Africa >> Southern Africa >> South Africa >> Free State >> Motheo >> Bloemfontein

Bloemfontein (Fountain of flowers), [1], is the judicial capital of South Africa. It is also the capital of the Free State Province.

Culture and History

Bloemfontein was founded in 1846 and today has a population of around half a million people.

J. R. R. Tolkien, author of The Lord of the Rings was born in Bloemfontein in 1892. In 1923, the African National Congress (ANC) political party was founded in Bloemfontein.

Today Bloemfontein is a compact city surrounded by sprawling suburbs. Happily the city centre is safe to walk around during the day, however much of the city's activities are focused on the Waterfront and Mimosa malls, and on the large sporting complex. Second Street, north of the Waterfront mall, has the majority of the city's bars and restaurants.

Travel to Bloemfontein - Visa Requirements

Flights and airtickets to Bloemfontein

Bloemfontein Airport [2] is just outside the city and a number of flights to major South African cities take off from here, operated by South African Airways [3] and SA Airlink [4]. and Mango airlines [5] fly to Cape Town

See Air travel in South Africa for more information.

By train

Bloemfontein is a major rail junction in the middle of South Africa. From here, Spoornet [6] operates regular trains to all points of the country : south to Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, East London and Mthatha, west to Kimberley, north to Johannesburg and east to Durban and Pietermaritzburg.

The train station is in the city centre, on the corner of Maitland and Harvey streets.

For train ticket bookings, phone 086 000 8888 (from within SA) or +27 (0)11 774 4555 (from outside SA).

By car

The N1, N6 and N8 national highways meet in Bloemfontein, making it easily reachable from any part of the country.

The N1 northbound from Bloemfontein towards Gauteng is a toll road.

Distances

Buses to Bloemfontein

A number of bus services offer connections to major South African cities.

  • Greyhound, ☎ +27 (0)83 915-9000, [7].  
  • Intercape Mainliner, ☎ +27 (0)21 380-4400, [8].  
  • Translux, [9].  
  • SA Roadlink, ☎ +27 (0)11 333-2223, [10].  

Tours and Getting around Bloemfontein

By Car

As with most of South Africa, it is best to hire a car.

  • Avis, Bloemfontein Airport, ☎ +27 (0)51 433-2331, [11]. Open 6AM to 8PM weekdays, 8AM to 4PM on Saturdays.  
  • Tempest Car Hire, Bloemfontein Airport, ☎ +27 (0)51 433-2146, [12]. Open 6:30AM to 6:30PM weekdays, 8AM to 2PM on Saturdays.  
  • Hertz, Bloemfontein Airport, ☎ +27 (0)51 400-2100, [13]. Open 6:30AM to 7:30PM weekdays, 7:30AM to 5PM on Saturdays.  

Bloemfontein tourist attractions and sightseeing

  • Anglo Boer War Museum, Monument Road, ☎ +27 (0)51 447-3447, [14]. For a history on the war 1899 to 1902 
  • Boyden Observatory, ☎ +27 (0)84 429-9080(gerrit@cosmicsafari.com), [15]. Explore the southern skies under dark and clear Free State conditions 
  • Choet Visser Rugby Museum, ☎ +27 (0)51 436-4124. By appointment only.  
  • Fire Station Museum, Erlich Park Fire Station, Church Street, ☎ +27 (0)51 405-8730(braam@civic.mangaung.co.za), [16]. By appointment. 17 vintage fire engines as well as a number of cars, bikes steam engines and even ox wagons. 
  • National Botanical Garden, Rayton Road,off Dan Pienaar Drive, ☎ +27 (0)51 436 361(fsnbg@sanbi.org), [17]. 8AM to 6PM daily. R10 entrance fee.  
  • National Museum, 36 Aliwal Street, ☎ +27 (0)51 447-9609(ornito@nasmus.co.za), [18]. Open 8AM to 5PM Monday to Friday, 10AM to 5PM on Saturday and 12PM to 5:30PM on Sundays.. Home to the Florisbad skull.R5 entrance fee.  
  • Naval Hill and Franklin Game Reserve. The reserve has various wild animals and is located in the centre of the city. 
  • Oliewenhuis Art Museum, 16 Harry Smith Street, ☎ +27 (0)51 447-9609(oliewen@nasmus.co.za), [19]. Open 8AM to 5PM Monday to Friday and 10AM to 5PM on Saturday. Free entrance.  
  • Women's Memorial.  
  • Presidency Museum, Pres. Brand Street, ☎ +27 (0)51 448-0949. Open 10AM to 12:15PM and 1PM to 4PM Tuesday to Friday. This former residence of presidents of the Orange Free Stare Republic has been restored to what it would have been at the turn of the century. 
  • Queens Fort Military Museum, 116 Church Street, ☎ +27 (0)51 447-5478(naln@majuba.ofs.gov.za). Open 10AM to 12:15PM and 1PM to 4PM Monday to Friday. Exhibitions on the two Boer wars and the apartheid struggle. 
  • SA Armour Museum, (West of town, follow Nelson Mandela (R64) west towards the N1, you'll see a sign), [20]. The SA Armour Museum, on the grounds of Tempe Military Base, exhibits various items dealing specifically with military armour. The SA Armour Museum consists of an indoor-, outdoor-, and reference library area. 

