Bloemfontein
Bloemfontein, also known as Bloem, is the capital and the largest city of the Free State province in South Africa.
Bloemfontein, also known as Bloem, is the capital and the largest city of the Free State province in South Africa. It is often, and has been traditionally, referred to as the country's "judicial capital", as it hosts the Supreme Court of Appeal, alongside the legislative capital Cape Town and executive capital Pretoria. However, the highest court in South Africa, the Constitutional Court, has been in Johannesburg since 1994.
Adapted from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Worth seeing in and around Bloemfontein
10 places within 25 km that the world writes about, in the order of how widely: the ones a visitor has heard of first, then the ones only a local would name.
- 01Free State Stadium
The Free State Stadium, currently known as the Toyota Stadium for sponsorship reasons and formerly known as Vodacom Park, is a stadium in Bloemfontein in the Free State of South Africa, used mainly for rugby union and also sometimes for association football. It was originally built for the 1995 Rugby World Cup, and was one of the venues for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
800 m · stadium · Wikipedia - 02University of the Free State
The University of the Free State is a multi-campus public university in Bloemfontein, the capital of the Free State and the judicial capital of South Africa. It was first established as an institution of higher learning in 1904 as a tertiary section of Grey College.
4.3 km · multi-campus public university in South Africa · Wikipedia - 03National Women's Monument
The National Women's Monument in Bloemfontein, South Africa, is a monument commemorating the roughly 27,000 Boer women and children who died in British concentration camps during the Second Boer War. The Monument is a Provincial Heritage Site in the Free State.
2.9 km · monument in Bloemfontein, South Africa · Wikipedia - 04Central University of Technology, Free State
The Central University of Technology, Free State is a public technology university with campuses in Bloemfontein and Welkom, Free State province, South Africa. It was established in 1981 as "Technikon Free State." As part of the South African government's restructuring of tertiary education for the new millennium it was promoted to university of technology status.
600 m · university in Bloemfontein, South Africa · Wikipedia - 05Anglo-Boer War Museum
The Anglo-Boer War Museum is also known officially as the War Museum of the Boer Republics in Bloemfontein. It is the only museum in the world dedicated solely to the Anglo-Boer Wars of 1899 to 1902.
2.8 km · military museum in Bloemfontein, South Africa · Wikipedia - 06National Museum, Bloemfontein
The National Museum in Bloemfontein dates back to the 1870s, when its collections and displays comprised mainly rarities from around the world. It was established on 20 July 1877 and opened to the public on 20 May 1878.
300 m · museum in South Africa · Wikipedia - 07Seisa Ramabodu Stadium
Dr. Petrus Molemela Stadium, formerly known as Seisa Ramabodu Stadium, is a multi-purpose stadium located in Bloemfontein, South Africa.
6.6 km · building in Africa · Wikipedia - 08Old Presidency
The Old Presidency or Ou Presidensie is a museum, art gallery and theatre in the city of Bloemfontein, South Africa, located on President Brand Street in the heart of the city. The former residence of the President of the Republic of the Orange Free State from 1886 until 1899 when the city fell to the British Empire during the Second Anglo-Boer War.
300 m · military museum in Bloemfontein, South Africa · Wikipedia - 09National Afrikaans Literary Museum and Research Centre
The National Afrikaans Literary Museum and Research Centre is a central archive for material and information on the history, development, and scope of literature, music, and drama in the Afrikaans language. The NALN was founded on 24 March 1973 by the Free State provincial government and is based in Bloemfontein, South Africa.
0 m · museum and research center in South Africa · Wikipedia - 10Government House, Orange Free State
A Neo-Dutch style mansion in Bloemfontein was designed in 1935. Completed in 1941, this mansion located on Grant's Hill served as residence for the Governor General of the Union of South Africa from 1942.
2 km · building in South Africa · Wikipedia
Ranked by the number of language editions of Wikipedia with an article on each, from Wikidata; the sentences are the openings of those articles, CC BY-SA 4.0.
What Wikivoyage says to see
- 01Boyden Observatory
Explore the southern skies under dark and clear Free State conditions.
- 02National Botanical Garden
This 70-hectare park is home to about 400 species of plants, largely native to Free State and Northern Cape Provinces and Lesotho.
- 03National Women's Monument
Monument commemorating the suffering of some 27,000 Boer women and children who died in British concentration camps during the Second Boer War.
- 04Anglo-Boer War Museum
Museum dedicated to the Anglo-Boer Wars of 1899 to 1902.
From Wikivoyage: Bloemfontein, CC BY-SA 4.0. Not yet checked by us.
Things to do
Go to the Waterfront Golf Cricket:
- 01Manguang Oval
From Wikivoyage: Bloemfontein, CC BY-SA 4.0. Not yet checked by us.
Where to eat
People eat early in Bloemfontein - even by South African standards, if you arrive at a restaurant after 7:30PM, especially on a weeknight, you may get some funny looks from the staff, and rushed service as they try to get you out the door so they can lock up and go home. Fishpaste restaurant and bar, 31 President Steyn ave, Westdene,. The place to go. Excellent food in an interesting atmosphere.
- 01Cape Town Fish Market
Worth the trip into the northern suburbs.
From Wikivoyage: Bloemfontein, CC BY-SA 4.0. Not yet checked by us.
Getting to Bloemfontein
- Airports
- Bram Fischer (BFN), 9 km · Moshoeshoe I (MSU), 135 km · Kimberley (KIM), 145 km
- Stations
- Bloemfontein Airport, 8.8 km · Bloemfontein railway station, 1 km
- Kimberley → Bloemfontein148 km · quickest by road, 2h 20m · R145–195
- Johannesburg → Bloemfontein371 km · quickest by road, 5h 25m · R355–470
- East London → Bloemfontein462 km · quickest by road, 8h 12m · R495–660
- Plan a tripFrom anywhereThe planner compares every way there from wherever you are.
Road and air are today’s quick answer; timetabled trains, buses and ferries load on the results page from the operators’ feeds.
No local-transport research exists yet for Bloemfontein
Our researched notes are written from a sourced entry: every shared taxi, boat and village bus with its operator, its rule, its fare and the year we saw it, and what could not be confirmed. Nobody has done that work for Bloemfontein. What is above is what we hold from open sources; nothing here pretends to be more.
- 011,180 km
- 021,872 km
- 031,900 km
- 042,161 km
- 052,891 km
If you know how people move in Bloemfontein – the stand, the rule, the fare – tell us, and the note gets an entry.
Next door to Bloemfontein
Bloemfontein is 52 km from Botshabelo, the nearest large city, whose note carries the wider picture.
- Mangaung Metropolitan Municipalitymetropolitan municipality in the Free State, South Africa1.9 km
- Fichardt Parkhuman settlement in South Africa4.7 km
- Westdenesuburb of Bloemfontein, South Africa1.2 km
- Bloemfontein Centralsuburb of the city of Bloemfontein in South Africa400 m