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Pretoria
About Pretoria
Pretoria , or the Jaracanda city as it is also called referring to its broad avenues of purple flowering Tacaranda trees, is a relatively small city, 50km north of Johannesburg. It has an abundance of open spaces with more than 100 parks.
Pretoria is one of South Africa's leading academic cities and has the second largest number of embassies in the world. Its main street, Church Street, is the longest urban street in South Africa.
Local highlights
- The National Zoological Gardens of South Africa
- The Pretoria National Botanical Gardens with more than 5,000 indigenous plant species
- Kruger House (Residence of the president of the ZAR, Paul Kruger)
- Melrose House-a museum of Victorian to Edwardian architectural styles. The very nice mansion gained fame during the Second Boer War (1899 - 1902) when it was the headquarters for the British forces
- Church Square-Church Square is the historic centre of the city
- Union Buildings-situated on Meintjies Kop and form the official seat of the South African government
- Marabastad-with fascinating shops like the 'muti' shops of the 'Sangomas' (traditional healers), the famous Mariammen Hindu Temple.
- Transvaal Museum-a natural history museum on Paul Kruger Street
- African Window-the national cultural history museum of South Africa
Highlights in the vicinity
- The Voortrekker Monument monument that can be seen from almost any location in the city, is a massive granite monument designed by the architect Gerard Moerdijk.
- Johannesburg-50 km drive into South Africa's most populous city
- Just outside the city you can visit the famous diamond mines
- The national parks that South Africa is famous for
Good to know
- No. of inhabitants: 1.3 Million
- Timezone: UTC +2
- Pretoria is situated in the transitional area between the Highveld and the Bushveld, approximately 50 km north of Johannesburg in the north-east of South Africa. It lies in a warm, well sheltered, fertile valley, surrounded by the hills of the Magaliesberg range, 1,370 m above sea level.
- In the event of an emergency requiring the police, ambulance services or rescue services, call South Africa’s national emergency number: 10111.
Local transport
- Public transportation in and around Pretoria is not great
- Travellers are recommended to hire a car
- Taxi services
Inbound transport
- Nearest airport: Johannesburg International Airport
- By train: Pretoria Train Station
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