Things to do near
Monument Park
*Distances are shown as the crow flies and not necessarily the actual travelling
distance.
Bars
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Elardus Park (3.5 km from Monument Park) Cafe Barcelona is a dynamic live music and entertainment venue offering restaurant and pub facilities. For over 10 years Cafe Barcelona has supported the music scene embracing famous names as well as unknown bands.
Some well-known perfomers include The Parlotones, Karen Zoid, Arno Carstens, Albert Frost, Valiant Swart, Fokofpolisiekar, 16 Stitch, Watershed, Louise Carver, Koos Kombuis, Jan Blohm, Jackhammer and many more.
Four By Four Trails
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Pretoria (Tshwane) (3.6 km from Monument Park) Groenkloof Nature Reserve 4x4 Trail is set in the nature reserve itself and leads through the Fountains Valley. The route is 14 km long and takes about 2 hours to complete – with a braai spot to top it off! This trail can be done all year round and has a grading of 2 to 3. This self-drive track requires a high clearance vehicle. This trail is so convenient being only 2 km from Pretoria. A guide book is provided when you visit the trail. Please call for further information.
Shopping Malls
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Brooklyn (3.8 km from Monument Park) Brooklyn Mall is situated in the heart of the diplomatic area of Pretoria's affluent eastern suburbs. This dynamic centre provides an elegant shopping venue with more than 170 retail stores. Pleasing to the eye and spacious, shoppers are assured of a relaxed shopping experience as well as a tempting assortment of restaurants, entertainment, products, and speciality shops.
Fashionistas will find all the International brand shops, elite designer boutiques and luxury specialty stores. Foodies will find a dazzling array of culinary delights and more than 23 top notch restaurants and coffee bars.
Nine Ster-Kinekor cinemas and five Cinema Nouveau movie theatres provide the latest block-busters and acclaimed art films. Shoppers who are keen to get some sun and fresh air will enjoy a round of Adventure Golf in the lush gardens.
Trading Hours:
Monday to Friday 09:00 – 18:00
Saturday 09:00 – 17:00
Sunday 09:00 – 14:00
Public Holidays 09:00 – 17:00
Galleries and Museums
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Menlo Park (4.5 km from Monument Park) The Brooklyn Theater in Pretoria is the city's first classical music and drama theatre. Offering state-of-the-art sound and lighting facilities, it also doubles as a conference centre and private events venue.
Under the management of Salon Music, the venue stages a number of shows that include theatre, music, dance and all other forms of performance arts. The conference facility has a capacity for 60 guests with great scope for intimate meetings, lectures and workshops.
Greenlyn Village Centre, Shop 21/Theatre, C/o Thomas Edison and 13th Streets, Menlo Park, Pretoria
+27 (0) 12) 460 6033 or 0861 MELODY/635 639
info@brooklyntheatre.co.za
www.brooklyntheatre.co.za
Shopping Malls
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Menlo Park (4.9 km from Monument Park) Menlyn Park Shopping Centre offers over 300 stores, 37 restaurants and a wide variety of entertainment.All this in an upmarket area of Pretoria’s eastern suburbs makes it a popular shopping and entertainment spot for Tshwane dwellers.Conveniently situated, the centre is just a short distance from the N1 Highway and just five kilometres from the N4.Shoppers will find all the major chain stores under one roof including Hyperama, Woolworths, Truworths, Stuttafords, Foschini, Game and NuMetro.Ten features of this entertainment hotspot include an Imax Theatre, outdoor events arena, play park and the planet's first rooftop drive-in cinema, go-karts, 3D NuMetro Cinema, Festival Market, FLY Me helicopter rides, fufi-slides and quad bikes.
Bars Nightclubs
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Garsfontein (5.3 km from Monument Park) Tiger Tiger Pretoria is a the ideal night club venue for party animals and hip, upmarket clubbers.
