Travel Guide Pretoria / Tshwane

Pretoria, the capital city, 50 km north of Johannesburg, is still synonymous with the word "apartheid. Renamed Tshwane, it tries on the surface to forget this inglorious past. The installation of Nelson Mandela as President of the Republic, and therefore in the Union Building, then of Tambo Mbeki and finally of Jacob Zuma, has necessarily changed the situation somewhat. But Pretoria (which no one calls Tshwane) retains its reputation as a white Afrikaner and conservative bastion, even though its center is frequented by the city's black population. The city cultivates the memory of the Voetrekkers and Boers through its monuments and its history, and keeps the memory of its great era alive. Pretoria is now developing a provincial feel, wanting to be a place where "real values" (gastronomy, painting, diplomacy, horticulture) still have the advantage over the modern tics of joburgers.Today, it lacks the dynamism of its contemporary and cosmopolitan neighbor Jo'Burg, which attracts young graduates of all origins. Nevertheless, students from the renowned University of Pretoria make the center a little more lively. The center is still walkable during the day, unlike Jo'burg, but without valuables. The city is nicknamed "the purple city" because of the 60,000 jacaranda trees that bloom in October with a thousand flowers.