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 | Pretoria Downtown car rental - Travel Guide |  |
Gauteng's two major cities are just 50km apart but could hardly be more different. PRETORIA or ePitoli as it is known in the townships has throughout much of its history been the epitome of staid traditionalism with its graceful government building, wide avenues of purple flowering jacarandas and staunchly Boer farming origins. Although South Africa's administrative capital was long regarded as a bastion of Afrikanerdom, with its notorious Supreme Court and massive prison things are changing fast. Ever since the nation's re-acceptance into the international arena Pretoria has become increasingly cosmopolitan with a substantial diplomatic community living in Arcadia and Hatfield east of the city centre. Furthermore, most Pretorians are not Afrikaner, but Sotho and Ndebele and the change of government has brought many more well-educated and well-paid blacks into the ranks of civil servants living in the capital. The city's Afrikaner community is hardly monolithic, either: as well as the stereotypical khaki-shorted rednecks there are thousands of students an active art scene and a thriving Afrikaans gay and lesbian community.
Pretoria is close enough to Johannesburg's airport to provide a practical alternative base in Gauteng, though don't fall into the blithe assumption that Pretoria is crime-free. The main attractions are that it feels safer and less spread out than Johannesburg there are more conventional sites, some of which are worth seeing and the nightlife of Hatfield and Brooklyn is energetic and fun.
The City
Pretoria's city centre is a compact grid of wide, busy streets, easily and comparatively safely explored on foot. Its central hub is Church Square where you can see some fascinating architecture and there are other historic buildings and museums close by around the Museum Mall. To the north lie the vast Zoological Gardens, while the Arcadia district is the site of the city's famous Union Buildings. Away from the centre Hatfield, close to Pretoria University is where students and yuppies throng the latest bars and restaurants as well as being the home of Pretoria's diplomats who live in the swankiest houses in town. On the southern fringes of the city is the remarkable Voortrekker Monument as close as the Afrikaner races have to a sacred site. You need to travel 15km east out of town to find the sprawling township of Mamelodi; Pretoria's other major township Atteridgeville is equally far out of town. |
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