Pretoria Full Day Tour

Pretoria Full Day Tour

Pretoria Full Day Tour

Pretoria was founded in 1855 by Marthinus Pretorius, a leader of the Voortrekkers, who named it after his father Andries Pretorius and chose a spot on the banks of the "Apies rivier" (Afrikaans for "Monkeys river") to be the new capital of the South African Republic (ZAR).

Itinerary
This is a typical itinerary for this product

Stop At: Voortrekker Monument, Eeufees Road Groenkloof 358-Jr, Pretoria 0187 South Africa

MonumentPanoramakThe majestic Voortrekker Monument is situated in the northern part of South Africa in the Pretoria (Tshwane) region in a nature reserve. It is a unique Monument which commemorates the Pioneer history of Southern Africa and the history of the Afrikaner and is situated in a beautiful setting.

The Monument was inaugurated in 1949. It was designed by architect Gerard Moerdijk. In the Hall of Heroes is the world’s longest historical marble frieze. A tapestry with more than three million stitches is housed in the Cenotaph Hall.

Today it is the most visited heritage site of its kind in Gauteng and one of the top ten cultural historical visitor attractions in the country. It is also the only Grade 1 national Heritage Site in Pretoria. The Monument also manages the Blood River Heritage Site.

Duration: 4 hours

Stop At: Church Square, Stanza Bopape Street, Pretoria 0186 South Africa

Church Square (Afrikaans: Kerkplein), originally Market Square (Dutch: Marktplein),[1] is the square at the historic centre of the city of Pretoria, South Africa. The founder of Pretoria, Marthinus Pretorius, determined that the square be used as a market place and church yard. It was subsequently named for the church buildings that stood at the centre of the square from 1856 to 1905. The square's most prominent feature, since June 1954, is however the statue of the late Boer leader and president of the South African Republic, Paul Kruger, at its centre.[2] Statues of four anonymous Boer citizen-soldiers surround that of Kruger on a lower level of the plinth.

Duration: 45 minutes

Stop At: Kruger House Museum, 60 Church Street, Pretoria 0081 South Africa

Kruger House is the historical Pretoria residence of the Boer leader and President of the South African Republic, Paul Kruger. It was built in 1884 by architect Tom Claridge and builder Charles Clark. Milk was used, instead of water, for mixing the cement from which the house was constructed, as the cement available was of poor quality.

The house was also one of the first in Pretoria to be lit by electricity. The house contains either the original furnishings or items from the same historical period, some of the many gifts that were presented to Kruger as well as other memorabilia.

Another interesting feature of the house is two stone lions on the verandah that were presented to President Kruger as a birthday gift on 10 October 1896 by the mining magnate Barney Barnato.

The Kruger House is now a house museum that tries to recreate the ambience of the period that Kruger lived in.

Duration: 2 hours

Stop At: Union Buildings, Government Avenue, Pretoria 0083 South Africa

The Union Buildings form the official seat of the South African Government and also house the offices of the President of South Africa. The imposing buildings are located in Pretoria, atop Meintjieskop at the northern end of Arcadia, close to historic Church Square and the Voortrekker Monument. The large gardens of the Buildings are nestled between Government Avenue, Vermeulen Street East, Church Street, the R104 and Blackwood Street. Fairview Avenue is a closed road where only officials can enter to the Union Buildings.[3] Though not in the centre of Pretoria, the Union Buildings occupy the highest point of Pretoria, and constitute a South African national heritage site.[4][5]

The Buildings are one of the centres of political life in South Africa; "The Buildings" and "Arcadia" have become metonyms for the South African government. It has become an iconic landmark of Pretoria and South Africa in general, and is one of the most popular tourist attractions in the city and an emblem of democracy.

The Buildings are the location of presidential inaugurations.

Duration: 3 hours