Monday, August 4, 2008

Accommodation in Pretoria and Places to Visit

Accommodation in Pretoria is vast. It is an affordable place to visit with high living standards. This is a jewel of a city that will leave you spellbound. As the capital city, Pretoria is the leading administrative, cultural and economic centre, therefore ever popular with both tourists and business travellers.

So why not book into some of Pretoria’s superb accommodation venues? Here you will find accommodation in friendly traditions of comfort and style. Pretoria radiates a vibrant and cosmopolitan mood in its countless accommodation venues, restaurants, shopping malls, nightspots and other entertainment areas. Yet in spite of this beautiful city’s multinational feel, there is also a distinct South African atmosphere.

Residents and visitors consider Pretoria as safer and more beautiful than Johannesburg, located only about 50 km away. With its wonderful climate, this is a tourist city by far. Find stylish, safe and well-equipped accommodation in Pretoria. If you find accommodation in Pretoria during October, you will be lucky enough to see avenues of blossoming Jacaranda trees all over the inner city and suburbs.

Did you know that after Washington DC, Pretoria has the second largest number of international embassies in the world? Pretoria also hosts four universities and several other learning institutions.

Pretoria was founded in 1855 and named after President AWJ Pretorius. The city of Pretoria, also known as Tshwane, lies in a valley through which the Apies River flows. A dominant feature of Pretoria is its Union Buildings, an astounding monument and a definite must see for tourists. These buildings were constructed between 1910 and 1913 to the designs of the late Sir Herbert Baker and accommodate a number of government departments, including the Presidency.

At the centre of Pretoria is Church Square, with its statue of President Paul Kruger. Melrose House, also in central Pretoria, is a National Monument and one of the best preserved examples of Victorian architecture in South Africa. The Peace Treaty halting the Anglo Boer War was signed in this house on 31 May 1902. The museum offers guided tours and there is a tea garden and a library for visitors. Antique fairs and temporary exhibitions are also presented from time to time.

Immediately outside Pretoria, on a hill, you will see the remarkable Voortrekker museum, inaugurated on 16 December 1949. The central feature of this museum is the symbolic grave of Piet Retief and his supporters, where a ray of sunlight falls directly on the grave on the 16th of December every year. Experience an informative and educational visit to the Voortrekker Museum and see how the tapestry, paintings, museum statues and laager reveal the trials, tribulations and inventiveness of the Voortrekkers in their pursuit of freedom.

If you are finding accommodation in Pretoria and looking for outdoor places of interest to visit, there is of course the Pretoria National Zoological Gardens, the largest zoo in the country, visited by more than 600 000 people annually. If you feel like getting away from it all and want to experience peace and quiet, go and see the waterfall in the immaculate Pretoria National Botanical Garden, just outside the city, in Brummeria. The Hartebeespoortdam is another top tourist attraction just outside Pretoria. Moreover, do not forget that Pretoria is located nearby several exclusive game farms that overseas visitors enjoy to visit.

Other tourist attractions in Pretoria include: the Africa Window Museum (the National Cultural History Museum); Air Force Memorial & Museum; Claude Malan Museum; Correctional Service Museum; Kruger House Museum; Pioneer Open Air Museum; Sammy Marks Museum; Science and Technology Museum; Transvaal Museum; Willem Prinsloo Agricultural Museum and the Museum of Geological Survey.

If shopping is something you are into, you can visit many top of the range shopping centres around Pretoria in Menlyn, Centurion, Brooklyn and Woodhill, to name only a few. This is where you will also find a choice of restaurants. Over weekends, a range of flea markets offer entertainment for those in search of bargains and collectibles.

Pretoria is the place to be if you are looking for top accommodation and top places to see.
Let Pretoria’s friendly atmosphere and variety of interesting places charm you. Find superb accommodation in Pretoria.

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