Bloemfontein
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.
Getting to Bloemfontein
- 01Bloemfontein Airport
Flights are operated by Airlink to Durban and Johannesburg.
- 02Bloemfontein
The N1, N6 and N8 national highways meet in Bloemfontein, making it easily reachable from any part of the country.
Worth seeing
- 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.
Things to do
Go to the Waterfront Golf Cricket:
- 01Manguang Oval
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.
Text adapted from Wikipedia and Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA 4.0. Photograph: Wikimedia Commons (see file page), Wikimedia Commons.