2010 Host City, Pretoria

Known as the Jacaranda City for all the purple blossom-bedecked trees, which line its thor­ough­fares, 2010 Host City Pretoria is a lovely, quiet city. It has a long, involved and fas­cin­at­ing his­tory. Here you will find sig­ni­fic­ant old build­ings and fas­cin­at­ing museums. The Transvaal Museum has nat­ural his­tory dis­plays and is the home of Mrs Ples, the aus­tralo­pithecine fossil found at Sterkfontein in the Cradle of Humankind. Also worth vis­it­ing are the Cultural History Museum and Smuts Museum in Irene, out­side Pretoria.

Sedate, leafy Pretoria tends to endure a Cinderella com­plex when com­pared with the neigh­bour­ing city of Johannesburg. When it comes to world class cit­ies, Johannesburg is one of the most ‘hap­pen­ing’ cit­ies on the African con­tin­ent and the city gleams with the glam­our of money ...

Pretoria has been left to shrug off its former asso­ci­ation with the apartheid gov­ern­ment in a rel­at­ive state of slum­ber, lying as it does in a warm, sheltered val­ley sur­roun­ded by the hills of the Magaliesberg range that ensure that tem­per­at­ures here are invari­ably a few degrees warmer than Johannesburg ...

But don’t let the sleepy nature of the pretty city lull you into a false per­cep­tion. Pretoria has a beauty all of its own, and the slow pace of life is regarded as a bonus by its res­id­ents. Many Jo’burgers seek a quieter exist­ence in Pretoria, pre­pared to com­mute daily rather live in the com­par­at­ive rat race.

Wall flower the city is not. When in full bloom in October, the 2010 Host City of Pretoria lit­er­ally comes alive with blos­soms and leaves no one in doubt as to the ori­gin of its nick­name — Jacaranda city.

Pretoria func­tions as one of three cap­it­als of South Africa with a pop­u­la­tion that exceeds a mil­lion people, the bulk of whom are gov­ern­ment offi­cials. The city centre is laid out in typ­ical city fash­ion on a grid with wide roads, mak­ing get­ting around fairly simple.

Practically man­dat­ory when vis­it­ing the city are the Pretoria Botanical Gardens, the Zoo, the Union Buildings and vari­ous museums and gal­ler­ies that include Melrose House, the Pioneer Museum, Sammy Marks museum, and the Voortrekker Monument. Outdoor activ­it­ies include the Wonderboom and Groenkloof Nature Reserves, the Austin Roberts Bird Sanctuary, and a steam train ride around Pretoria.

Accommodation in Pretoria and near Loftus Versfeld Stadium
Find Accommodation in Pretoria for the 2010 World Cup by using our Pretoria map designed to show dis­tances in kilo­metres from Loftus Versfeld Stadium to sub­urbs and towns within a 5km, 10km, 15km and 20km radius to the Stadium. See Loftus Versfeld Stadium Accommodation.

Useful Links for plan­ning your 2010 Trip:
Pretoria Attractions
Things to Do in Pretoria
Pretoria Map
Loftus Versfeld Stadium
Pretoria Hotels
Pretoria Accommodation