Pretoria Half-Day City Tour from Johannesburg

Pretoria, South Africa's administrative capital

Founded in 1855, Pretoria is one of South Africa's three capital cities and the seat of the national government, home to ministries and foreign embassies. It lies about 55 kilometres north of Johannesburg, a drive of 45 minutes to an hour, and the Gautrain fast rail links the two cities in around 35 minutes from Sandton. The city is greener and calmer than Johannesburg, with wide avenues, parks and grand public buildings.

Pretoria is famous as the Jacaranda City. Every October and November the trees that line its streets burst into purple bloom, covering pavements with fallen petals, and this is widely considered the best time to visit Pretoria. A half-day city tour is the easiest way to see the main sights without driving or parking yourself, and the small group keeps the visit relaxed and personal.

Church Square and the historic centre

Church Square is the historic heart of Pretoria, the place where the first church of the town stood and where farmers once gathered with their ox wagons. Today it is surrounded by grand buildings from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, including the Old Raadsaal, the former parliament of the South African Republic, and the Palace of Justice with its domes and columns.

Your guide explains how the square reflects the city's changing history, from a frontier town to the capital of a republic and then of a united country. It is a short stop, ideal for photographs of the architecture and for getting a feel of the busy city centre. Like the rest of the tour, the visit is made by vehicle with time to step out, so it suits travellers who prefer not to walk long distances.

The historic presidential house museum

A short distance from Church Square stands a modest single-storey house built in 1884 as the home of the president of the South African Republic, the independent state that governed this region in the late 19th century. With its broad veranda and pair of stone lions at the entrance, the house is now a museum, and your entry ticket is included on this tour.

Inside, original furniture, everyday objects and documents show how the head of state lived and worked in a simple home, receiving visitors on the veranda. In the garden you can see a restored state railway carriage used for official journeys. Allow about 30 to 45 minutes here. The house museum is one of the best places in Pretoria to understand the city's early years before the union of 1910.

The Union Buildings and their gardens

The Union Buildings sit on a hill above the city and are the official seat of the South African government and the offices of the president. Completed in 1913 in warm sandstone, the semicircular building with its two wings and twin towers is one of the most elegant pieces of architecture in the country and appears on many images of South Africa.

Below the building, terraced lawns and formal gardens step down the hill, with wide views over Pretoria and its jacaranda-filled streets. The amphitheatre has hosted national ceremonies, including presidential inaugurations since 1994. The offices themselves are not open to visitors, but the gardens are, and your guide stops here so you can enjoy the views and take photos. It is one of the most popular things to do in Pretoria.

The Voortrekker Monument

On a hilltop south of the city rises the Voortrekker Monument, a massive granite building completed in 1949 to commemorate the Voortrekkers, the settler families who left the Cape Colony between 1835 and 1854 and travelled inland by ox wagon. Around 40 metres high, it is surrounded by a circular stone wall carved with ox wagons, the shape of a defensive wagon laager.

Inside, the domed Hall of Heroes is lined with a long marble frieze depicting scenes of the journey and daily life on the trek. A ray of sunlight passes through an opening in the dome at noon on 16 December each year to fall on the cenotaph in the lower hall. Your entry ticket is included; allow about an hour, and climb to the roof if you can for wide views over Pretoria and the surrounding nature reserve.