Pretoria.
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Overview

Pretoria, the administrative capital of South Africa, is in Gauteng. Its wide avenues are lined with purple-flowered jacaranda trees and stately architecture. The city has many museums and art galleries, and a large student population that gives its centre a boisterous atmosphere.

Understand

Pretoria is part of City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality.

The area known today as Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality, with Pretoria (City) at its centre, is believed to have been occupied by the Sotho people for many centuries. During the 15th century the Ndebele people also migrated into the area and settled along the banks of the Apies River. Tshwane [tsʰwane] is the Setswana name of the Apies River. Around 1820 the Matabele under the leadership of Mzilikaza also entered the region, leading to local conflicts between the Matabele newcomers and the already established Sotho and Ndebele tribes as well as the European "Voortrekkers" who were steadily moving northward through the country. These conflicts came to an end when the Matabele were defeated by the "Voortrekkers" in 1837 at Mosega.

By 1855 there was no known tribe in what is known as the Pretoria area today. Only nomadic groups passed through this area, with one of the Setswana people (so it is alleged) led them. Pretoria was founded in 1855. The first capital of the Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek (South African Republic) was Ohrigstad, but the capital was moved to Pretoria. After the Second Boer War, the ZAR become Transvaal province, and Pretoria its capital. The city was named after Andries Pretorius, the Boer leader at the Battle of Blood River where the Voortrekkers defeated the Zulus under King Dingaan. In 1856 the area today known as Arcadia was acquired in exchange for a pony and added to the town.

In 1899, during the Second Boer War, Winston Churchill was captured and held as a POW in Pretoria until his eventual escape to Mozambique. British forces captured Pretoria in 1900 and held control over the city until the signing of the Treaty of Vereeniging in 1902.

When the Union of South Africa was established in 1910, Pretoria was elected the capital and is still the administrative capital of the Republic of South Africa today.

Pretoria is located in a summer rainfall area with hot days regularly followed by short and intense afternoon thunderstorms. The thunderstorms are often accompanied by lightning and occasionally result in hail. Summer temperatures range between 16°C at night to 30°C during the day, with occasionally higher temperatures (up to about 36°C). Winters are mild and dry with temperatures averaging between a minimum of 5°C and a maximum of 20°C. Winter nights and (occasionally winter days) can be surprisingly cold and buildings are generally not well insulated. Bring warm clothes if you're visiting during the winter months.

Get in

By car Five highways join in the Gauteng region, making it accessible from all cities in the country. This would include the N1, N3, N4, N12 and N14 national highways.

Most National Routes (N) are toll roads. Open road tolling (e-toll) is available on the freeways around Johannesburg and Pretoria.

By plane The closest international airport is O.R. Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg. The Albertina Sisulu Highway or R21 leads from there to Pretoria. Airport shuttles are available on the airport or can be booked:

JIATA Taxi Association. Johannesburg-based company.

Ants Events and Tours. Very reliable and friendly.

By bus Major bus companies like Apm, Citiliner, Greyhound, Translux, City to City, Intercape Mainliner offer connections to all big cities in South Africa. there are also lots of bus lines that have buses to Zimbabwe. The trip takes 15 hours. The trip takes 6 hours. The trip takes 8 hours. The trip takes 9 hours. The Baz Bus also stops in Pretoria.

By train A convenient high-speed rail link, Gautrain, is available between Johannesburg, OR Tambo International Airport and Pretoria. Travellers can access this direct link from the arrivals hall in the airport building. Safe, comfortable Gautrain buses serve local routes from the different stops in Pretoria. Metrorail also services other outlying towns and many suburbs of Pretoria.

Long-distance trains from other parts of South Africa generally arrive in Johannesburg, however trains from Musina via Polokwane and from Komatipoort via Nelspruit call in Pretoria. However, as of 2025, there are no more long-distance trains from and to Pretoria.

Get around

Although crime in South Africa is higher than in many other parts of the world, common sense precautions should prevent incidents. Be especially aware of your surroundings after dark and don't travel alone. Main shopping centres are reasonably safe.