Featuring unparalleled theme parties, unbelievable drink specials and competition giveaways, Tiger Tiger is always a popular destination. The club comes equipped with 4 stylish bars, a stellar dance floor and an amazing sound system.
Doors are open every Thursday, Friday and Saturday night.
Popular Attractions
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Hatfield (5.6 km from Monument Park) The University of Pretoria, fondly called ‘Tucs’ by students, is ranked as the leading research university in South Africa. Also one of the top three universities in the country, it draws a large number of new students every year, with 39 000 students enrolling in 2010.The university has six campuses and numerous operational sites such as the Pretoria Academic Hospital. The Hatfield campus has a beautiful setting and attractive historic buildings, making it one of the more striking universities in South Africa.Visitors usually make their way to the Ou Lettere building to view the amazing archaeological finds from Mapungubwe. Here you can see the gold rhinoceros, jewellery, figurines, pottery and other artefacts at least 700 years old.The Hatfield campus has contributed to the reputation of Hatfield as the most vibrant suburb of Pretoria with numerous trendy cafés, bars and restaurants.
Popular Attractions
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Muckleneuk (6 km from Monument Park) The University of South Africa, or UNISA as it is commonly known, is a distance education university with the main campus and headquarters in Pretoria. You cannot miss the gigantic, mind-blowingly ugly buildings.With over 200 000 students enrolled, it is highly regarded and is one of the largest universities on the planet.Founded in 1873, UNISA was initially an examining agency for Oxford and Cambridge universities as well as something of a ‘mother ship’ to other establishing universities in South Africa. In 1946 it became a distance education university, offering certificate, diploma and degree courses up to doctoral level. It was able to remain interracial during the years of apartheid largely because it was a distance education university. Famous students and professors include:Nelson Mandela, former President of South AfricaDesmond Tutu, South African cleric and political activistRobert Mugabe, current president of ZimbabweAhmed Kathrada, South African politician and anti-apartheid activistTokyo Sexwale, South African businessman and former politician, anti-apartheid activist, and political prisonerWalter Battiss, South African abstract painter and creator of the quirky 'Fook Island' concept, UNISA Professor of Fine Art.
Shopping Malls
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Hatfield (6 km from Monument Park) Situated in the heart of Pretoria is Duncan Yard, a distinctive boutique lifestyle centre and must-do lunch spot. Here visitors amble through quaint stores and eateries along cobbled stone walkways and castle turrets.
The alfresco centre provides a unique shopping experience with over 15 restaurants and shops. Its picturesque location is reminiscent of a rustic Italian village and provides a refreshingly exotic experience.
Renowned for the popular Papa’s Real Food restaurant and the Deli on Duncan’s delectable array of delicacies, Duncan Yard also features an enticing selection of stores offering boutique clothing, jewellery, indoor and outdoor décor, and carpet and florist services. Both the beauty and hair salon are idyllically situated for complete relaxation and pampering.
Trading Hours:
Monday to Friday 09:00 – 17:00
Saturday 09:00 – 15:00
Sunday 10:00 – 14:00
Public Holidays 10:00 – 14:00
www.duncanyard.co.za
+27 (0) 12 362 2224 / 4054
Sports Stadiums Clubs
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Sunnyside (6 km from Monument Park) One of South Africa’s top stadiums with a seating capacity for 50 000 people, Loftus Versfeld Stadium is situated in South Africa’s capital Pretoria (Tshwane). It was one of the 2010 FIFA World Cup venues, hosting five first-round matches and one second-round match.
Home turf of the Premier Soccer League dynamos Mamelodi Sundowns, the Blue Bulls Currie Cup rugby team and the Bulls Super 12 rugby squad, it was also one of the primary venues for the 1995 Rugby World Cup. In addition to being one of South Africa’s premier sporting venues, Loftus Versfeld is also a thriving venue for big concerts.