Bloemfontein city tours

  • Go to the Waterfront
  • Play a round of golf
  • Visit one of the numerous game reserves in the area and go sightseeing / hunting
  • Take a walk through the tree-lined President Brand Street and visit the various museums
  • Take a drive through the northern suburbs and see the lush gardens
  • Visit the City Zoo

Learn

Work

Bloemfontein souvenirs and shopping

The ongoing expansion of the Waterfront mall means that Bloemfontein now has two branches of each of the standard South African chain stores (the other branches being in the Mimosa Mall 2km up the road). There is a craft market near the Waterfront mall on the first Saturday of the month. Many shops close Saturday afternoons.

Bloemfontein Restaurants: cheap, moderate and expensive

  • Fishpaste restaurant and bar, 31 President Steyn ave, Westdene, ☎ +27 (0)51 430-2662. The place to go. Excellent food in an interesting atmosphere. 
  • Mexican Restaurant, 19A Second Avenue Westdene, ☎ 051 4304526. There isn't much that is Mexican about this place, except for the big Aztec statue that overlooks the dining area. Seafood and Steakhouse. One of the city's more upmarket steakhouses. Fantastic food and service in a beautiful restaurant with a selective bar .Winner of numerous awards for food and service.Come and enjoy! 
  • Cape Town Fish Market, Graaff Reinet Street, off Dan Pienaar(Preller Square mall), ☎ 051 436 6148, [22]. Branch of the popular CTFM chain - must be the only place for sushi in the Free State. Worth the trip into the northern suburbs.(29° 5'17.03S,26°12'46.03E) 

Bloemfontein nightlife, bars, clubs and pubs

Bloemfontein cheap and luxurious hotels, youth hostels and lodging

Camping

  • Bains Caravan Park, 31 Kimberley Rd, ☎ +27 (0)51 451-1115. R190.  

Budget

Midrange

  • Bains Game Lodge, (Follow Nelson Mandela Drive for 2km outside the city, entrance gates on the right), ☎ +27 (0)51 451-1928(info@bainsgamelodge.co.za), [23]. Serviced Chalets. 
  • City Lodge, Cnr Nelson Mandela Drive & Parfitt Avenue, ☎ +27 (0)51 444-2974(clbloem.resv@citylodge.co.za), [24]. From 410.  
  • President Hotel, 1 Union Avenue, ☎ +27 (0)51 430-1111(preshot@iafrica.com), [25]. From R515.  
  • Southern Sun, Cnr. Nelson Mandela and Melville Drive, Brandwag, ☎ +27 (0)51 444-1253(bloemfontein@southernsun.com). From R700.  
  • Bloemfontein Spa, Raytonweg, Lilyvale, ☎ +27(51)4361567, [26]. From R410.  

Splurge

Contact

Stay Safe

Florentia Guest House for safe parking and accommodation Tel 0514367847 email florentia@internext.co.za

Cope

Get out

This page was last edited by Anonymous user(s) of Wikitravel. Based on work by David, Kirsten, Nick Roux, Paul Kilfoil, Chrisme Laubscher, Tim Sandell, Gerrit Penning and Felix Gottwald, Wikitravel user(s) Abstraktn and Episteme, Anonymous user(s) of Wikitravel and others. - Content on this page is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 1.0 license

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