Capital Park

Capital Park, Pretoria

Lying directly north of Pretoria's Church Square, Capital Park is one of the older more established suburbs of Pretoria, the little cottages here a throwback to the 1950s set in amongst more modern renditions with traditional tin roofs. The neighbourhood has pretty gardens, traffic calming zones and the odd suburban church to add to the typical Pretoria atmosphere.

The suburb has one major drawcard. Just north of the typical grid-style residential area lies Rovos Rail's train station. The colonial-style railway station is the departure and arrival point for all the Rovos Rail journeys. The classically rebuilt luxury trains, carrying 72 passengers, operate between Pretoria and Cape Town, Pretoria and Victoria Falls, and Pretoria and Durban.

The Pride of Africa, as the train is called, is regularly selected by the Society of International Railway Travelers as one of the World's top 25 trains.

Guests of the train, or travellers to Pretoria wanting to see Rovos Rail station are often confused as the station is no where near the main train station in Pretoria (pages have been devoted to this very topic on Tripadvisor). Directions are difficult to follow and taxi journeys expensive as a result. Which is why Capital Park is an ideal place in which to overnight.

The station also has a small railway museum and there are several sheds and a workshop where trains are both repaired and maintained.

Just south of Capital Park are the National Zoological Gardens, still one of the favourite places to visit . Take a picnic and go for the afternoon. See the reptile park, aquarium and take the cable car to the top of the hill.