortrekker Monument
Pretoria National Botanical Gardens
Austin Roberts Bird Sanctuary
Church Square
Union Buildings
Marabastad
Voortrekker Monument
Hatfield Square

One of the most popular attractions in Pretoria is the National Zoological Gardens of South Africa. It is an 85-hectare zoo, half of which consists of flat ground while the other half is on the slopes of a hill with the two halves separated by the Apies River. The zoo has over 5 000 species of animals and an aquarium with just under 4 000 species of fish.