Pretoria

What makes it unique

Pretoria is where South Africa's government actually runs day to day, which gives it a calmer, more institutional feel than Johannesburg just down the road. It's a university city too, home to three of them, with a younger population than the skyline suggests. The thing people actually remember about Pretoria, though, is the jacarandas: over 70,000 trees planted through the city, and for a few weeks every October and November the entire place turns a shade of purple that doesn't look real in photos.

It's an easy city to underrate if you only pass through on business. Slow down and it's got some of the best-preserved architecture from South Africa's political history, government and colonial alike, and a lower cost of living than Johannesburg or Cape Town.

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