Things to do in Pretoria
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Café 41
A beautifully designed bistro-style restaurant serving Mediterranean fare from an extensive menu (the great big meze platters are good value). There’s a large outdoor deck, and a hidden section that makes you forget you’re in a shopping village. Service is a little on the slow side though.
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Hatfield
There are several bars and nightspots in trendy Hatfield, catering for all types. Yet again, Hatfield Square is a good place to start, but remember that 'guns, fireworks and motorbikes are strictly prohibited'. Unusually for South Africa, Burnett St offers a high density of bars, eateries and clubs, all cut through with lashings of backpacker bravado and student shenanigans.
You can wander between venues easily and safely, saving the endless taxi journeys that usually punctuate a night in a big South African city. It's the easiest pub crawl in the country.
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Union Buildings
These sweeping sandstone buildings are the headquarters of government and home to the presidential offices. They sit in an elevated position, surveying beautiful terraced gardens planted with indigenous trees and the city beyond. The gardens are often used for public celebrations and Mandela’s inauguration took place here back in 1994. Statues of a few former prime ministers inhabit the grounds, including an impressive General Louis Botha on horseback. There’s also a WWI memorial here, and a memorial to the South African police. The buildings, designed by Sir Herbert Baker, are about a 2km walk from the city centre; alternatively, catch just about any bus heading east on…
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Voortrekker Monument & Nature Reserve
A visit to the striking Voortrekker Monument is a near spiritual experience for many Afrikaners. It was constructed between 1938 and 1949 – a time of great Afrikaner nationalism – to honour the journey of the Voortrekkers, who trekked north over the coastal mountains of the Cape into the heart of the African veld. It pays tribute in particular to the Battle of Blood River on 16 December 1838, during which 470 Boers, under the command of Andries Pretorius, defeated approximately 12,000 Zulus, killing many of them.
A visit to the striking Voortrekker Monument is a near spiritual experience for many Afrikaners. It was constructed between 1938 and 1949 – a time of great…
reviewed
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Lotus Thai
The lotus-themed interior of this Thai restaurant is striking – black enamel walls are etched with white lotus motifs, there are large green-and-white lotus prints on the walls, and the black chairs have lotus-print cushions. In the centre of the restaurant is a large raised circular sushi bar with glass lily pads suspended above it. Outside you can dine in private pagodas. It’s not all about the flash design though; the food is fresh, authentic and delicious.
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Blue Crane
The Blue Crane is part of the Austin Roberts Bird Sanctuary – the Roberts of the famous bird books. The restaurant overlooks a lake that is the breeding site for the endangered blue crane, South Africa’s national bird. It does Afrikaner potjiekos and the pub is great at sundown. The entrance to the restaurant is off Melk St, which is a right turn off Middle St as you head west.
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Harrie’s Pannekoek Huis
Part of a chain of very popular pancake houses offering mostly savoury pancakes with interesting fillings such as spicy chicken livers. They’re a little stodgy, but you can work off your selection at the adjacent curio shop, one of Pretoria’s best.
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Herr Gunther’s
Loud, brash Germanic answer to the Irish bar, Herr Gunther’s blares out loud chart music, and platters of chips and wurst (German sausage) are washed down with gargantuan jugs of lager.
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Brooklyn Mall Cinemas
The Brooklyn Mall Cinemas are among the most popular in Pretoria, but to save yourself time, it might be best to call Ster-Kinekor for listings and bookings.
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Church Square
At the heart of Pretoria, imposing public buildings surround Church Sq. These include the Palace of Justice, where the Rivonia Trial that sentenced Nelson Mandela to life imprisonment was held, on the northern side; the Ou Raadsaal (Old Government) building on the southern side; the Old Capitol Theatre in the northwestern corner; First National Bank in the northeast; the Old Nederlandsche Bank building, which adjoins the Café Riche and houses the Tourist Information Centre; and the main post office at the western side. Look for the clock, surrounded by nude figures by Anton van Wouw, above the Church Sq entrance to the post office.
‘Old Lion’, Paul Kruger takes pride…
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Paul Kruger House Museum
A short walk west from Church Sq is the former residence of Paul Kruger, now the Paul Kruger House Museum. The house, built in 1884, would have been grand at the time, but today seems lost on the busy street. Guarded by two stone lions, the house contains period furniture and a random collection of personal knick-knacks belonging to Kruger and his wife Gezina, from which it’s hard to conjure up an image of their lives there. There are some interesting bits of memorabilia though, including the knife that Kruger used to amputate his thumb after a shooting accident. The Dutch Reformed Church, where he worshipped and preached, is just across the road.
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Transvaal Museum
Opposite City Hall, this grand museum is a good place to go if you’re interested in natural history. Outside the building are the museum’s most impressive exhibits – giant replica skeletons of an enormous whale and a dinosaur. Inside you’ll find a series of fascinating exhibits including menacing reptile displays, the reconstructed jaws of a giant extinct shark, plenty of life-size mammal statues, and a rather creepy hall full of stuffed birds. The Insect Hall includes live displays of weed-eating grasshoppers and giant hissing cockroaches, and there’s a geological section with a collection of precious and semiprecious stones.