Tshwane, Pretoria, "Jacaranda City," ePitoli - this graceful city has enormous appeal, a fascinating history and is now a symbol of South Africa's true unity. It's an elegant, quiet city in complete contrast to its bustling neighbour, Johannesburg, which is just 50 kilomtres apart and less than an hour's drive away.
Galleries and Museums
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Pretoria (Tshwane) (6.7 km from Monument Park) The National Cultural History Museum houses a large collection of historical documents and archaeological objects dating back to the Stone Age.
There is a San art exhibition with paintings and engravings bearing clues about the belief system of the original inhabitants of South Africa.
The Hananwa exhibit showcases the Iron Age culture of the Sotho-Tswana people that migrated across the Limpopo River into South Africa over 2,000 years ago.
The Marabastad exhibit displays the flourishing life of urban black communities before Apartheid.
Visitors can walk around the curio shop, listen to talks in the auditorium, or browse through the fascinating collection of books in the library.
Galleries and Museums
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Groenkloof (7.4 km from Monument Park) Much of South Africa’s architectural heritage goes far beyond broekie-lace and gables. The austere Voortrekker Monument in Pretoria pays homage to the gritty trekkers who deserted the Cape Colony in the mid 1800s.
The entire 62-metre high structure is loaded with symbolism, from the assegai motif entrance, to the rippling patterns and friezes of the ‘Hall of Heroes’ and the 64 laager wagons surrounding the building. There’s even an opening in the dome roof that allows the sun’s rays to light up the cenotaph every year at 12 noon, 16 December. In essence, the monument functions as a giant sundial.
Situated on top of Skanskop and within a nature reserve, the monument boasts lovely views of Pretoria. Shops, a restaurant, art gallery and various activities including horse rides are on offer.
Galleries and Museums
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Moreleta Park (7.5 km from Monument Park) Friendship, good food, wine and brilliant entertainment – the Barnyard Theatre in Menlyn is where it all comes together.
The first Barnyard Theatre started as a homely, rustic farm theatre in Plettenberg Bay where friends and family could be entertained and eat, drink and talk into the small hours of the morning. It proved to be such a winner that more Barnyard Theatres started popping up all over the country.
There are currently 12 Barnyard Theatres in South Africa. While each theatre is a product of its individual setting, they all retain the quaint rustic charm of the original farm theatre’s humble beginning.
Popular Attractions
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Moreleta Park (7.6 km from Monument Park) The ultra-modern Netcare Pretoria East Hospital is a 358 bed facility offering patients the most technologically advanced medical and surgical services.The hospital is an internationally recognized Centre of Excellence in neuro-spinal, ortho-spinal and large joint replacement surgery.The expertise in this surgery has become recognized countrywide and many patients requiring hip, knee and shoulder joint replacement surgery are referred to Netcare Pretoria East Hospital. There is also an outstanding maternity unit with an atrium and skylights, allowing in natural light to enhance the peaceful atmosphere.
Popular Attractions
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Arcadia (7.8 km from Monument Park) Pretoria has a complex and fascinating past. Initially the capital of the independent Boer republic of the Transvaal, it moved on to became one of the three capitals of South Africa and an international symbol of Apartheid.Then the turnabout came in 1994 with the jubilant inauguration of former President Nelson Mandela, South Africa's first democratically elected President. Suddenly the Union Buildings transformed from a symbol of white, supremacist domination to one of genuine unity in this beautiful and culturally rich city.The Union Buildings still form the official seat of South Africa's government and houses The Presidency as well as the Department of Foreign Affairs. Built at the loftiest point of South Africa's capital city, the elegant buildings preside like an ancient temple adorning and presiding over the city it governs. Designed by Sir Herbert Baker, the building was completed in 1913. Herbert Baker chose Meintjieskop for the site because it reminded him of the acropolises of Greece and Asia Minor. The overall design is influenced by the neo-classic architecture of the Italian Renaissance as well as Cape Dutch.