Pietermaritzburg
Pietermaritzburg is the capital and second-largest city in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa after Durban.
Pietermaritzburg is the capital and second-largest city in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa after Durban. It was named in 1838 and is currently governed by the Msunduzi Local Municipality.
Adapted from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Worth seeing in and around Pietermaritzburg
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.
- 012013 UCI Mountain Bike & Trials World Championships
The 2013 UCI Mountain Bike & Trials World Championships was the 24th edition of the UCI Mountain Bike & Trials World Championships, and was held in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa and Leogang, Austria.
1.8 km · mountain bike competition · Wikipedia - 02City Oval
City Oval, is a multi-purpose stadium in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa. The 12,000 capacity stadium is currently used predominantly for cricket matches, with the ground being used by KwaZulu-Natal Inland men's and women's teams, KwaZulu-Natal and Dolphins, and hosted two matches during the 2003 Cricket World Cup.
700 m · cricket ground · Wikipedia - 03Pietermaritzburg City Hall
Pietermaritzburg City Hall is a historic city hall located at Pietermaritzburg in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.
1.7 km · building in South Africa · Wikipedia - 04Harry Gwala Stadium
Harry Gwala Stadium is a multi-use stadium in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa. It is currently used mostly for football matches.
200 m · stadium in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa · Wikipedia - 05Bessie Head Library
The Bessie Head Library in Pietermaritzburg, Msunduzi Local Municipality, is the oldest library in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It was established in 1849 and became a legal deposit library in 1916.
1.8 km · library in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa · Wikipedia - 06Statue of Mahatma Gandhi
Mahatma Gandhi is a bronze statue of Mahatma Gandhi in Church Street, Pietermaritzburg, depicting the Indian independence campaigner and nonviolent pacifist as a young man. The statue was unveiled in 1993 by Archbishop Desmond Tutu, marking the centenary since Gandhi was thrown from a train at Pietermaritzburg railway station.
1.7 km · statue in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa · Wikipedia - 07KwaZulu-Natal National Botanical Garden
The KwaZulu-Natal National Botanical Garden is situated along Mayor's Walk, in the western suburbs of Pietermaritzburg, South Africa.
3.7 km · botanical garden in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa · Wikipedia - 08Woodburn Stadium
Woodburn Rugby Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa. It is sometimes used by the Sharks rugby team in the Currie Cup.
1 km · building in South Africa · Wikipedia - 09Cathedral of the Holy Nativity, Pietermaritzburg
The Cathedral of the Holy Nativity is the home of the Anglican Diocese of Natal in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa in the kwaZulu-Natal Province. It is the episcopal seat of the Bishop of Natal.
1.5 km · cathedral in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa · Wikipedia - 10Northdale Stadium
Northdale Stadium is a multi-use stadium in Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It is currently used mostly for football matches and is the home venue of Maritzburg City in the SAFA Second Division.
5.7 km · building in 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
The City Hall, which is in the CBD, is the largest red brick building in the Southern Hemisphere. It contains a large organ, and occasionally hosts concerts. The Natal Society Library is behind the City Hall, and has a large children's wing. Further afield, Queen Elizabeth Park up on the hills above the city contains zebra, buck and the like.
- 01Pietermaritzburg City Hall
Built in 1902, this was for a long time the largest brick building in the Southern Hemisphere.
- 02KwaZulu-Natal National Botanical Garden
2 Zwartkop Rd.
- 03Voortrekker / Msunduzi Museum
Depicts the heritage of different cultural groups of KwaZulu-Natal, including the Great Trek by the Afrikaner people into the interior of South Africa.
- 04Tatham Art Gallery
Fine artwork, including an impressive and ornate clock on the second floor.
From Wikivoyage: Pietermaritzburg, CC BY-SA 4.0. Not yet checked by us.
Things to do
The nightlife in Pietermaritzburg is pretty limited. Two or three clubs dominate the scene. Crowded House (in the CBD, fairly near to the City Hall) is one of the most popular, playing pop and dance music. Exclusive Lounge nearby plays kwaito and house music. Franki Bananaz is a cocktail bar in Armitage Road that is popular with the twenties set.
- 01Bisley Valley Nature Reserve
From Wikivoyage: Pietermaritzburg, CC BY-SA 4.0. Not yet checked by us.
Getting to Pietermaritzburg
- Airports
- King Shaka (DUR), 71 km · Moshoeshoe I (MSU), 274 km
- Stations
- Pietermaritzburg Airport, 3.6 km · Pietermaritzburg railway station, 1.7 km
- Durban → Pietermaritzburg67 km · quickest by road, 1h 17m · R70–90
- Johannesburg → Pietermaritzburg444 km · quickest by road, 7h 6m · R440–580
- Bloemfontein → Pietermaritzburg409 km · quickest by road, 8h 8m · 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 Pietermaritzburg
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 Pietermaritzburg. What is above is what we hold from open sources; nothing here pretends to be more.
- Get aroundOtherise, minibus-taxis are cheap but uncomfortable and occasionally unsafe.
- Get aroundPrivate taxis (cabs) can also be hired, but they are substantially more expensive than the minibus-taxis.
- Get aroundThe central minibus-taxi rank is in Market Square, which is in the Central Business District near the Natal Society Library and the City Hall.
- Get aroundTo get to the Central Business District from any of the suburbs by minibus-taxi, look for a taxi that is travelling to "eTuwen" or simply "Town".
- Get aroundMinibus-taxis have set routes, so there are a lot of places you can't get to using them.
From Wikivoyage: Pietermaritzburg, CC BY-SA. Not yet checked by us; that article was last edited 2026-07.
- 011,580 km
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If you know how people move in Pietermaritzburg – the stand, the rule, the fare – tell us, and the note gets an entry.
Next door to Pietermaritzburg
- uMgungundlovu District Municipalitydistrict municipality of South Africa4 km
- Msunduzi Local Municipalitylocal municipality in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa8.1 km
- Ashburtonhuman settlement in South Africa8.8 km