Either use a metered taxi, rent a car or use the municipal bus service. There is also a very extensive network of informal, cheap minibus taxis, mostly used by local commuters. These taxis used to have a reputation for being unsafe, but this has greatly improved and most taxis are now relatively luxurious and not overcrowded, except during peak times. Accidents are rare.

Walking is a good option during the day, but may be unsafe after dusk in certain areas, such as central Pretoria.

Train service. Pretoria Main railway station.

Tempest Car Hire. Affordable car rental service available at all major locations in South Africa.

HeinRich's Taxis. Safe and professional taxi service.

Hendrick Metered taxi and Shuttles, 0826742075, www.hendrickcabs.co.za

Rixi Taxi. Safe and professional taxi service. Not the cheapest means of getting around.

Tshwane Bus Routes. Graphical map of bus routes and timetables and some information on using Minibus Taxis. R8 within the central business district, and R16 for long-distance journeys. Not extensive coverage or very regular, but is fairly reliable. Main office at church square. Timetable available there. Bus stops have poor indication of bus direction. So ask or wait. Bus frequency is best during rush hours. Very old fashioned but good for nostalgists.

Uber. Uber is available in Pretoria, but there is a zone surrounding the Gautrain station where pickups and drop-offs are not permitted. The availability of Ubers is not as great as in Johannesburg, so you may encounter difficulties finding one at some of the more distant sights like the Voortrekker Monument.

See

Pretoria Botanical Gardens. An urban oasis to explore. This 76-ha urban oasis is a pristine getaway in the eastern suburbs of South Africa's administrative capital, Pretoria.

National Zoological Gardens (The Zoo). Aquarium, reptile park and all the larger mammals including koalas. One can also camp within the zoo on Friday and Saturday nights. Golf carts are available for rental at R80/hour. Children's pushcarts at R60/day.

The Union Buildings. The offices of the South African presidency. The building was designed by Sir Herbert Baker in 1908. Entrance to the building is prohibited for security reasons. However, the beautiful terraced gardens, which boast a wide variety of indigenous plants, are open to the public and provide a truly amazing view over the city. One of the 14 places in the world heritage listing Nelson Mandela Legacy Sites.

The Wonderboom. A fig tree over 1000 years old. The tree, now a national monument, is unusually large, standing some 25 metres high and having a 5.5-metre diameter main trunk. Its growth pattern is also unusual: as its branches grew longer, they drooped towards the ground and eventually took root and formed a circle of new trunks or daughter trees around the original tree. There are now 13 trunks, and the colossal tree covers an area with a diameter of 55 metres. Wonderboom Nature Reserve has a large number of dassies (rock hyrax) living in caves overlooking the Apies River. They provide a food source for a breeding pair of black eagles that nest on a rocky ledge nearby and that can often be seen circling above the reserve. At the top of the Wonderboom Hill are the ruins of the Wonderboom Fort, one of four forts built by the former South African Republic at the end of the 19th century to defend Pretoria against the British forces. It was never used. It was blown up, probably on the instruction of Prime Minister Jan Smuts, in the early days of the Second World War, lest it be used by anti-government dissidents as a springboard for an attack on the state. At the foot of the hill near the Wonderboom is an important Iron Age site and nearby is one of the best Stone Age sites in the area. The reserve has picnic facilities.

Streets with jacaranda trees. In September, the jacarandas have purple flowers. Many streets are lined with these trees. A good place to view lines of them is the Union Buildings.

Church Square. Church Square is one of the few places in the Pretoria CBD where you can get a sense of how Pretoria must have looked a century ago, and, as a result, is often used as a set for local period movies and TV series. The square is surrounded by important civic buildings, including the Palace of Justice, the General Post Office, the Old Council Chamber and the Old Capitol Theatre and its importance was underlined by the erection of a statue commemorating President Paul Kruger.

Correctional Services Museum (Kgosi Mampuru II Correctional Centre). Historical articles show the development of the penal system in South Africa from the most barbaric methods to the modern penological system of today. The pursuit of hobbies by prisoners is portrayed by matchstick work, art objects, wood and stone carvings. Objects illegally made by prisoners and which are confiscated, are displayed, such as dagga pipes, forged keys and money, tattooing machines, and stabbing and cutting weapons.

