Since it is just a short train trip away from Johannesburg, I figured I’d go have a look at Pretoria as well. Being a safe place to walk around, it felt a lot different from Johannesburg. And with the size of the city, it doesn’t take long to cover the centre of town. I get that this place might feel more “comfortable” for visitors to stay at, but there is not much to see/do… – I felt a day trip was enough. Church Square I imagine to be very nice, when overhauling is done. Now it was just a big, ugly construction site. After tumbling around the CBD area for a bit, which is just like any other CBD, really, I walked back to the train station, passing City Hall, which looked beautiful in its spring outfit. And that was it…
I went to Pretoria on the Gautrain. You need a travel card to top up to be able to get on.
Website: tshwane.gov.za
I only saw Cape Town while I was in South Africa, but heard some great things about the eastern cities of Joburg and Pretoria!
My definite favourite was Cape Town. Pretoria and Johannesburg were nice, but not being able to walk around Joburg was a negative for me, and Pretoria seemed a bit on the smaller side, with less to do.
I have not been to South Africa. When it comes to cities, there always seems to be some tradeoff between safety and size.
True. Johannesburg is actually the only place I’ve been which have been limiting. You always keep an eye out, but I’ve never had to adjust as much anywhere else.
It’s unfortunate that the downtown Church Square area was a full of construction when you visited but it looks like it was a nice, chill day trip. 🙂
Yes, unfortunate 🙁 I got the small(er) town feeling, so I’d say it put out a good vibe.
If Pretoria is safe, it sounds good to me.
It felt like it, so I was happy 🙂
My fiance’s family lives in Pretoria but they met us in Joburg when we were in South Africa. Like you said, there’s more to do in Joburg so they just drove down and met us 🙂
Definitely a lot more to do in Johannesburg, and it is a short trip away, but I loved the fact that I could walk around in Pretoria with no worries.