There’s plenty of interesting info…
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Freedom Park
One of the most exciting undertakings in Gauteng is Freedom Park. The site chosen for this massive project, on a kopje facing the Voortrekker Monument, provoked an outcry from those who saw this as politically motivated, but this is hardly a self-important ode to nationalism. Rather, it’s a sombre memorial to those people, local and international, who have sacrificed their lives in the name of freedom. At the time of writing you could only visit Hlapho, where the names of heroes have been inscribed, and the peaceful Isivivane Garden of Remembrance. It was scheduled to be completed sometime in 2009.
Visitor numbers to the park are strictly controlled, so calling…
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Taste Restaurant
The menu here is divided into sections including ‘leafy greens’, ‘seawards’ and ‘gastronomical grills’ and the food is simple, fresh and delicious (the massive seafood platters are excellent), making good use of top quality locally sourced meat and veg. The restaurant is open on three sides, with a fire grate in one corner and a low-key jazz soundtrack. Be warned – order a glass of wine and you’ll get a hefty serving.
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Heroes’ Acre Cemetery
Around 1.5km west of Church Sq you’ll find this cemetery, the burial place of a number of historical figures including Andries Pretorius, Paul Kruger and Hendrik Verwoerd. Henry H ‘Breaker’ Morant, the Australian Boer War antihero executed by the British for war crimes, is also buried here – look for the low sign pointing to the gravestone from one of the north–south avenues. If you miss this, you’ll never find it.
To get here by bus, take the West Park 2 or Danville service from Church Sq.
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Pappas
Sitting on a corner with quirky antiques stores and bookshops, this place has a homely, arty feel about it. There’s outdoor space at the front and back, and the excellent cooked breakfasts and counter selling cakes and pastries make it the perfect place for a lazy weekend brunch. Also on the menu are bistro classics and South African favourites such as oxtail and potjiekos (meat and vegetables cooked in a cast-iron pot over an open fire).
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National Cultural History Museum
Concentrating on the cultural history of South Africa, the National Cultural History Museum is dedicated to preserving the country’s cultural heritage. It features exhibitions on San rock art, Iron Age figurines from Limpopo and a small gallery of contemporary South African works, among others. At the time of writing the museum was developing new exhibits, including an exhibition on Tshwane.
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Café Riche
This historic Pretoria bistro was built back in 1905 and occupies pride of place in the city’s Church Sq. It’s popular with tourists and visiting dignitaries as well as local office workers, and is a great place for a spot of beer and people-watching. The menu has sandwiches, salads and bistro meals as well as a good-value lunch special ( Bokwurst, chips and a beer for R50).
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Geet
The best place in Pretoria for a spice fix, Geet dishes up delicate and aromatic north Indian curries full of fresh herbs and spices. The dining room has lots of little nooks to get lost in and there’s a 2nd-floor balcony from where to look down on the street action. There’s an excellent range of dishes for vegetarians and a long list of ‘mocktails’.
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Pretoria National Zoological Gardens
The zoological gardens, about 1km out of the city centre, are a fun place to spend an afternoon. There’s a reptile park and an aquarium here, as well as a vast collection of exotic trees and plenty of beautiful picnic spots. The highlight, though, is probably the cable car, which runs up to the top of a hill that overlooks the city.
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Tings an’ Times
This bohemian bar attracts an eclectic crowd to chill out to a reggae soundtrack, punctuated by regular live performances. Late on weekend nights it pulls in a crowd of up-for-it students and dancing goes on till the small hours. If you get the munchies, the speciality is pitas (R28 to R50), which come toasted with toppings or stuffed with all kinds of tasty treats.
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News Café
This perennially popular branch of the News Café chain has a large terrace, a big-screen TV showing 24-hour news and free wi-fi. There’s an extensive breakfast menu as well as decent burgers and sandwiches, and an always-friendly vibe. It’s a good place to sit back with a book and a coffee, or surf the ’net for a couple of hours.
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Cynthia’s Indigo Moon
The dining room of this Pretoria favourite exudes warmth. Gently lit, plastered with framed posters of all descriptions and surrounded by a colossal wine cellar, it has the buzz of a New York neighbourhood bistro. The place is best-known for its excellent steaks, which dominate the menu, but the fresh fish dishes aren’t bad either.
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Eastwood’s
This hugely popular pub is often packed, especially at lunch time and after work hours. There’s a large outdoor deck, and banquette seating and a big bar inside. It has won the ‘best pub in Pretoria’ award several times and has good-value steak-and-beer deals, such as a 500g T-bone and a Castle beer for R49.
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Pretoria Art Museum
To get an idea of the cultural influences that have influenced modern South Africa, head to this art museum, which is just off Schoeman St and specialises in South African art from throughout the country’s history. It also features regularly changing exhibitions.
reviewed