Avenues of purple flowering jacaranda trees are wide enough to turn a team of oxen pulling a cart belonging to the large numbers of Voortrekkers who arrived here in the 1850s. Sculptures and monuments attest to the Afrikaner history and great care has been taken to preserve the fine architecture in the city center such as Church Square. Overlooking the whole of the city from a hilltop are the magnificent Sir Herbert Baker designed Union Buildings, built in golden stone with Italian tiled roofs, a Romanesque amphitheatre and African sculptures.
Progress has brought high-tech shopping centres, museums, art galleries and multi-culinary restaurants. The city has four universities, a number of scientific institutes and an abundance of open spaces with parks, bird sanctuaries, nature reserves and a zoo.