Greater Pretoria/Tshwane & surrounds

Pretoria is officially about 50 kms north of Johannesburg - but today, these two metropolitan centres are virtually joined at the hip, with urban development all along its persistantly busy interlinking highway (N1).

It's the administrative capital of South Africa & is the seat of government (the Union Buildings). A good 2-3 deg. C warmer than Johannesburg, it lies in a sheltered, fertile valley and shows off its beauty with its magnificent gardens & its colourful cloak of purple each November when the Jacarana's bloom.  Local lore has it that if one of their purple petals falls on your shoulder, it's a sure sign that you'll pass your exams.  Perhaps a good omen as Pretoria is a centre of higher education: Pretoria University is the largest residential university in the country.  Then of course there's also the Tshwane University of Technology and UNISA (University of South Africa) - the largest correspondence university in Africa.

It's also home to the South African Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).

Pretoria enjoys summer rainfall with hot days & short, dramatic afternoon thunderstorms.  Summer temperatures range  between 16C to 30C. Winters are generally mild and dry - average 5C to 20C. 

Altogether, a much quieter & more sedate city than her hectic sibling (Johannesburg/Jozi), Pretoria is said to have some of the prettiest girls in the country ...



View Greater Pretoria in a larger map

Top 10 attractions:

• Herbert Baker's The Union Buildings
• The SA Mint & Coin World
• Historic Anglo-Boer War Melrose House Museum
• Freedom Park
• The Voortrekker Monument
• Transvaal Natural History Museum
• Jan Smuts' House
• Paul Kruger House
• Pretoria Zoo & Botanical Gardens
• Wonderboom (Wonder Tree) Reserve

For more information, visit Tshwane Tourism                                                                                                        The stately Union Buildings in Pretoria -
                                                                                                                                                                                            designed by Sir Herbert Baker