Melrose House Museum. Where the peace treaty that ended the Anglo-Boer War as signed in 1902.

National Museum of Cultural History. Learn about the people and the cultures of South Africa, from the Iron Age till today. (Wheelchair accessible). Exhibitions include rock paintings and engravings of the San people; 1000-year-old Iron Age figurines from Schroda in the Limpopo Province (described as “the best known artifacts indicating ritual behaviour in the Early Iron Age”); the Art Gallery presents an overview of South African culture through time, using cultural objects, crafts, sculpture and paintings and an exhibition on Marabastad is a true example of a cosmopolitan and fully integrated rainbow nation before apartheid.

Pioneer Museum. A pioneer house. The house was built of clay and local materials, with a thatched roof and earthen floors, and is furnished in the traditional 19th century rural style. It is surrounded by a traditional herb and vegetable garden, orchard, furnished wagon house and vineyard. Guides in period clothing.

Ditsong National Museum of Natural History. Where you can meet Mrs. Pless when she is not on tour somewhere.

Voortrekker Monument and Fort Scanskop. Monument to the Voortrekkers (Afrikaner pioneers) with a museum of Afrikaner Heritage.

//hapo Museum & Freedom Park. One of the must-visit museum in Pretoria. It comes back on the history of South-Africa, wars and the apartheid. Behind, a beautiful park commemorates all the people that gave their live for freedom and humanity.

Willem Prinsloo Agricultural Museum. The history of the development of agriculture in South Africa and a collection of old vehicles (donkey and horse carts, ox-wagons, coaches, carriages and spiders) are displayed in the main building. Visitors can explore the 1880 and 1913 house museums and outbuildings, and two Ndebele homesteads from different eras. Indigenous farm animals include the Nguni and Afrikaner cattle, Kolbroek pigs, Speckled Persian sheep and indigenous chickens like the Ovambo, Koekoek, Venda and Naked Necks.

Kruger House Museum. Visit the home of Boer leader and president of the ZAR. Very well-kept and interesting, well worth an hour.

Do

Friends of the Rail. Take a step back in time and circle Pretoria on a steam train or visit Cullinan, birth place of the world's largest diamond. The train runs two or three times per month, check timetable on website for exact dates.

Klitsgras Drumming Circle. Drumming circle out in the bush. Once you have a drum, food and drink you can sit down in the amphitheater around a cozy fire where the professionals and novices are drumming together and everyone joins in. Everyone takes lead from these people even if you do not know what you are doing, you just follow their drumming. So you are not only here to watch, but to be part of the entertainment! And then as a visual bonus the fire dancers move to the groves of the drumming. Didgeridoo players and percussionist frequent the venue. Held every second Friday night.

State Theatre. The State Theatre in Pretoria, South Africa is the largest theatre complex in Africa. Tickets for performances can be booked via Computicket

Sports Rugby Union: Bulls play in the United Rugby Championship (formerly Pro14), the multi-national European professional league. The playing season is Oct-March, with home games at Loftus Versfeld Stadium (capacity 52,000) in the Arcadia district. Loftus Versfeld is also home to the Blue Bulls, a developmental side for the URC Bulls that plays in the domestic Currie Cup from January–June. Cricket: Pretoria Capitals play in the southern town of Centurion, where they share the stadium with Titans.

Groenkloof Nature Reserve. Walk, mountainbike, go on a 4x4 drive or stay over in the second oldest nature reserve in the world. See giraffe, antelope and many other animals. 3½-, 4½- and 10½-km hiking trails.

Austin Roberts Bird Sanctuary. The sanctuary is located in the Walkerspruit Open Space System. Two streams, the Walker and the Argo, feed water into wetland basins of which nine are small perennial dams that attract a multitude of water birds. The sanctuary was fenced in June 1970. Species include unique birds such as the crowned crane and the blue crane. The veld type of the sanctuary is mixed bushveld. Nice and expansive restaurant. Guided walks: R55 per person up to 12 people per group.

Africa Aerospace and Defence Expo. A combined airshow and trade exhibition, also open to the public, taking place biannually in September. There are planes on display, aerobatics and parachuting shows and hands-on activities for kids.

Learn

University of Pretoria. Also known as Tukkies, or Tuks locally.

University of South Africa (UNISA). This university offers distance learning courses.

Buy

Menlyn Park. Located in the east. A very large mall, it includes a roof top drive-in theater.

Brooklyn Mall. Just east of the city centre with art galleries and movie theaters for mainstream and independent films.

Kolonnade. In the north with an ice rink and other entertainment.

Wonderpark. In the north just as you get onto Brits road off the Mabopani highway. Skatepark and hundreds of stores.

The grove. Larger mall. No free parking. Also good for middle budget eating out.

Hatfield Plaza Shopping Centre. Has a Pick N Pay supermaket and many places to eat.

German bakery and Alma German butchery. East of Pretoria, Offramp Rossouw, then turn north, after 200 m. Serves coffee. You can also buy some imported products.

Shoprite, U Save, Checkers, Supermarkets. All three stores are part of Shoprite.

First National Bank. Has a Mastercard/Visa card ATM.

Eat

The renowned restaurants include Cynthia's, the Hillside Tavern and Pachas. There are also many franchised diners throughout the city.

Centurion Mall Express Sandwich Baron. Sandwich Baron produces freshly made platters and sandwiches and holds no ready-made products in stock. Also has a catering service.

Mimmos. Italian restaurant chain, incl. SA-Food. Good prices, take aways, wifi.

Mid-range Toni's Pizza Toni's is a great place to get the best pizza in town. Panarotti's Panarotti's is a national chain with several Pretoria branches.

Spur. A national chain of Native American-themed steak-houses. Several branches in Pretoria.

Kream Restaurant. This new restaurant has a fresh upmarket urban feel and offers splendid food at very reasonable prices.

Drink

Pretoria's nightlife is concentrated in Hatfield (near the university), which boasts a number of bars and night clubs. Menlyn Square (just off the Menlyn shopping centre) is also a popular location which contains several venues but caters for the more upmarket crowd.

Exclusive Books. EB is in many shopping centres and offers coffee while reading their books.

Sleep

Being the capital, there are many posh hotels (including the Sheraton) and guest houses and all the usual hotel chains have one or more hotels. With so many hotels owned by the same chains, in particularly Tsogo Sun. Make sure you note the address when booking so you go to the right hotel. When Parliament is in session and when there are other state events it can be almost impossible to find a mid-range or splurge room. Consider nearby Centurion as an alternative if you have to be in Pretoria at those times.

1322 Backpackers. very clean backpackers hostel with single/double rooms and dorm beds. Has a nice garden with a swimming pool, bar, TV room, free Wifi, breakfast and tea and coffee.

Khayalethu Guest House. Free breakfast.

Pretoria Backpackers. Double rooms and free breakfast.

Pumbas Backpackers. Great backpackers, managed by the friendly owners Frank and Corné. Free wifi and breakfast! Offers doubles, dorms and camping. Has two friendly dogs walking around and a nice central location in Hatfield.

Dark Chocolate Guest House Pretoria. Standard rooms, all equipped with plasma TV, bathroom and shower. Facilities and services are swimming pool, restaurant and bar/lounge.

Khayalethu GuestHouse. Khayalethu GuestHouse has 10 en suite rooms, off-street parking and free internet access.

The Farm Inn. Provides a unique South African experience. stuffed and alve animals around. Also excellent for day visitors.

The Village in Hatfield _. Several family homes were converted into sleeping rooms. lots of space, quiet. Next to sports university. Functions possible. Free Wifi.

Morning Star Express Hotel. A/C spacious rooms equipped with TV with cable channels, double bed and bathroom. Some of its facilities and services are restaurant, Wi-Fi internet, massage service, and 24-hour front desk.

Victoria Hotel. Budget hotel next to the railway station. Notable for being the oldest hotel in the city, it first opened in 1880.

Sheraton Pretoria Hotel. Close to Union building. Good breakfast buffet.

Southern Sun. Wide range of accommodation from budget to splurge.